The Iowa State Cyclones are heading to Provo, Utah, to face their third ranked opponent in a row in the BYU Cougars.

Just hours after being unveiled as a projected No. 1 seed for the NCAA Tournament in the top 16 in-season reveal, Iowa State basketball stumbled and suffered a 79-69 road loss at BYU on Saturday, Feb. 21. BYU had a 13-0 run towards the end of the first half, which helped the Cougars take a 39-30 halftime lead.

During the 10-point victory, in their finest hour of the season, the No. 23 Cougars (20-7, 8-6) also defeated despair and restored hope for a big finish to the regular season – and beyond. Without Richie Saunders,

The Iowa State Cyclones are going to face some challenges in their game against the BYU Cougars.

AJ Dybantsa’s dominance led the charge in the Marriott Center’s most electric night of the Kevin Young era thus far.

This was likely Saunders’ final collegiate game. He was a four-year player for the Cougars and earned All-Big 12 honors last season. Saunders was the 35th-ranked player in Sam Vecenie’s Top 100 NBA Draft prospect rankings.

Despite winning two straight games, BYU has fallen a spot in the national rankings.

No. 22 BYU has won consecutive games for the first time since early January, but Saturday's 90-86 overtime victory over Colorado came at a price. Veteran guard Richie Saunders sustained a season-ending torn ACL in the win, the team announced Sunday.

The Utah women's basketball team is at risk of missing the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2021 after Saturday's loss to BYU.

Our Ohio State vs. Michigan State predictions believe the Buckeyes will come up short vs. another Quad 1 foe on Sunday.