Arizona State may have fallen 104-76 Wednesday night to No. 9 BYU, but the Sun Devils did pick up one moral victory in Provo, according to Bobby Hurley.
"The only thing that we can hang our hat on, leaving here tonight, is that I think we did stop Chick-fil-A (from handing out chicken)," the longtime Arizona State coach said postgame, referring to BYU's in-arena tradition following consecutive missed free throws by an opponent. "If I am not mistaken, we were able to get that done tonight."
But in all non-poultry related matters, it just wasn't Arizona State's night.
The Sun Devils shot 38% from the field and coughed up 15 total turnovers, as Kevin Young's Cougars lit up the scoreboard for their first-ever 100+ point outing against a fellow Big 12 foe in program history.
"It's a credit to BYU and where and how they have grown this program to where they are. I've been out West for a number of years, and to see the product they've put on the floor, you guys should be very proud to it," Hurley said. "They not only have talent, but they play really hard and they seem to play together the right way."
Even with BYU's top rim protector Keba Keita sidelined with an injury, the Cougars still managed to block 10 Sun Devil shots on the night, with Abdullah Ahmed swatting five blocks on his own.
"They had 10 blocks (without Keita), so around the basket, their other guys stepped up and did a good job," Hurley said. "We were terrible, too. Like, we contributed to it. We missed wide open layups early, maybe two of them early in the game.
"We broke some kind of record tonight for missing mid-range jump shots. I mean, someone kept track, I don't have the exact number, but it has to be a national record."
Richie Saunders led all scorers with 31 points, surpassing his previous career-high of 30 points that was set last season against Arizona State, coincidentally.
"I have a lot of respect for him," Hurley said of Saunders. "He's not even being talked about because of just all the hype, and it's deserving, for AJ. But (Saunders), I think I voted for him for Player of the Year in the conference last year. ... He was that good, I felt last year. You can't lose him. He knows how to play."
AJ Dybantsa continued his recent dominance with his eighth consecutive 20-point performance, scoring 23 points in all with seven rebounds, five assists and two steals.
Hurley — whose brother Dan is the only coach to defeat BYU this season — recalled watching Dybantsa years ago as a young prospect and admiring his ability.
"I knew I could never recruit him, I think I did make one call," Hurley laughingly said of Dybantsa.
"... He moves like an NBA guy, a high-level NBA guy. He's good off the bounce, so explosive (off his) first step. He gets you off balance, gets to the free throw line, makes his teammates better. He's very impressive to watch."
BYU Cougars guard Robert Wright III (1) and BYU Cougars forward AJ Dybantsa (3) celebrate after a sequence of plays ending in a BYU Cougars guard Richie Saunders (15) 3-point bomb as the Cougars and Sun Devils play in the Marriott Center in Provo on Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
