No. 1 Arizona Survives "Marriott Madness" to Tie All-Time Best Start

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PROVO, UT — In a hostile environment that lived up to every bit of its reputation, the top-ranked Arizona Wildcats remained perfect on Monday night. Behind a career-high performance from freshman Brayden Burries, Arizona held off a furious late-game charge from No. 13 BYU to secure an 86–83 victory at a sold-out Marriott Center.

With the win, Arizona (21-0, 8-0 Big 12) matches the best start in program history, equaling the mark set by the 2013-14 squad.

The Block: Burries Saves the Streak

While he dominated the stat sheet for 39 minutes, it was a defensive play with four seconds left that defined Brayden Burries’ night.

After a chaotic final minute where Arizona saw a 10-point lead whittled down to one, BYU’s Robert Wright III drove to the basket for a potential game-winning layup. Burries tracked him from the weak side, leaping to pin the ball against the backboard. He then grabbed the rebound, drew the foul, and sank two clutch free throws to ice the game.

Brayden Burries: 29 points (career high), 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and the game-saving block.
Jaden Bradley: 26 points on 10-of-15 shooting.

Together, the backcourt duo combined for 55 of Arizona’s 86 points, essentially carrying the load as the Wildcats’ frontcourt battled foul trouble throughout the evening.

Game Flow: A Tale of Two Halves

The Arizona Surge: After trailing 26–24 midway through the first half, Arizona unleashed a clinical 20–5 run. Burries and Bradley were unstoppable, outscoring the entire BYU team 36–31 in the first half to take a 44–31 lead into the locker room.

The BYU Fightback: The Cougars (17-3, 5-2) appeared dead in the water after falling behind by 19 points (64–45) with 10 minutes remaining. However, fueled by a scorching 10-of-20 shooting performance from deep in the second half, BYU mounted a monster comeback.

AJ Dybantsa: The heralded freshman led BYU with 24 points, though he struggled with efficiency (6-of-24 FG).
The Final Minute: Trailing 82–72 with under 60 seconds left, BYU capitalized on Arizona turnovers and a Keba Keita putback dunk to make it 84–83 with 16 seconds on the clock.

Post-Game Quotes

Tommy Lloyd (Arizona HC): “That’s Big Monday in the Big 12. We knew they weren’t going away. Brayden [Burries] played like a veteran tonight—that block was a winning play by a winning player.”

Kevin Young (BYU HC): “I’m proud of the fight. To be down 19 and have a shot at the rim to take the lead in the final seconds says a lot about our group. We just ran out of time.”

Chasing History

Arizona returns to Tucson for a chance to stand alone in the record books. A win in their next outing would mark the first 22-0 start in the history of the storied program.