PORTLAND, Ore. – Elite freshman AJ Dybantsa put BYU’s No. 6 seed in perspective after the NCAA Tournament brackets were revealed Sunday.
“Obviously, going into the tournament, you wanted to be a higher seed,” Dybantsa said, “but as long as you’re dancing, that’s all that really matters.”
The Cougars (23-11) will begin Dybantsa’s first and potentially last NCAA Tournament on Thursday when they meet 11th-seeded Texas (19-14) in the first round of the West Region.
Texas will have a quick turnaround after beating North Carolina State 68-66 on Tramon Mark’s 17-footer with 1.1 seconds remaining in the First Four on Tuesday in Dayton, Ohio.
The Longhorns led by nine with 2:58 left before the Wolfpack went on a 13-4 run to tie the game with 18 seconds left.
“I work on those shots all the time, so just routine for me,” Mark said in a postgame interview. “I got a great look at the rim, and it felt good.”
Dybantsa, a 6-foot-9 forward, has done that sort of thing all season. He leads NCAA Division I in scoring at 25.3 points per game and also averages 6.7 rebounds and 3.8 assists.
Projected to be the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, Dybantsa said recently he is “on the fence” about his future even after playing up to the outsized expectations of being labeled the nation’s top recruit a year ago.
BYU’s inclusion in the NCAA Tournament brought back childhood memories.
“I wasn’t watching every single game, but I definitely grew up watching March Madness,” Dybantsa said. “I remember some of the notable upsets, some of the notable buzzer-beaters. It just feels good to be able to be in that same situation and be able to participate in it.”
The Cougars opened the season 17-2 and reached No. 7 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll but have lost nine of 15 games since. They are 4-5 since key contributor Richie Saunders (18.0 points, 5.8 rebounds per game) sustained a season-ending knee injury in the first minute of a Feb. 14 victory over Colorado.
BYU coach Kevin Young adjusted by simplifying schemes on both ends of the court, especially on defense.
“When we just keep it simple and keep the main thing the main thing (we’re better), so for that reason, I kind of like that,” Young said.
“We just stayed with it, and we’ve gotten some momentum at the right time.”
The Cougars beat then-10th-ranked Texas Tech in the regular-season finale on March 7. They posted double-digit victories over Kansas State and West Virginia in the Big 12 tournament before falling to Houston 73-66 in the quarterfinals.
“We definitely found our identity on the defensive side,” said Dybantsa, who had 93 points in the conference tournament.
Guard Robert Wright (18.2 points, 4.7 assists) provides support for the Cougars, who average 83.9 points a game and have a plus-4.1 rebound margin.
Texas dropped into a First Four matchup after losing three games in a row and five of six, capped by a 76-66 wire-to-wire defeat to Ole Miss in the first round of the SEC tournament.
The Longhorns recovered behind a career game from reserve guard Chendall Weaver, who had his first career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Mark also hit a contested 17-footer to beat the shot clock for a 66-62 lead with 37 seconds left.
Seven-footer Matas Vokietatis had 15 points and eight rebounds and Dailyn Swain had 13 and eight, respectively, as the Longhorns held a 45-33 rebounding edge.
“I have a lot of belief,” Texas coach Sean Miller said in a postgame interview. “Playing in the SEC, you have to be resilient. Those 18 or 19 games, it prepares those guys for games like today.”
–Jack Magruder, Field Level Media
