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By Cole Sullivan
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The BYU Cougars rolled to a 105-91 victory in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament on Tuesday night, fueled by a dominant performance from true freshman AJ Dybantsa, who erupted for 40 points — the most ever by a freshman in conference tournament history.
This season, Dybantsa has carried the Cougars, which was no surprise coming out of high school as the top-ranked player in the class of 2025 from Brockton, Massachusetts.
He’s averaging 25.2 points per game — the most in the country — along with 6.8 rebounds and 3.9 assists, heading into Wednesday’s second-round matchup against West Virginia Mountaineers.
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Ahead of the game, BYU announced some major news regarding the star freshman: Dybantsa has officially been named one of the finalists for the Lute Olson National Player of the Year.
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Dybantsa is currently a projected top pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. While that remains the most likely path for the 19-year-old, he hasn’t shied away from teasing a return to BYU as a sophomore.
“Well, I might not leave,” Dybantsa said on a recent podcast appearance. “My mom wants me to graduate. I might not leave. But I might leave.”
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He came into high school with extremely high expectations — and he’s somehow exceeded them all, despite BYU experiencing its share of highs and lows this season en route to a 21-10 regular-season record and an expected NCAA Tournament bid when the 68-team field is announced on Sunday.
ESPN’s Joe Lunardi has BYU projected as a No. 6 seed, which would set the stage for Dybantsa and the Cougars to face a No. 11 seed in the first round, scheduled for either Thursday or Friday next week.
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