In one of the more shocking recruiting developments in recent college basketball history, No. 1 overall recruit AJ Dybantsa shunned the traditional blue bloods and opted to play his basketball at BYU.
Although the Cougars were bounced out of the first round of the NCAA Tournament, Dybantsa proved why he was the top recruit. He was named a first-team All-American, first-team All-Big 12, Big 12 Freshman of the Year and led the country in scoring.
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With Dybantsa now presumably focusing on his NBA Draft preparation, he did offer a prediction for who will be the last team standing in this year’s NCAA Tournament when appearing on Yahoo Sports Daily.
“If I had to choose, I would choose Arizona,” Dybantsa said. “Big 12, played them twice, I know how they get. Any of those four teams are obviously capable, but I think I’d go Arizona to win it all.”
Dybantsa also offered a bit of a scouting report for both Arizona and Michigan.
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“Arizona’s super physical, so you definitely have to match their physicality,” Dybantsa said. I think Michigan probably has one of the best chances to beat them due to their size. But that was a big problem for us just having a 7-foot-1 guy in there…”
BYU Cougars forward AJ Dybantsa (3) during the second half against the Villanova Wildcats.Candice Ward-Imagn Images
(Candice Ward-Imagn Images)
In BYU’s two meetings with Arizona, they lost 86-83 back in January and fell again to the Wildcats 75-68 in February. While Dybantsa is likely not fond of those memories, he clearly respects his fellow Big 12 competitors.
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In a battle of No. 1 seeds, Michigan and Arizona will face off on Saturday at 8:49 p.m. ET in a game that will air on TBS.
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This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Apr 2, 2026, where it first appeared in the College section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.