The No. 1 recruit had a career-high 43 points in BYU\u2019s win over Utah on Saturday. <\/p>\n
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) BYU Cougars forward AJ Dybantsa (3) eyes a free throw as BYU hosts Utah, NCAA basketball in Provo on Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026.<\/p>\n
With 11 minutes remaining in the second half, AJ Dybantsa looked up at BYU\u2019s scoreboard, as the Cougar faithful roared around him. <\/p>\n
Everything was flowing. His teammates were telling him to stay aggressive. <\/p>\n
But he wasn\u2019t sure then that he could break a BYU freshman record long held by legend Danny Ainge or how close he was to scoring 43 points in No. 13 BYU\u2019s 91-78 win over Utah on Saturday.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I hit 26 points, [Rob Wright III] and [Tyler Mrus] were saying \u2018keep being aggressive,\u2019\u201d Dybantsa said postgame. \u201cBut Tyler actually said, \u2018Yo, you better get 40.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cI looked up at the scoreboard … and I was like \u2018I might be able to get it.\u2019 And I kept going off. I kept hitting shots.\u201d <\/p>\n
BYU\u2019s student section was asking for it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want 40. We want 40. We want 40,\u201d The ROC students shouted to heralded No. 1 recruit AJ Dybantsa in The Marriott Center on Saturday. <\/p>\n
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) BYU Cougars forward AJ Dybantsa (3) makes a dunkas BYU hosts Utah, NCAA basketball in Provo on Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026.<\/p>\n
With 38 points already stowed away in his knapsack, Dybantsa heeded their calls. The 6-foot-9 forward called for the ball after setting a screen for Rob Wright at the top of the key. He faked left and stepped back on Utah guard Terrence Brown from the 3-point line, netting his 41st point of the night with 3:12 left in the second half. <\/p>\n
\u201cI just wanted to see him get it,\u201d Wright III said of his pass to the freshman. \u201cI know we talked about it before the game. … To see him actually go out there and get it today, it was just a great feeling. I was super happy for him.<\/p>\n
Dybantsa wanted a little bit more though.<\/p>\n
A possession later the freshman slipped past a flailing Runnin\u2019 Ute defender before rocketing through the air for a one-handed jam. <\/p>\n
The Cougars home arena erupted. Dybantsa pumped his fist and belted out a celebratory roar at midcourt. <\/p>\n
He had secured his 43rd and final points of the night. Dybantsa shattered Ainge\u2019s record for the most points scored by a BYU freshman in a single game (36 points, set in 1977). <\/p>\n
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Utes guard Terrence Brown (2) blocks BYU Cougars forward AJ Dybantsa (3) from making a dunk as BYU hosts Utah, NCAA basketball in Provo on Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a generational talent, and he showed what he\u2019s capable of tonight,\u201d Utah head coach Alex Jensen said after the game. \u201cThere\u2019s no telling how good he could get.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe sky\u2019s the limit.\u201d <\/p>\n
Before BYU\u2019s win, Illinois\u2019 Keaton Wagler and Houston\u2019s Kingston Flemings \u2014 two freshmen who are potential NBA draft picks \u2014 secured their own 40-point games on Saturday.<\/p>\n
After BYU\u2019s win, Dybantsa became the third freshman of the day to secure the mark. He was also watching Flemings in BYU\u2019s locker room before the rivalry game.<\/p>\n
\u201cI saw Kingston live when he hit that 42 mark,\u201d Dybantsa said. \u201cThese freshmen are going crazy. I feel like we have a crazy class. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think we have one of the best classes in recent years. It feels good. I\u2019ve been playing against these guys since I was 15 years old.\u201d <\/p>\n
While Dybantsa was aware of the high-level performances happening across the country, he had to be reminded of the stakes of the Utah vs. BYU rivalry game.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t know too much about the rivalry,\u201d Dybantsa said. \u201cLike, I\u2019m from Boston, but people were just dragging it the whole time talking about \u2018Utah this and Utah that.\u2019 <\/p>\n
\u201cI was like, \u2018I guess, I guess I\u2019ll go off for y\u2019all.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n
With Dybantsa\u2019s performance, the Cougars and their No. 1 recruit are back on track following a loss to Texas Tech last week. <\/p>\n
BYU still has much to prove with a grueling Big 12 slate ahead of it, including upcoming contests against No. 1 Arizona at home and No. 19 Kansas on the road. <\/p>\n
Cougar head coach Kevin Young is certain of one thing following Dybantsa\u2019s career day.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think he\u2019s the hands down the clear-cut No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft,\u201d Yoing said. \u201cIt was on full display tonight. He was doing it every which way.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe came out tonight with unfazed mentality and had a clear want to, I think, to just go out and dominate the game.\u201d <\/p>\n
Note to readers \u2022 This story is available to Salt Lake Tribune subscribers only. Thank you for supporting local journalism.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The No. 1 recruit had a career-high 43 points in BYU\u2019s win over Utah on Saturday. (Francisco Kjolseth…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":559216,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[7,1580,5150,6,12],"class_list":{"0":"post-559215","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba-draft","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-byu","10":"tag-byu-basketball","11":"tag-nba","12":"tag-nba-draft"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/115953901547916528","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/559215","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=559215"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/559215\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/559216"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=559215"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=559215"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=559215"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}