There are reasons why No. 10 BYU basketball star freshman AJ Dybantsa is expected to be among those selected early in the 2026 NBA Draft. He showed everyone why again on Tuesday night, as he led the Cougars to a thrilling 67-64 neutral-site victory during a Jimmy V Classic presented by Modelo game at Madison Square Garden in New York over the Clemson Tigers.
Sophomore guard Robert Wright III delivered the game-winning bucket at the buzzer for the Cougars, but BYU wouldn't have been in such a position to win without the big performance, especially in the second half, of Dybantsa.
Dybantsa finished the contest with 28 points to lead all scorers, while shooting 9-for-17 from the floor and going 9-for-10 from the free throw line. He added nine rebounds and six assists in 34 minutes of action.
Dybantsa went down to work in the second half and did not let up. His 22 points, five assists, and 7-for-11 shooting from the field in the final 20 minutes of the game were better than the corresponding numbers Clemson posted over the same stretch, per ESPN Research (via Jeff Borzello of ESPN)
“Wild stat via ESPN Research: AJ Dybantsa had more points AND more assists than Clemson in the second half.
Points: 22-21
Assists: 5-3
Shooting 7-11 vs. 7-27”
The win over Clemson was the fifth straight for Dybantsa and the Cougars, whose only loss to date in the 2025-26 college basketball season was to the then-No. 3 UConn Huskies on Nov. 15.
The 8-1 BYU will head back home next for a matchup against the UC Riverside Highlanders at Marriott Center in Provo on Saturday.
