March 10, 2026; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; BYU Cougars forward AJ Dybantsa (3) slaps hands with BYU Cougars guard Robert Wright III (1) after the second half of the game against the Kansas State Wildcats at T-Mobile Center. Mandatory Credit: William Purnell-Imagn Image AJ Dybantsa put on a show on the opening day of the Big 12 Tournament on Tuesday, and will be expected to continue his starring role as 10th-seeded BYU faces seventh-seeded West Virginia in the second round Wednesday night in Kansas City, Missouri.
Dybantsa became the first freshman in league history to score 40 points in a tournament game, leading the Cougars to a 105-91 win over 15th-seeded Kansas State.
The previous record belonged to former Texas great Kevin Durant, who scored 37 points against Kansas in the 2007 Big 12 Tournament.
“What he was doing was very impressive because he was scoring in every way possible. He was scoring in the post, he was scoring in transition, he was scoring in the pick-and-roll, he was scoring in isolation,” BYU coach Kevin Young said. “I thought it just put his skills on full display. I think he’s the most skilled offensive player in college basketball, and that was on full display tonight.”
Dybantsa is the country’s leading scorer, averaging 25.2 points per game. Kennard Davis Jr. also had an impressive performance in the opener against BYU (22-10), knocking down four second-half 3-pointers and scoring 15 points.
It won’t be easy to replicate this offensive performance against West Virginia (18-13). The Mountaineers have the second-best defense in the league, limiting opponents to an average of 64.6 points per game. But their offense ranks last in the Big 12, averaging just 69.9 points per game.
But West Virginia hopes to make a late push to get into the March Madness conversation. The team that beat then-No. BYU was ranked 19th at 79-71 on Feb. 28 and closed the regular season with a 77-62 win over UCF on Friday. Honor Huff led the team in both wins, scoring 19 points against BYU and 24 against UCF, scoring a team-high 15.8 points per game this season.
Now attention is focused on extending the season as much as possible.
“You’re fighting to keep playing games, but if you really care about each other, you’re fighting to see one more movie, one more plane ride, one more bus trip,” West Virginia coach Ross Hodge said. “And the teams I’ve been around have had the same level of success as us, and they enjoy being around each other this time of year.”
–Field level media
