BYU envisioned success with AJ Dybantsa. It ended with early March Madness exit

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BYU envisioned success with AJ Dybantsa. It ended with early March Madness exit

BYU envisioned success with AJ Dybantsa. It ended with early March Madness exit

Jordan Mendoza, USA TODAY · USA TODAY Sports

Fri, Mar 20, 2026 ·

4 min read

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PORTLAND, OR — In the middle of the Men's NCAA Tournament first-round matchup between No. 6 seed BYU and No. 11 Texas , Longhorns coach Sean Miller was asked on the CBS broadcast how to stop Cougars star AJ Dybantsa .

"We can't," Miller said.

Unable to stop one of the best players in the game, but Texas did the next best thing: outplay the rest of BYU .

REQUIRED READING: March Madness live scores: Upsets, close calls, highlights from NCAA first round

The first March Madness for Dybantsa was short-and-sweet — not the kind he hoped for. Despite another stellar outing from the freshman phenom, BYU was upset by Texas 79-71 to end what was supposed to be a promising campaign.

"As far as the season, it's tough dealing with that type of adversity. But I'd rather do it with nobody else," Dybantsa said.

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AJ Dybantsa scores 35 in NCAA Tournament as BYU falls to Texas, 79–71

PORTLAND, OREGON - MARCH 19: AJ Dybantsa #3 of the BYU Cougars dribbles the ball while being guarded by Tramon Mark #12 of the Texas Longhorns during the second half in the first round of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Moda Center on March 19, 2026 in Portland, Oregon.

(Soobum Im, Getty Images)

PORTLAND, OREGON - MARCH 19: AJ Dybantsa #3 of the BYU Cougars reacts against the Texas Longhorns during the second half in the first round of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Moda Center on March 19, 2026 in Portland, Oregon.
(Soobum Im, Getty Images)

PORTLAND, OREGON - MARCH 19: AJ Dybantsa #3 of the BYU Cougars attempts a shot while being guarded by Dailyn Swain #3 of the Texas Longhorns during the second half in the first round of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Moda Center on March 19, 2026 in Portland, Oregon.
(Soobum Im, Getty Images)

PORTLAND, OREGON - MARCH 19: AJ Dybantsa #3 of the BYU Cougars dunks the ball over Tramon Mark #12 of the Texas Longhorns during the second half in the first round of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Moda Center on March 19, 2026 in Portland, Oregon.
(Soobum Im, Getty Images)

PORTLAND, OREGON - MARCH 19: AJ Dybantsa #3 of the BYU Cougars dribbles the ball while being guarded by Nic Codie #10 of the Texas Longhorns during the second half in the first round of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Moda Center on March 19, 2026 in Portland, Oregon.
(Soobum Im, Getty Images)

PORTLAND, OREGON - MARCH 19: AJ Dybantsa #3 of the BYU Cougars dribbles the ball while being guarded by Dailyn Swain #3 of the Texas Longhorns during the second half in the first round of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Moda Center on March 19, 2026 in Portland, Oregon
(Soobum Im, Getty Images)

PORTLAND, OREGON - MARCH 19: AJ Dybantsa #3 of the BYU Cougars attempts a shot while being guarded by Camden Heide #5 of the Texas Longhorns during the first half in the first round of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Moda Center on March 19, 2026 in Portland, Oregon.
(Soobum Im, Getty Images)

PORTLAND, OREGON - MARCH 19: AJ Dybantsa #3 of the BYU Cougars attempts a shot while being guarded by Jordan Pope #0 and Dailyn Swain #3 of the Texas Longhorns during the first half in the first round of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Moda Center on March 19, 2026 in Portland, Oregon.
(Soobum Im, Getty Images)

PORTLAND, OREGON - MARCH 19: AJ Dybantsa #3 of the BYU Cougars attempts a shot while being guarded by Tramon Mark #12 and Nic Codie #10 of the Texas Longhorns during the first half in the first round of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Moda Center on March 19, 2026 in Portland, Oregon.
(Soobum Im, Getty Images)

PORTLAND, OREGON - MARCH 19: AJ Dybantsa #3 of the BYU Cougars looks on against the Texas Longhorns during the second half in the first round of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Moda Center on March 19, 2026 in Portland, Oregon
(Soobum Im, Getty Images)

Dybantsa had a game-high 35 points and 10 rebounds in what is all but officially his final college basketball game, playing in a building — the Moda Center — in which he will likely play at the next level.

"Thought there were moments in tonight's game where he just looked like that Portland Trailblazer floor should have been down there," said BYU coach Kevin Young. "Just look like an NBA player, the stuff he's able to do on the court."

From the jump, the Longhorns really didn't have an answer for Dybantsa. He made his first four shots of the night — including a beautiful midrange pull up on a double-team — for 10 points in the first eight minutes. It looked like the night would belong to him.

Instead, Texas controlled the game the rest of the way.

REQUIRED READING: AJ Dybantsa points tonight: How many points did BYU star score in upset loss to Texas?

Even as Dybantsa continued to score, the Longhorns only strengthened their lead. He had 20 points at halftime, but Texas was up by nine points.

No matter what Dybantsa did — run the baseline for a casual two-hand reverse dunk or draw fouls for a 12-for-12 night from the charity stripe — it hardly made a dent in Texas' grip of the game. BYU was able to make it interesting, cutting the deficit to four points with less than 90 seconds to go, but it didn't score the rest of the way.

Texas led for all but 53 seconds of the game, and that happened midway through the first half. So how did the Longhorns pick up their second win of the tournament, even when Dybantsa has another big scoring night?

The goal, really, was to not let anyone else contribute: The rest of the Cougars scored 36 points, with no points from the bench.

"The key for us, in addition to just him, is not allowing everybody else to join in," Miller said. "We just wanted to make sure that we did a great job rebounding and that we did as good of a job as we can guarding the rest of the group. I think that's really why we were able to win."

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For BYU, it's a disastrous end to what many believed could be the greatest season in program history. The No. 8 team in the USA TODAY Sports preseason Coaches Poll , the Cougars raced to a 17-2 start with the build off a Final Four contender.

Then things derailed. It lost four straight games and eventually lost sharp shooter Richie Saunders for the season to finish 6-9, resulting in the No. 6 seed in the tournament.

There was still hope for a possible March run, but it only got one game.

Even though Dybantsa didn't formally declare he'd headed to the NBA — he said he has to talk to his family, mainly mom since she "makes the decision in life in my family" — the presumption is he will bolt to the pros, where he likely will be the No. 1 pick in the 2026 draft.

"I'm happy I chose here. I definitely made the right decision," Dybantsa said.

While everyone in the sport knew he was only here for this campaign, BYU hoped he would become a pro after leading the Cougars to their first Final Four. Instead, it was a first-round exit, the third loss to a No. 11 seed in the opening round in its last four tournament appearances.

That's not what BYU got: Just like Dybantsa, the Cougars are one-and-done.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Like AJ Dybantsa, BYU basketball is one-and-done in March Madness

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