Age Of AJ
On a night when BYU had to have AJ Dybantsa carry them down the stretch, that's exactly what the freshman phenom did Monday vs Villanova in a 71-66 win, in his first college game.
The most anticipated college basketball season in years began Monday November 3 on a network that barely broadcast the sport outside of March Madness, in the neon wilderness of Las Vegas.
The late Ted Turner would have been proud of the enterprising spirit shown by whomever at TNT Sports had the idea to buy a full slate of college hoops that tipped off with this Hall Of Fame Series between the No. 8 Cougars and Villanova.
The same sentiment would go toward whomever decided in 2025, that a kid from Brockton, Massachusetts would be a prodigal son at BYU, THE big man on campus and its biggest freshman since a guy from Eugene, Oregon by the name of Danny Ainge set foot in Provo, carrying the Cougars to an Elite 8.
But that’s the load AJ Dybantsa is carrying, this season. BYU reached the Sweet Sixteen, last season, with a first-year coach plucked right out of the NBA who right from the opening tip at T-Mobile Arena Monday night, had Utah transfer Keba Keita blitzing Nova shooters on the perimeter.
A rare move in a rare season, to be sure, but Kevin Young wasn’t done. Now in his second year at BYU, the head coach got Dybantsa (pronounced DEE-bon-suh) the ball on a screen action, a move that was sure to net the freshman points this past summer when he donned the red, white and blue of Team USA. They’d practiced the action during warmups.
Instead, the native son of Brockie cut inside his man and found Keba Keita, the same guy who just got done blitzing several Wildcats, on a tap-in.
Then, Baylor transfer Rob Wright III scored on a layup.
It wasn’t until 17:56 showed on the arena clock in the first half that Dybantsa scored his first college points to give BYU a 6-4 lead.
Honestly, the beginning of the age of AJ felt underwhelming after Arizona freshman Koa Peat poured in 30 points in his Vegas opener. To have to follow that act by his Team USA roommate was a tough ask for fellow freshman Dybantsa, who didn’t score again until 12:44 was left in the first half.
The freshman reported to have signed for several million dollars would score twice more to up his halftime scoreline to eight points and four assists, and yet it was his teammates that did hard things, helping lift BYU to a 42-32 lead.
Down the stretch though, the ball did find the hands of Dybantsa. Villanova mounted a fierce second half comeback, trimming the BYU lead to 48-43 off five straight points from one player, the byproduct of an 11-5 run to start the second half.
But Dybantsa stopped the bleeding. His basket behind the three-point arc, that came courtesy of an open look provided by an extra pass from co-Preseason All-America selection Richie Saunders, increased the Cougars lead to 51-43 with 13:15 to play.
It was only temporary.
Behind a new head coach in Kevin Willard who also took Maryland to the NCAA Sweet 16, the Wildcats not only trimmed the lead more than before—they commanded their first lead of the game with 8:04 remaining. At 56-55, Nova held BYU to just four points in five minutes.
It was the kind of street fight ‘Nova was accustomed to having, a lead that seesawed from them falling behind 56-57 on a Saunders layup back to two on a three-point make.
That’s before Keita soared above the din, pushing the ball through the rim to knot the game at 59-59.
With 5:52 to go in Vegas, BYU bet on its bigs, and Keita, who finished with eight points, seven rebounds and three blocks, was an integral part. Of its next nine points, Dybantsa had six of them, taking over in the paint.
The Cougars went on an 8-0 run, and Dybantsa, who played a team-high 32 minutes, finished with 21 points, six rebounds and three assists in a place where it’s getting more difficult to beat the house.
On this night, however, BYU survived a tight one in what Nova’s new head coach said was “a road game” for his team, 71-66.
Were there holes in Dybantsa’s game? Yes. Shooting 50 percent from the field and 28 from the foul line emphasized that. But, when BYU needed him to carry the team on his back, on a night when Saunders was less than 100 percent healthy, that’s exactly what AJ was able to do. «
Overthink These Video Highlights📸
It would be easy to overthink a game that saw BYU going into the Big 12 Tournament a decided underdog for the first time in a long time. The Cougars haven’t had the kind of season that they’re accustomed to, a combination of transfers, injuries and graduations coupled with a team full of youth.
A 9-6-4 record left many believing that BYU, a team that had only won once in its last five games, was going to have a quick exit in Fort Worth, Texas. But, after the Cougars ended regulation and overtime deadlocked at two goals apiece against hosts and No. 5-ranked TCU, BYU got the break it wanted in penalty kicks, won the match and will move on to face No. 23 Baylor in the next round. «
If you missed the last BVU Show, it was contentious. We talked about how some football coaches withhold injury status on their players and how that might affect sports betting:
#BullshitOrNot
Thanks for reading; be safe and be well. I’ll see ya next time. Listen to Westside Sportzz, our hot new HS sports talk show that only covers SLC’s West side, Friday nights. And, stay tuned for the BVU Show, Sundays. «
Love the article on AJ