AJ Dybantsa keeps rising and is carrying No. 9 BYU with him going into their Big 12 home opener Wednesday night against Arizona State in Provo, Utah.
Dybantsa has climbed the charts to become the nation’s leading scorer at 23.1 points per game. The freshman phenom scored 24 points and collected eight rebounds to help the Cougars (13-1, 1-0 Big 12) open league play with an 83-73 victory at Kansas State on Saturday.
Dybantsa also had seven turnovers, a sore spot that lingered for him after the game.
“The (seven) turnovers is unacceptable,” he told the Deseret News. “I gotta be stronger. I can be stronger.”
Dybantsa is able to compensate for flaws in his game with dominance in other areas. BYU has won 10 straight games for the first time since the 2010-11 season in large part because he has a consistent knack for taking over games at the right moments.
Dybantsa scored at least 22 points in each of his last seven games. He is shooting 58.6% from the field on the season.
BYU’s latest win was its first in a Big 12 road opener since joining the league in 2023-24. The Cougars overcame 19 turnovers by attacking the glass against Kansas State, posting a 47-35 edge in total rebounds and scoring numerous second-chance baskets.
“We are not really a high turnover team. Give Kansas State credit. They were super physical,” BYU coach Kevin Young told the Deseret News following the game. “The only way we were able to combat that was with our offensive rebounds.”
Defensively, the Cougars held the Wildcats to 3-of-21 shooting from the perimeter.
Arizona State faces a stiff challenge trying to figure out how to keep pace with BYU on either end of the court.
The Sun Devils (9-5, 0-1) dropped their Big 12 home opener against Colorado on Saturday, falling 95-89 to the Buffaloes. It was their third consecutive loss.
Arizona State rallied from a 14-point deficit to take an 81-80 lead with 4:05 left. But the Sun Devils struggled with foul trouble down the stretch and Colorado made 12 free throws over the final four minutes to secure the win.
Moe Odum led Arizona State with 21 points and 12 assists for his first double-double of the season, but he also coughed up turnovers on consecutive possessions in the final minute. The Buffaloes shot 49% from the field and outrebounded the Sun Devils 42-32.
“We weren’t ready to play and defend and play with energy at that end of the floor, and it cost us,” Arizona State coach Bobby Hurley told AZCentral.com after the game. “We had to play from behind, and these games aren’t played like this anymore.”
BYU swept both meetings with Arizona State a season ago, winning them by an average of 15 points.
