Confidence high as No. 10 BYU hosts UC Riverside

AJ Dybantsa has been showing the game-changing abilities that have him in the mix to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.

AJ Dybantsa has been showing the game-changing abilities that have him in the mix to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.

No. 10 BYU begins a four-game home stretch at Provo, Utah, against UC Riverside on Saturday with Dybantsa coming off the finest performance of his budding career. The freshman forward tallied 28 points, nine rebounds, and six assists in leading the Cougars (7-1) to a 67-64 comeback victory over Clemson at New York on Tuesday.

Dybantsa took over the game after halftime in impressive fashion. Over the final 20 minutes, he scored 22 points on 7-of-11 shooting, collected seven rebounds and dished five assists. He scored one more point than Clemson had as a team and totaled two more assists than the Tigers.

Overall, Dybantsa scored or assisted on 34 of BYU's 45 second-half points.

"We have a little saying, him and I: 'Just pick a spot,'" BYU coach Kevin Young said after the game. "That was something I learned in the NBA with coaching really good players. Just pick a spot, and you're either able to make it or miss it. He was able to pick his spots tonight and made them pay."

While Robert Wright III won the game on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer, Dybantsa did the heavy lifting in rallying the Cougars from a 22-point second-half deficit -- the biggest second-half comeback in program history.

BYU surrendered 21 unanswered points going into halftime, allowing Clemson to build a 44-22 lead a minute into the second half. The Cougars clamped down defensively from there, allowing just two baskets from the floor over a 15-minute stretch as they clawed back into the game.

"I thought the look in their eyes got different," Young said. "I thought we were just kind of blank and just a little lifeless in the first half, honestly, so I challenged the guys just to come out with more of a competitive spirit."

Slowing down Dybantsa and BYU won't be easy for UC Riverside, which is facing its first power conference opponent of the season.

The Highlanders (5-5) opened Big West play last week with a road split against UC Irvine and Cal Poly, falling to the Anteaters 73-60 and beating the Mustangs 88-84 two days later.

Andrew Henderson and Marqui Worthy Jr. have been key difference-makers offensively for UC Riverside over the last two games.

Worthy is averaging 25.0 points per game against Big West opponents, while Henderson chipped in 19.0 points in the two games. Henderson scored 28 against Cal Poly, while Worthy had 24.

Eight of UC Riverside's first 11 games, including the trip to BYU, will have been on the road. The Highlanders are 3-4 away from home so far.

BYU is playing just its third home game of the season and its first since Nov. 11. The Cougars played in six straight neutral site contests -- going 5-1 in that stretch while picking up Quad 1 wins over Miami and Clemson.

BYU beat Cal Baptist 91-60 at Salt Lake City on Dec. 3, while Cal Baptist crushed UC Riverside, their in-city rival, 80-57 on Nov. 18.

--Field Level Media