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At halftime of the Jimmy V Classic against Clemson, BYU found itself in a serious halftime deficit. The Cougars trailed 42-23 at the intermission inside Madison Square Garden and were in danger of being on the wrong side of an upset loss.

Then, BYU star AJ Dybantsa came alive. He scored 22 of his game-high 28 points in the second half and helped his team rally for a 67-64 win. It was a statement performance that vindicated the preseason hype around his name. The former five-star recruit is projected to be a top-three pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, with some believing he should be the first player selected this summer.

"One thing about AJ that he does a good job of, he really is a very fast processor," BYU coach Kevin Young said after the win over Clemson. "So I thought in the second half he made the needed adjustments where he could get to his spots a little bit more, and then the game kind of opened up from that standpoint."

2026 NBA Mock Draft: UNC's Caleb Wilson closing in on Darryn Peterson, AJ Dybantsa, Cameron Boozer
Kyle Boone
2026 NBA Mock Draft: UNC's Caleb Wilson closing in on Darryn Peterson, AJ Dybantsa, Cameron Boozer

Dybantsa's performance against Clemson was easily the best of his college career. In fact, Dybantsa outscored Clemson (22-21) by himself in the second half to help BYU improve to 8-1.

Let's jump into our rankings and get to our CBS Sports/USBWA Freshman of the Week for the 2025-26 college basketball season.

Freshman of the Week: AJ Dybantsa, BYU

Welcome back to the Frosh Watch, our weekly ranking of the ten most impressive freshmen in college basketball. For the 11th season in a row, CBS Sports has once again teamed up with the United States Basketball Writers Association and its Wayman Tisdale Freshman of the Year Award to present this every-Tuesday feature. Each week, we'll start by announcing the national Freshman of the Week honoree. The cycle for FOTW runs Tuesday-Monday.

Last week, college basketball fans/NBA scouts, and decision-makers saw why Dybantsa is special. Last week was the best two-game stretch of his college career by far. In the win over Clemson, Dybantsa scored 22 of his 28 points in the second half and also added nine rebounds and six assists.

AJ Dybantsa arrives as an elite player by leading late BYU rally in win vs. Clemson at Madison Square Garden
Matt Norlander
AJ Dybantsa arrives as an elite player by leading late BYU rally in win vs. Clemson at Madison Square Garden

In BYU's next game against UC Riverside, Dybantsa followed it up by finishing with 26 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and five steals in just 30 minutes during a 100-53 win. The tape Dybantsa put on display last week was incredible. It is something that could help his case to go No. 1 overall this summer.

Previous Freshman of the Week winners

Frosh Watch: Ranking top 10 freshmen

1. Cameron Boozer | F | Duke 

Stats: 23.0 PPG | 9.9 RPG | 3.8 APG 

Duke and Boozer were idle last week. The Blue Devils face Lipscomb on Tuesday and No. 19 Texas Tech on Saturday. Boozer finished with 18 points, 15 rebounds and five assists in his last outing against Michigan State. Last week: 1

2. AJ Dybantsa | F | BYU

Stats: 20.9 PPG | 6.7 RPG | 3.4 APG 

Dybantsa had a week to remember in BYU's wins over Clemson and UC Riverside. The highest-ranked recruit in BYU program history showed why he will be a top-three pick this summer. When the Cougars needed a bucket down the stretch, Dybantsa was the guy. Last week: 4

3. Darryn Peterson | G | Kansas

Stats: 19.3 PPG | 3.8 RPG | 2.8 APG

Peterson scored 17 points and added five rebounds and four assists during Kansas' 77-76 win over NC State. However, Peterson exited in the final minutes of regulation against NC State due to an apparent hamstring injury. That injury cost Peterson seven games last time. It's unclear how much time Peterson could miss this time around. Kansas plays Towson on Tuesday. Last week: 2

4. Caleb Wilson | F | North Carolina

Stats: 19.4 PPG | 10.6 RPG | 2.5 APG

Wilson finished with his third consecutive double-double (20 points, 11 rebounds) in an 80-62 win over South Carolina Upstate. Wilson has recorded a double-double in seven of his 10 appearances thus far. UNC faces East Tennessee State on Tuesday before playing Ohio State in the CBS Sports Classic this weekend. Last week: 3

5. Darius Acuff Jr. | G | Arkansas

Stats: 17.7 PPG | 3.1 RPG | 5.7 APG 

Acuff had an impressive outing in Arkansas' 93-86 win over Texas Tech last weekend. Acuff finished with 20 points, eight assists and four rebounds and shot 7 of 14 from the floor. Acuff has recorded at least eight assists in each of his last three games. Last week: 7

6. Mikel Brown Jr. | G | Louisville

Stats: 16.6 PPG | 3.0 RPG | 5.1 APG 

Brown finished with 16 points and three assists in Louisville's 99-73 win over Memphis. What was encouraging from his performance was the 3-point shooting, as he finished 2 of 5 from beyond the arc. On the season, Brown is shooting just 26.8% from distance. That number should go up as ACC play approaches. Last week: 5

7. Koa Peat | F | Arizona

Stats: 14.8 PPG | 5.0 RPG | 2.9 APG

Peat logged just 20 minutes and finished with six points in Arizona's 96-75 win over Alabama. Peat and fellow first-year co-star Brayden Burries helped the Wildcats stay atop the latest AP Top 25 poll. Burries scored 28 points in that win over the Crimson Tide. Last week: 6 

Arizona still No. 1 in AP Top 25 poll over Michigan; Nebraska surges in latest college basketball rankings
Cameron Salerno
Arizona still No. 1 in AP Top 25 poll over Michigan; Nebraska surges in latest college basketball rankings

8. Nate Ament | F | Tennessee 

Stats: 16.3 PPG | 7.1 RPG | 2.8 APG 

Ament and Tennessee were idle this week. The Volunteers face No. 11 Louisville on Tuesday in a clash of two of the top first-year players in the sport: Ament and Brown. Last week: 8

9. Kingston Flemings | G | Houston

Stats: 14.8 PPG | 3.3 RPG | 4.9 APG

Flemings scored 15 points and dished out three assists in a blowout win over New Orleans. Flemings has logged just 19 minutes in each of Houston's last two games. The Cougars have a date with No. 14 Arkansas this weekend. Last week: 9

10. Hannes Steinbach | F | Washington

Stats: 17.9 PPG | 11.9 RPG | 2.7 APG 

Steinbach checked into the rankings and earned Freshman of the Week honors after two standout performances against UCLA and USC. In his latest outing, he finished with 14 points and six assists in just 23 minutes during a blowout win over Southern Utah. Washington has a showdown with Seattle U next. Last week: 10