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BYU forward AJ Dybantsa, center, celebrates with guard Robert Wright III, right, during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Utah, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, in Provo, Utah.

Tyler Tate, AP Photo

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BYU guard Richie Saunders (15) drives to the basket guarded by Utah forward Kendyl Sanders (13) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, in Provo, Utah.

Tyler Tate, AP Photo

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Utah guard Terrence Brown, center left, has his shot blocked by BYU center Keba Keita, center right, during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, in Provo, Utah.

Tyler Tate, AP Photo

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BYU head coach Kevin Young reacts during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Utah, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, in Provo, Utah. (AP Photo/Tyler Tate)

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During a time out in the second half of the BYU-Utah men’s basketball game on Saturday, Cougar head coach Kevin Young came up with a play he wanted to run.

“Coach (Will) Voigt was like, ‘Nah, let’s just keep going to the hot hand,'” Young recalled.

Good choice.

That hot hand was obviously AJ Dybantsa, who broke the BYU freshman single-game scoring record with a career-high 43 points in the a 91-78 victory against the Utes at the Marriott Center.

Dybantsa scored 19 points in the first half but really took off with 24 points in the second, including a stretch of 13 in a row to break the record and soar past 40 points.

In BYU’s 89-84 victory at Utah two weeks ago, the Utes opted to run two or three defenders at Dybantsa, who still got 20 on just 11 shots. On Saturday, Utah was in straight man coverage for most of the game and Dybantsa was pretty much unstoppable.

Dybantsa’s total topped the 36 points scored by Cougar legend Danny Ainge in 1977.

“It feels good,” Dybantsa said. “It feels good to break any record, even if it was Danny’s or not. I just thank my teammates for giving me the ball in the right spots. God was on my side, I was hitting shots.”

Young added, “I’ve also got to give credit to the team. The execution was probably as good as it’s been all year. We were moving him around a little bit more than we usually do, because of how they guarded him up there. We wanted to get him on the move more and it was harder to double team him. Our guys did a good job of screening and getting him the ball. It was fun. Hopefully, everyone will look back on tonight and have fond memories of it.”

With 448 points, Dybantsa is now fourth on the all-time BYU freshman season scoring list, surpassing Mekeli Wesley (406) and Mark Bigelow (419). Ainge holds the No. 1 spot with 632 points in 1977-78.

Scouting Report

The next big game comes quickly for BYU, which hosts No. 1 Arizona at the Marriott Center on Monday.

The Cougars have hosted the nation’s No. 1 team three times without a win: Gonzaga (2017 and 2021) and Kentucky (1951), according to team historical records.

BYU is 1-9 all-time against the AP No. 1 team, the victory coming in Spokane against Gonzaga in 2017. An assistant coach on that ‘Zags team was Tommy Lloyd, now the head man at Arizona.

The Wildcats (20-0 overall, 7-0 Big 12) have been an absolute juggernaut this season. Despite losing leading scorer Caleb Love to the NBA and big man Henri Veesaar to North Carolina, Arizona is even better in 2026. Seven Wildcats average at least nine points per game, led by freshman Koa Peat (14.7), freshman Brayden Burries (14.6), senior Jaden Bradley (13.5) and 7-foot-2 junior Motiejus Krivas (11.3).

Arizona leads the Big 12 in almost every offensive category, including points per game (89.9), field goal percentage (.516), free throws attempted (26.65 per game) and rebounding (43.4).

“It’s going to be a major possession battle,” Young said. “I think we’re the top two offensive rebounding teams in the Big 12, so the possession game is going to be very critical.”

BYU doesn’t practice on Sundays, so the preparation time is different than for most games.

“We’ll be able to have some great discussion with our players,” Young said. “We already started after the game (with Utah), just talking about the similarities that we can draw from it for the Arizona game.

“I actually like when the regular season schedule gets funky, because I think it prepares you well for the postseason. You never know kind of how quick your turnarounds are going to be and that kind of thing, especially when you have to play a good team, which is what will happen in March. So I think that’ll be a good thing we can reference even later in the year.”

Last season, Arizona beat BYU at the Marriott Center but the Cougars responded by taking down the Wildcats in Tucson.

“It’s going to be a tough game but that’s what you live for,” Dybantsa said. “This is why I came to the Big 12, to play teams like this. Obviously, I know Koa, for the last three years I’ve been winning gold medals with him. It’s going to be a great environment. We’re looking to hand them their first loss. The Marriott Center is going to be behind us and we’ll be prepared for them.”

Men’s College Basketball

No. 1 Arizona (20-0, 7-0 Big 12) at No. 13 BYU (17-2, 5-1 Big 12)

Monday, 7 p.m. MT

Marriott Center, Provo

TV/Streaming: ESPN

Radio: KSL 102.7/1160 AM, BYU Radio-Sirus XM 143

Live stats: byucougars.com

The Word: Monday will be the 42nd meeting between BYU and Arizona, with the Wildcats leading the series 21-20. … This is the third time in school history BYU has hosted the AP No. 1 team. … The Cougars have won 13 straight home games since Arizona won at the Marriott Center last February. … Monday is the 15-year anniversary of Jimmer Fredette’s 43-point game in a win against San Diego State at the Marriott Center.