Oftentimes, when a No. 6 seed is upset by a No. 11 seed in March Madness, as the BYU Cougars were on Thursday, it’s easy to blame the star player of said team. In this case, it’d be AJ Dybantsa, the potential No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.

Well, as disappointing as BYU’s loss was, Dybantsa lived up to his immense hype, and then some. He was the reason the game was somewhat competitive. Sure, it’s disappointing he was unable to save BYU, but in this case, we need to focus on what he was able to do. He passed the March Madness test with flying colors.

AJ Dybantsa cannot be blamed at all for crushing BYU loss

Anytime a favorite is upset in the NCAA Tournament it’s disappointing, and this is especially the case following a mostly disappointing regular season from BYU. Armed with a generational talent in Dybantsa, this was BYU’s big chance to make serious noise in March Madness, and they failed to win a single game. There are a couple of reasons why this loss cannot be blamed on him, though.

First and foremost, BYU was without one of its best players, Richie Saunders, in this game after he tore his ACL. Saunders averaged 18 points per game in the regular season to go along with 5.8 rebounds and a team-leading 1.7 steals. Winning without a two-way talent of his caliber is easier said than done.

Second, and more importantly, can we talk about how well Dybantsa played? I mean, again, if it weren’t for him, this game wouldn’t have been remotely competitive. He carried BYU from start to finish.

AJ Dybantsa looked every bit like a future NBA star

Dybantsa played every second of this game, which is impressive enough, but he also did just about everything he possibly could offensively to carry BYU. The 19-year-old dropped 35 of BYU’s 71 points, made all 12 of his free throw attempts, and grabbed 10 rebounds. Sure, he shot less than 50 percent from the field, and he didn’t shoot it particularly well from three-point range, but Dybantsa scored essentially half of BYU’s points on good enough efficiency against a formidable opponent. He was particularly dominant from mid-range, scoring at all sorts of angles.

Dailyn Swain isn’t exactly the prospect Dybantsa is, but he’s a potential upcoming lottery pick in his own right. Being matched up against him is no easy feat, especially with how impactful a defender Swain can be, yet Dybantsa took over for much of the night. Heck, head coach Sean Miller went as far as to say Dybantsa literally couldn’t be slowed down by his own team. Talk about praise.

It felt as if every time Texas was going to pull away, Dybantsa came roaring back. When the Longhorns took a commanding 17-point lead in the second half, Dybantsa responded with eight straight points by himself. Doing that on tired legs on that stage is no easy feat, and something only purely gifted scorers are capable of. Despite having to do everything seemingly by himself, the Cougars didn’t even lose by double figures.

There’s not much to say other than he met the moment. Dybantsa had the challenge of facing a Texas team with a ton of momentum coming off a First Four victory without help. Robert Wright III was the only other BYU player to even crack double figures. As disappointing as it is to see perhaps the most talented freshman in this year’s class bow out in the Round of 64, I can confidently say there’s nothing else he could’ve done, and that’s rare when a star-led team loses this early.

When Dybantsa is selected in the top three of the upcoming NBA Draft, don’t let this early exit cloud your judgment. He is already a star and is only going to get better.

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