The Dance Is Over — Now the Real Work Begins

AJ Dybantsa gave BYU everything he had Thursday night in Portland — 35 points, 10 rebounds, and a perfect 12-for-12 from the foul line. It wasn't enough. The 11-seeded Texas Longhorns walked out of the Moda Center with a 79-71 upset, and the Cougars' season is over.

Two numbers explain the loss: Texas out-rebounded BYU 40-31 and doubled them up from three-point range. But the real story now isn't what went wrong — it's what comes next. Xavion Staton, Dawson Baker's potential return, the transfer portal, and the question every Cougar fan is asking: what does BYU basketball look like without AJ Dybantsa?

Read the full breakdown at Utah Sports Ink.

BYU basketball enters the 2026 NCAA Tournament as a No. 6 seed facing No. 11 Texas Thursday at Moda Center in Portland. Despite being dismissed by national analysts, KenPom gives BYU a 60% win probability. Utah Sports Ink columnist Terry Tebbs makes the statistical case for a Cougar victory — examining Kennard Davis's three-point resurgence, the Mboup-Diomande defensive transformation, and why AJ Dybantsa's growth as a point forward is the story no one is telling.