College basketball rankings: BYU star freshman AJ Dybantsa adds to growing resume with spectacular performance
Duke's Cameron Boozer may be a lock for the Naismith Award, but AJ Dybantsa is treating college basketball fans to a spectatular season in his own right
As I noted on a recent episode of the Eye On College Basketball Podcast, the past 11 Naismith Award winners were on a team that finished in the top 10 at KenPom.com. Beyond that, it's 18 of the past 20 with the only exceptions being Texas' Kevin Durant in 2007 and Creighton's Doug McDermott in 2014.
Put another way, unless you're on a top-10 team, you'd better be a top-seven scorer in NCAA history (McDermott) or somebody who was so awesome in one year of college that nobody is surprised he's now a top-six scorer in NBA history (Durant). And, just so we're clear, let the record show that we've reached the point in this season where it's hard to see anybody other than Duke's Cameron Boozer winning the Naismith Award, the CBS Sports National POY Award or any other honor given to college basketball's best player.
Boozer has been terrific for the top-ranked team.
He deserves all of the trophies.
But my larger point is that BYU's AJ Dybantsa has also been so awesome -- just like Durant and McDermott were so awesome -- that he's the kind of player who could reasonably win a Naismith Award without being on a top-10 team if this were a different season and Boozer and Duke did not exist.
Did you see what Dybantsa did Tuesday? The 6-foot-8 freshman took 21 shots, made 15 of them and finished with 40 points, nine rebounds and six assists in the Cougars' 105-91 win over Kansas. State in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City. That effort broke Durant's previous record for points scored by a freshman in a Big 12 Tournament game, the record he set when he got 37 against Kansas in an 88-84 OT loss in the 2007 title game.
"[Dybantsa] was scoring every way possible," said BYU coach Kevin Young.
A candidate to be the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, Dybantsa is now averaging 25.2 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.9 assists while shooting 52% from the field. If you're curious, Durant averaged 25.8 points, 11.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists while shooting 47.3% from the field in his one season in the Big 12.
BYU is No. 26 in Wednesday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings, where Duke remains No. 1 for the 18th consecutive day. The Cougars' next game will be against West Virginia in the second round of the Big 12 Tournament. Tip is set for Wednesday at 7 pm ET.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Cameron Boozer finished with 26 points and 15 rebounds in Saturday's 76-61 win over North Carolina. The Blue Devils' next game will be Thursday in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament. | -- | 29-2 |
| 2 |  | Yaxel Lendeborg finished with 27 points and three rebounds in Sunday's 90-80 win over Michigan State. The Wolverines' next game will be Friday in the quarterfina;s of the Big Ten Tournament. | -- | 29-2 |
| 3 |  | Koa Peat finished with 25 points and four assists in Saturday's 89-79 win at Colorado. The Wildcats' next game will be Thursday in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament. | -- | 29-2 |
| 4 |  | Thomas Haugh finished with 20 points and nine rebounds in Saturday's 84-77 win at Kentucky. The Gators' next game will be Friday in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament. | -- | 25-6 |
| 5 |  | Chase McCarty finished with 20 points and four rebounds in Saturday's 82-75 win at Oklahoma State. The Cougars' next game will be Thursday in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament. | -- | 26-5 |
| 6 |  | Sam Hoiberg finished with 15 points and five steals in Sunday's 84-75 win over Iowa. The Cornhuskers' next game will be Friday in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament. | -- | 26-5 |
| 7 |  | Jordan Scott missed six of the seven shots he attempted in Sunday's 90-80 loss at Michigan. The Spartans' next game will be Friday in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament. | -- | 25-6 |
| 8 |  | Alex Karaban missed all six shots he attempted in Saturday's 68-62 loss at Marquette. The Huskies' next game will be Thursday in the quarterfinals of the Big East Tournament. | -- | 27-4 |
| 9 |  | Joshua Jefferson finished with 16 points and seven rebounds in Saturday's 86-65 win over Arizona State. The Cyclones' next game will be Wednesday against Cincinnati in the second round of the Big 12 Tournament. | -- | 25-6 |
| 10 |  | David Mirkovic finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds in Sunday's 78-72 win at Maryland. The Illini's next game will be Friday in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament. | -- | 24-7 |
| 11 |  | Malik Thomas finished with 16 points and two steals in Saturday's 76-72 win over Virginia Tech. The Cavaliers' next game will be Thursday in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament. | -- | 27-4 |
| 12 |  | Aden Holloway finished with 21 points and three rebounds in Saturday's 96-84 win over Auburn. The Crimson Tide's next game will be Friday in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament. | -- | 23-8 |
| 13 |  | Mario Saint-Supery finished with 19 points and five rebounds in Tuesday's 75-65 win over Santa Clara. The Zags' next game will be in the NCAA Tournament. | -- | 30-3 |
| 14 |  | Braden Smith missed 10 of the 18 shots he attempted in Saturday's 97-93 loss to Wisconsin. The Boilermakers' next game will be Thursday in the third round of the Big Ten Tournament. | -- | 23-8 |
| 15 |  | Tre White finished with 23 points and 11 rebounds in Saturday's 104-85 win over Kansas State. The Jayhawks' next game will be Wednesday against UCF in the second round of the Big 12 Tournament. | -- | 22-9 |
| 16 |  | Meleek Thomas finished with 28 points and seven rebounds in Saturday's 88-84 win at Missouri. The Razorbacks' next game will be Friday in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament. | -- | 23-8 |
| 17 |  | Zuby Ejiofor finished with 21 points and two rebounds in Friday's 72-65 win at Seton Hall. The Red Storm's next game will be Thursday in the quarterfinals of the Big East Tournament. | -- | 25-6 |
| 18 |  | Tyler Tanner finished with 25 points and three assists in Saturday's 86-82 win at Tennessee. The Commodores' next game will be Friday in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament. | -- | 24-7 |
| 19 |  | Eian Elmer finished with 32 points and 12 rebounds in Friday's 110-108 overtime win at Ohio. The RedHawks' next game will be Thursday in the quarterfinals of the MAC Tournament. | -- | 31-0 |
| 20 |  | Christian Anderson missed seven of the 11 shots he attempted in Tuesday's 73-65 loss to TCU. The Red Raiders' next game is Saturday at BYU. | -- | 22-9 |
| 21 |  | Jonathan Powell missed all four shots he attempted in Saturday's 76-61 loss at Duke. The Tar Heels' next game will be Thursday in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament. | -- | 24-7 |
| 22 |  | John Blackwell finished with 25 points and four rebounds in Saturday's 97-93 win at Purdue. The Badgers' next game will be Thursday in the third round of the Big Ten Tournament. | -- | 22-9 |
| 23 |  | Ryan Conwell finished with 24 points and two assists in Saturday's 92-89 win at Miami. The Cardinals' next game will be Wednesday in the second round of the ACC Tournament. | -- | 22-9 |
| 24 |  | Tru Washington missed seven of the 11 shots he attempted in Saturday's 92-89 loss to Louisville. The Hurricanes' next game will be Thursday in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament. | -- | 24-7 |
| 25 |  | Ja'Kobi Gillespie missed 17 of the 22 shots he attempted in Saturday's 86-82 loss to Vanderbilt. The Vols' next game will be Thursday in the second round of the SEC Tournament. | -- | 21-10 |
| 26 |  | AJ Dybantsa finished with 40 points and nine rebounds in Tuesday's 105-91 win over Kansas State. The Cougars' next game will be Wednesday against West Virginia in the second round of the Big 12 Tournament. | -- | 22-10 |
