MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — About the fourth or fifth time that A.J. Dybantsa crashed to the floor, and he looked up at an official in both shock and vain, one of the most talented freshmen in college basketball must have finally figured out that he wasn’t going to get a call.
Welcome to life in the Big 12 Conference.
Dybantsa still poured in 24 points while leading No. 10 BYU to an 83-73 victory over Kansas State on Saturday, the first true road game for the Cougars all season. But he did it while committing seven turnovers and showing visible frustration throughout much of the first half, a learning experience if ever there was one for the potential No. 1 pick in next year’s NBA draft.
“Definitely,” Dybantsa said, “coach was telling me it was going to be more physical than our nonconference games.”
Few leagues are as rough-and-tumble as the Big 12, but it’s also worth pointing out that Dybantsa doesn’t even turn 19 until later this month, and the swingman could just as well be playing his senior season of high school; he reclassified to this year’s freshman class a couple of years ago, when it already was clear that Dybantsa’s game — if not his physique — was ready for the big time.
Even Dybantsa acknowledged Saturday the need to spend some more time in the weight room.
Kansas State did everything it could to muddy up the game, rotating an exhausting number of bodies onto the 6-foot-9 forward, who found himself in a bit of foul trouble because of it. BYU coach Kevin Young wound up sitting Dybantsa for a few minutes — a move that he typically does not make — not only to keep him from picking up another foul but to give him a chance to reset.
“I trust all our guys in that situation,” Young said, “but him in particular, I trust him in terms of his IQ for the game.”
The nation’s second-leading scorer, Dybantsa was coming off perhaps the best performance of his young career, when he scored 33 points with 10 rebounds and 10 assists against Eastern Washington. It was only the second 30-10-10 triple-double in the history of the Big 12, and it was a performance that underscored that the McDonald’s All-American is much more than just a scorer.
Against the Wildcats, Dybantsa complemented his 24 points with eight rebounds and three assists.
The Cougars needed all of them, too, because P.J. Haggerty answered Dybantsa nearly bucket for bucket for Kansas State. The nation’s No. 3 scorer, Haggerty scored 24 points with seven rebounds and six assists.
But while Dybantsa was doing his work with a fluid inside-outside game that has been making pro scouts drool, the Wildcats guard was putting up points by driving through contact to the basket. And that highlighted the difference between a first-year player and a fourth-year junior, both in terms of their physicality and high-level college experience.
“Those are two really good players out there,” said Kansas State coach Jerome Tang, who recruited Dybantsa heavily before losing out on him to BYU. “I thought they matched their stat lines. It was just one of those things.”
The difference in the game itself was their supporting casts. Dybantsa got 18 points from Robert Wright III and big games from Richie Saunders and Keba Keita, while Haggerty’s best wingman — Abdi Bashir Jr. — was largely shut out in the second half.
“You know, I’ve been watching A.J. since he was in the seventh grade. Loved him and his family. Had a great time recruiting him,” Tang said. “I’ve watched his games this season, and he’s been one of the most efficient players. He was very efficient again.”
So efficient that Dybantsa scored those 24 points on just 15 shots.
The Cougars have hung around 10th in the AP Top 25 all season — they were eighth in the preseason poll — but could be on the rise as they begin churning through Big 12 play. They’ve won 10 straight since their only loss, a nip-and-tuck two-point setback against No. 4 UConn back in November, their longest winning streak since Jimmer Fredette’s senior season in 2010.
That year, BYU rose as high as No. 3 in the poll in late February.
If the Cougars are going to reach those heights, Dybantsa will be a big reason for it.
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