#Texas Upsets Top-Seed DYBANTSA in March Madness Opener (KSL)
Eleven-seeded Texas defeated sixth-ranked Brigham Young University by a score of seven-nine to one, marking the end for AJ Dybantsa's historic freshman season. BYU forward Matas Vokietaitis led all scorers with twenty-three points and sixteen rebounds as he helped his team overcome thirty-five from DYBANTSA in Portland on Thursday night. Despite playing every minute against a strong Texas lineup featuring four players scoring double digits, the Cougars could not secure their first-round victory at home.
Key Points
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1No. 11-seeded Texas defeated sixth-seeded BYU in a first-round NCAA Tournament upset with a final score of 79-71.
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2Matas Vokietaitis led the Cougars' offense and defense, scoring 23 points while grabbing 16 rebounds despite losing on his team's depth issues.
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3AJ Dybantsa made history by debuting in March Madness for BYU but could not prevent an upset against Texas after playing every minute of regulation time.
Developments
In an NCAA Tournament first-round game at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon, sixth-seeded BYU lost to eleventh-seed Texas by a score of 79–71. Freshman AJ Dybantsa scored his career-highs with 35 points and nearly led a comeback bid before being overwhelmed on both ends as he became just one player since Stephen Curry in the NBA Draft era (2008) to reach double digits from free-throw line for BYU, while Texas' Matas Vokietaitis contributed significantly.
BYU freshman star Ajay "AJ" Dye (note: text says DYBANTSA) scored 20 points on his first NCAA Tournament double-double in a loss to Texas. The Cougars' offensive collapse was exacerbated by the absence of Richie Saunders and limited bench production, leaving Dybantsa exhausted after carrying nearly all team responsibilities for an inefficient performance that included only one three-pointer from seven attempts at range (text says 1-for-7).
AJ Dybantsa made his tournament debut for BYU against Texas on March 20 in a game where he extended his scoring streak to include at least twenty points per game. During this performance and throughout the season leading up to it, DYBANTSA achieved historic milestones including becoming Big12's top scorer with over fifty-one percent shooting efficiency while surpassing Devin Durrant for BYU single-season point total second place