Arizona-BYU scouting report: On Dybantsa's monster game, Francona's call to work, and cash

No. 1 Arizona (20-0, 7-0) at No. 13 BYU (17-2, 5-1) | Marriott Center, Provo, Utah | 7 p.m. | ESPN | 1290-AM

Probable starters

ARIZONA

0 G Jaden Bradley (6-3 senior)

5 G Brayden Burries (6-4 freshman)

18 F Ivan Kharchenkov (6-7 freshman)

0 F Koa Peat (6-8 freshman)

13 C Motiejus Krivas (7-2 junior)

Key reserves

3 F Anthony Dell’Orso (6-6 senior)

30 F Tobe Awaka (6-8 senior)

2 F Dwayne Aristode (6-8 freshman)

BYU

1 G Robert Wright (6-1 sophomore)

15 G Richie Saunders (6-5 senior)

30 F Kennard Davis (6-6 junior)

3 F AJ Dybantsa (6-9 freshman)

13 C Keba Keita (6-8 senior)

Key reserves

5 F Mihailo Boskovic (6-10 senior)

7 F Khadim Mboup (6-9 freshman)

2 F Tyler Mrus (6-7 junior)

How they match up

The series: Arizona leads the series 21-20 overall against its former WAC rival after UA and BYU won on each other’s homecourt last season. The Wildcats won 85-74 on Feb. 4 at Provo but lost 96-95 at McKale Center three weeks later after a questionable foul call against Trey Townsend in the final seconds. 

BYU overview: Having jumped into college basketball with 26 wins and a Sweet 16 appearance last season, former Suns assistant coach Kevin Young built an even more intimidating roster this season and has lost only two games so far. The Cougars returned sharpshooter Richie Saunders and rugged center Keba Keita from their starting lineup but added potential high NBA Draft lottery pick AJ Dybantsa and former Baylor point guard Robert Wright.

The Cougars played a relatively soft nonconference schedule but lost to UConn in Boston by only two points and won 13 straight games after that until Texas Tech beat them 84-71 on Jan. 17 in Lubbock. With Dybantsa pouring in 43 points Saturday, they pulled away from Utah in a close game to beat the Utes 91-78. 

With a fast pace, BYU has been running the 11th most efficient offense in college basketball. The Cougars are especially effective inside, making 58.3% of their two-point shots, while hitting 35.4% from 3-point range. The skilled and athletic Dybantsa shoots 60.9% from inside and draws an average of 7.4 fouls per 40 minutes — and hits any resulting free throws at a 76.9% rate.

Saunders launches an average of 6.7 3s per game and hits them at a 39.1% rate. Wright, shooting about half as many from long range, is a 44.9% 3-point shooter.

While Dybantsa’s versatile game can stretch and baffle defenses often out of the power forward spot, Keita is a 68.6% shooter from two-point range and ranks among the Top 50 nationally in both offensive (14.8) and defensive (24.8) rebound percentage.

The Cougars have hit an injury bug that’s affected their depth, with five players listed out for their game against Utah on Saturday.

He said it: "Containing the big three (Dybantsa, Wright and Saunders) will be key. A lot of people compare (Dybantsa) to Tracy McGrady. His combination of size and fluid athleticism is something you don’t see every day. He is going to be one of the faces of the NBA.” — UA assistant coach Ken Nakagawa, who scouted the Cougars

Key players

BYU

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AJ Dybantsa

While playing with Arizona's Koa Peat and under UA coach Tommy Lloyd on USA Basketball's gold-medal-winning U19 team last summer, Dybantsa won the FIBA U19 MVP award in Switzerland. Since then, he's continued to generate considerable NBA Draft buzz and helped push the Cougars into the national prominence.

ARIZONA

Koa Peat

Other than after his 30-point debut against Florida, Arizona’s in-state freshman forward hasn’t gotten quite the national hype that Big 12 freshmen counterparts such as Dybantsa, Kansas guard Darryn Peterson and Houston guard Kingston Flemings are receiving. But ESPN will be showing his chance to go head-to-head against Dybantsa on Monday.

Sidelines

That’ll do it

Because he’s from the Boston area, Dybantsa said he didn’t really get the rivalry between the Cougars and Utah Utes until recently.

So, afer he had “just” 20 points in BYU’s 89-84 win over Utah on Jan. 10 in Salt Lake City, he took care of that problem on Saturday by dropping a BYU-freshman-record 43 points on the Utes in the rematch at Provo.

“People were just dragging it the whole time, like 'Utah this, Utah that,' Dybantsa said Saturday. “So I was like, I guess. I guess I’ll go off on you all.'"

Dybantsa had 19 points at halftime Saturday and 26 by the time he scored on a tip-in with still over 16 minutes left, yet didn’t fully grasp what was happening until teammates Wright and Tyler Mrus clued him in.

“(Wright) and Tyler were saying 'keep aggressive,' and Tyler said 'Yo, you might score 40,'" Dybantsa said. “I looked up at the scoreboard and there was like 11 minutes left. I was like 'Uh, I might be able to get it.'"

Dybantsa’s big game might have also been a response to BYU’s 84-71 loss a week earlier at Texas Tech, when Dybantsa had just 13 points while missing all three 3-pointers he took, at least the way Young described it.

“The thing I like about it more than anything was he was coming off his worst performance of the year,” Young said. “It speaks to his mentality, to be honest. That’s something I’d like to see him tap into more. There’s just a humble arrogance, if you will, of understanding every time you step on the floor you’re an elite basketball player.”

Job duty calling 

Because he also happens to manage the Cincinnati Reds, Arizona baseball standout Terry Francona took in what might have been his final home game of the season from his courtside McKale Center seat on Saturday.

The Reds’ pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report to spring training in Goodyear starting on Feb. 9, just two days after the Wildcats’ next home game, on Feb. 7 against Oklahoma State.

However, Francona said he hoped to take in Arizona’s March 2 game against Iowa State — if he can hustle on down after the Reds face the Cubs that afternoon in Goodyear — because the Reds will take March 3 off.

Also, Francona has already taken in many of the Wildcats' games from his courtside seat, and even attended their Jan. 3 win at Utah.

“I love it,” Francona said. “It’s my favorite thing.”

Moneyball

While Pacific reportedly received $100,000 for playing at BYU last month, it cost the Tigers a 93-57 loss so demoralizing that their AD took what he later called a “tongue in cheek” shot at the Cougars.

“Tough one for Pacific basketball tonight," Pacific AD Adam Tschor posted to X before later deleting it. "Good scheduling lesson for the future in this money age we're in ... no point in playing the game at all, you're not even playing a basketball team, just walking bags of cash."

While combined NIL and revenue-sharing payrolls are not public in college basketball, veteran college basketball reporter Adam Zagoria reported that Dybantsa received “close to $7 million,” suggesting the team’s payroll is well into the eight figures.

Schools are allowed to pay players up to $20.5 million across all sports, with men's basketball teams receiving an average of around $4 million of that amount. On top of that, outside NIL packages agreed to before the House settlement was approved last June were unlimited.

Numbers game

3: Dybantsa’s rank in the Kenpom Player of the Year calculations.

4: Seasons since Arizona has held two straight opponents to 53 or fewer points as the Wildcats did against Cincinnati and West Virginia last week (since the first two games of UA coach Tommy Lloyd’s UA tenure, against NAU and UTRGV during the 2021-22 season).

22: Most consecutive wins Arizona has had in school history over any period (a stretch between 1914-17, when most UA games were against Tucson High School or various YMCAs from across the state).

— Bruce Pascoe