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A star is born
A.J. Dybantsa carries No. 10 BYU with a remarkable performance, while UConn outlasted Florida at the Jimmy V. Plus, Michigan rolled again, Notre Dame loses a star scorer, the mid-major stars to know, and much more.
Sean Paul
December 10, 2025
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1. Dybantsa’s jaw-dropping night carries BYU
BYU’s 67-64 win over Clemson had just about everything you’d want for a game in the national spotlight. A massive comeback. A star-making/confirming performance. And a buzzer-beating shot.
That’s pretty good if you’re No. 10 BYU, which looked like it was gonna get crushed in Tuesday’s Jimmy V Classic.
Clemson used a 21-0 run to take a 43-22 halftime lead. It controlled the glass, was physical and even pushed the pace. Yet the Cougars (8-1) responded in a big way in the second half behind their star freshman, A.J. Dybantsa.
He had just six points in the first half, but scored or assisted on 34 of BYU’s 45 second-half points. He also had nine rebounds and six assists and finished with more points AND more assists than Clemson had in the second half. The 6-9 forward ensured BYU ramped up its defensive intensity and was a stellar passer down the stretch.
He found Keba Keita for three dunks in the final four minutes and Kennard Davis Jr for a 3 in the same span.
Dybantsa’s aggression and will to score changed the game, but he took time to get rolling because he was too passive. “Don’t let the defense dictate what I want to do,” he said afterward. “If I want to get to the middle, I should get to the middle. And don’t let the defense bait me into bad shots.”
The comeback was made more impressive by the fact that BYU struggled from deep. It was just 5-of-23 (22%). Senior Richie Saunders had just five points in 36 minutes, while Rob Wright finished with 17.
The saving grace for the Cougars (besides Dybantsa) was their defense. They held Clemson to 12-for-29 (41%) and 9-for-29 (31%) from deep, well below its season average of 35.3%.
Clemson (7-3) would’ve had its biggest win of the season. It has three more non-conference games before ACC play begins, but none of them (Mercer, South Carolina, Cincinnati) would’ve had this game’s cachet.
2. UConn holds off Florida in recent champ showdown
The last two national champions were the nightcap at Jimmy V Classic. And they delivered with a classic of their own.
