In the first round match of the 2026 NCAA Tournament’s West Region, the No. 11 Texas Longhorns defeated AJ Dybantsa and the No. 6 seed BYU Cougars 79-71.
The Longhorns were led by sophomore center Matas Vokietaitis, who had 23 points and 16 rebounds, while junior guard Dailyn Swain led the team with six assists. Swain had 14 points and one turnover in 37 minutes of play. Senior guard Tramon Mark contributed 19 points. Dybantsa did not make things simple for Texas, scoring 35 points and making highlights after highlight.
Texas head coach Sean Miller did not hold back while discussing the challenges of the game. During his halftime interview, the coach was asked how they can stop Dybantsa after his 14 points in the first half. Miller looks up, perplexed, and answers, I don’t believe we can. Following the game, Miller elaborated on his remarks.
We knew that (AJ Dybantsa) could score like no one else. On3’s Inside Texas tweeted. What we discussed was that a jump shot by him is a win for us. What we couldn’t afford was for him to get Dailyn in serious foul trouble, or to foul our whole team out. Because he commits so many penalties against the opponent, among other things, the other team is tired out. We were able to perform with him. I saw he had 12 free throws, but these men were able to play till the finish. The trick for us, in addition to just him, is to prevent everyone else from joining in.
Vokic and Swain were the Longhorns’ top scorers all season and will attempt to continue their winning streak in their next game against the Gonzaga Bulldogs on Saturday.
