Let’s dance: 6th-seeded BYU to open NCAA Tournament in Portland

PROVO — After the inevitable expectations of the top-rated recruit and likely NBA draft lottery pick along with three seasons within a season, the magic of March shined on BYU men’s basketball once again.

The sixth-seeded Cougars (23-11) will be dancing in back-to-back seasons under second-year head coach Kevin Young, and will open the 2026 NCAA men’s basketball tournament Thursday against the 11th-seeded winner of a “First Four” game between Texas and North Carolina State (5:25 pm. MDT, TBS).

Should BYU advance in Portland, they’d face the winner of No. 3 Gonzaga (30-3) and No. 14 Kennesaw State (21-13).

BYU is 17-34 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, and among the most-selected programs in the field of 68 without a Final Four appearance. The Cougars are 5-4 as a No. 6 seed.

“I’m just excited,” Young said. “This is such a phenomenal tournament, and it’s a privilege to play in it. It captivates America, and my experience last year playing in it for the first time was incredible.”

Led by the nation’s leading scorer in AJ Dybantsa, the Cougars rebounded from a three-game losing skid that dropped them to the 10th in the Big 12 with three consecutive victories, including an 82-76 win over then-No. 10 Texas Tech in the regular-season finale.

BYU had plenty of expectations entering the season, led by Dybantsa’s signing, the five-star transfer portal addition of Robert Wright III at point guard, and the return of Richie Saunders for his senior season.

But the season progressed in waves, starting slow with early injuries to key reserves Dawson Baker and Nate Pickens, and culminating with Saunders’ gut-wrenching ACL injury Feb. 14 against Colorado.

“Obviously, going into the season, we wanted to be a higher seed,” Dybantsa admitted Sunday on a video call with local media. “But as long as you’re in the tournament dancing, that’s all that matters. We had a lot of injuries and adversity … for us to be a six-seed, we’re proud of that.”

Dybantsa averaged 31.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.7 assists in three games while shooting 52.4% from the field to lead the Cougars to a pair of victories in the Big 12 tournament in Kansas City before a 73-66 quarterfinal loss to No. 5 Houston.

During the run, Dybantsa broke Kevin Durant’s freshman Big 12 Tournament scoring record with 40 points in a first-round win over Kansas State, and totaled 93 points to break Durant’s single-tournament record that has stood since 2007.

“We definitely found our identity on the defensive side,” said Dybantsa, who grew up a fan of Durant — the former Texas star. “Playing a team like Texas or NC State, we’re definitely going to try to impose our will on the defensive end and lean on our defense to fuel our offense.”

There’s no question the team is led by Dybantsa and Wright. But it many ways, the Cougars’ run may rest just as much as players who have been there before and were part of BYU’s run to last year’s Sweet 16 — from Mihailo Boskovic to Jared McGregor to the injured Saunders in a new role.

“It’s really important from a nerves standpoint, what to expect,” Young said. “I think it’s good. AJ is a pretty even-keeled person, so I think he’ll be fine. But this tournament captivates America for a reason.”

The Cougars were the No. 24 overall seed, or the fourth No. 6 seed sandwiched between Bluegrass State rivals Louisville (23-10) and Kentucky (21-13), according to the overall seeding list released by the selection committee. That likely means that the selection committee’s decision to assign them as a No. 6 seed in the West region likely involved their late run of three wins in the final four games to solidify their seeding line.

That, of course, and BYU’s school policy prohibiting playing on Sundays, which left the flagship school sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with more limited options for its 33rd trip to the Big Dance in program history.

Three of the four No. 6 seeds were scheduled to play in Thursday-Saturday regions, while three of the four No. 7 seeds were scheduled for Friday-Sunday regionals.

But the seed combined with the regional also allows the Cougars to stay in the West regional — and closer to the same fanbase that swelled Ball Arena in Denver a year ago en route to the second weekend.

Young expects nothing less of the Moda Center, home of the NBA’s Portland Trailblazers

“I think it’ll be packed with blue,” he said. “I’m excited for that for our fanbase.”

The Cougars won’t be the only team dancing from the Beehive State after Utah State won three games in three days and swept Mountain West regular-season and tournament titles Saturday afternoon in Las Vegas.