BYU coach slammed for his polarizing call in final seconds against No. 1 Arizona

BYU head coach Kevin Young was under fire Monday for seemingly forgetting he had AJ Dybantsa on his team.

The Cougars were right on the doorstep of dealing the No. 1 Arizona Wildcats their first loss of the season in front of a capacity home crowd at the Marriott Center in Provo, Utah. BYU trailed 84-83 but had possession with 12 seconds left in the contest and arguably the best player in the country on their side.

However, Dybantsa did not even touch the ball with a chance to win the game in the closing seconds. Young instead went to sophomore guard Robert Wright III for the final shot.

BRAYDEN BURRIES BLOCKS THE POTENTIAL BYU GAME-WINNER 😳

ARIZONA ESCAPES UNDEFEATED 🔥 pic.twitter.com/y9CJev1oej

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 27, 2026

Wright got rejected on his go-ahead layup. Arizona corralled the rebound and tacked on two more points from the free throw line to seal an 86-83 victory.

Several fans took to social media to crucify Young for not putting the ball in the hands of Dybantsa.

Game on the line and AJ Dybantsa doesn’t even touch the ball???

— Zlatni Topki (@ZlatniTopki) January 27, 2026

AJ Dybantsa should've been the one in the backcourt to catch the ball with a full head of steam. I don't know how BYU doesn't do that.

— rodlo 🪬 (@roddystr) January 27, 2026

You’ve got AJ Dybantsa, paid him all that money, and you run a play for Rob Wright? What

— Josh Hamlin (@Coach_Hamlin) January 27, 2026

I love Kevin Young, but why does AJ not get the ball on that last play…

— Space Coug (@byufan1984) January 27, 2026

Dybantsa did not have a good shooting night. The freshman forward finished with 24 points on 6/24 shooting. Wright, however, had an even-worse 3/16 shooting clip for just 7 points.

Overlooking Dybantsa in that moment was almost criminal for BYU fans. Despite not shooting well from the floor, the 18-year-old had put enough pressure on Arizona’s defense to draw 16 free throws. Several fans believed having AJ make the final play was the obvious call, and Young simply overthought things against the top-ranked team in the country.