The Four Players Who Will Decide BYU’s March Madness Tournament Run

The BYU basketball program is back in the NCAA Tournament. Second-year head coach Kevin Young is looking to win a game in the NCAA Tournament for the second time in as many seasons. If BYU is going to make another run in the tournament, they are going to need team defense like they did in the Big 12 tournament. If they can do that, they have the scorers to survive and advance.

In this article, we'll go over the four BYU players who will decide BYU's NCAA Tournament run.

1. AJ Dybantsa

If you have the nation's leading scorer on your roster, you have a chance to make a run in the tournament. AJ Dybantsa has the potential to score at a level in the tournament that BYU hasn't seen since Jimmer Fredette.

Dybantsa has gotten better and better, and he managed to elevate his game to another level in the Big 12 tournament.

If BYU makes a run, it will be because AJ Dybantsa carries the scoring load.

2. Rob Wright III

Rob Wright III is one of a small handful of players with NCAA Tournament experience. Last year, Wright helped Baylor advance to the second round where they were eliminated by 1-seed Duke. In the first round game, he had 19 points in a win.

As a sophomore at BYU, Wright III has averaged 18.3 points per game. Wright is BYU's most consistent scorer behind Dybantsa.

If BYU is going to make it to the second weekend, which would likely require an upset over defensive-minded Gonzaga in the second round, BYU needs Wright to convert on his open looks both at the rim and from three. Wright can get to the rim seemingly any time he needs. He finishing around the rim has been up-and-down throughout the season.

3. Kennard Davis

Kennard Davis, in the words of his head coach, is the x-factor for BYU. The former Southern Illinois standout averaged 18 points per game last season. This year at BYU, he had been the fourth scoring option until Richie Saunder suffered a season-ending injury. Since then, Davis has taken on a much greater role.

In BYU's win over Iowa State, he had 17 points. Then he averaged just 7 points per game during BYU's three-game losing streak to UCF, WVU, and Cincinnati. In the win over Texas Tech, he scored 16 points.

In BYU's two wins in the Big 12 tournament, he averaged 17.5 points per game. In the loss to Houston, he scored 4 points.

When Kennard Davis is scoring, BYU can beat nearly any team in the country.

4. Keba Keita

Keba Keita has started to look like the healthy, physical version of himself over the last few weeks. Keita was clearly limited in the regular season due to injury.

Now healthy, BYU needs Keita to be a force on both the offensive and defensive glass. They also need him to protect the rim. During BYU's winning streak in 2025 that propelled them into the NCAA Tournament, Keba Keita was fantastic. BYU needs that version of Keita to show up in the NCAA Tournament.