NBA Draft: Dailyn Swain, AJ Dybantsa to Face off in March Madness

On Tuesday night, the Texas Longhorns narrowly outlast the NC State Wolfpack, punching their ticket to the NCAA Tournament via the First Four.

Now, two of the top wings in college basketball are set to face off in the NCAA Tournament’s first round: BYU’s AJ Dybantsa and Texas’s Dailyn Swain.

The two have taken drastically different paths to the spotlight, but should still offer one of the better prospect matchups among the entire first round of play.

Swain is amid a breakout third season in college basketball, having played two impactful seasons at Xavier before transferring to play for the Longhorns in the SEC, and becoming an offensive engine.

Dailyn Swain has been terrific to open SEC play for Texas. The 20-year-old 6’7 wing has now scored 25+ points in three straight. Creative slasher. Disruptive defender. Shooting a career-best 37% from 3 in conference play. pic.twitter.com/7TH7VYV5Fj
— Jacob Myers (@League_Him) January 30, 2026

Through 32 games so far this season, he’s averaged 17.8 points on 55% shooting, adding 7.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.7 steals per game in generally stuffing the stat sheet.

His NBA Draft case, which is likely set to see him taken in the first round of the ’26 draft, is largely built around his self-creation and high-floor across a variety of areas. At 6-foot-8, he can guard across multiple positions, handle the ball, pass and plenty more. Really, all Swain needs is a more consistent 3-point shot to be written down as a bonafide, long-term NBA contributor.

He wasn’t stellar against the Wolfpack, going for just 13 points on 2-for-9 shooting overall with five turnovers, but in the least he’ll have a shot at individual redemption on Thursday.

Dybantsa, one of just three players with the potential to go No. 1 overall, has effectively been a collegiate superstar from the word go. He’s averaged a blistering 25.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.1 steals for the Cougars so far this season, shooting 51% overall and 34% from three.

At 6-foot-9, he has premier bend and physicality, able to create off and hit shots off the dribble at a far higher rate than normal for players his size. With his mold, NBA decision-makers will envision an athletic three-level scorer that can add to the fringes of his game down the line.

Regardless of BYU's NCAA Tournament success, Dybantsa is cemented as a top-three pick, and more likely will be the No. 1 choice for several General Managers.

Given their size and position, Swain and Dybantsa are all but guaranteed to match up against one another in Texas-BYU, making for a highly intruiging tilt.

The sixth-seeded Cougars and eleventh-seeded Longhorns will tip off at 6:25 p.m. CT on TBS, from Moda Center in Portland, OR.