BYU star A.J. Dybantsa among three freshman to post 40-point games on the same day

When people talk about how the 2026 NBA Draft class is shaping up to be something more than special, this is the kind of stuff they're talking about.

Saturday saw three different freshman finish with north of 40 points: No. 13 BYU's AJ Dybantsa with 43 against Utah, No. 6 Houston's Kingston Flemings with 42 points against No. 12 Texas Tech and No. 11 Illinois' Keaton Wagler with 46 against No. 4 Purdue. All three performances set a new freshman scoring record for their program.

It's a day that could very well be unprecedented. Per ESPN, it's the first time in at least 20 years that three freshmen each scored 40 points or more on the same day.

In the case of Dybantsa, Utah coach Alex Jensen had some high praise after the game, calling him a "generational talent" and saying it's the first time all season he's seen his own players quit down the stretch.

Oh, and No. 5 Duke's Cameron Boozer posted 32 points and No. 20 Arkansas' Darius Acuff posted 31. So that's also five freshman with at least 30 points on Saturday.

Each of the five above players have been projected by various outlets as lottery picks for the 2026 NBA Draft, with Dybantsa and Boozer standing out as potential candidates for the first overall pick. Their main competition, Kansas' Darryn Peterson, was out with an ankle injury Saturday.

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There are plenty more star freshman prospects in college basketball this season, including No. 22 UNC's Caleb Wilson, who posted a ho-hum 20 points in a win over No. 14 Virginia. 

It's becoming quite clear that even with a lottery preventing any team from guaranteeing itself a top-4 pick, being at the top of the odds could still offer a franchise-changing result. For example, the Washington Wizards, owners of the NBA's worst record at 10-34, currently have a 14% chance to pick first, 13.4% for second, 12.7% for third, 12% for fourth and 47.9% for fifth, and can't pick lower than that. 

That gives them better than 50% odds for one of Dybantsa, Boozer, Peterson or Wilson, with plenty of fallback options at fifth.