Darius Acuff of Arkansas, A.J. Dybantsa of BYU and Braden Smith of Purdue are all players capable of carrying their teams over Arizona in the NCAA Tournament West Region. If they advance, Arizona would play Arkansas in the West Regional Semifinals. BYU or Purdue are potential West Regional Final opponents for Arizona.
Acuff averages 22.9 points per game, 3.2 rebounds and 6.5 assists. In the SEC Tournament, Acuff carried Arkansas to the championship, averaging 30.3 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 7.7 APG and 1.3 steals on 43.5 percent from the field and 50.0 percent on three-point attempts.
Acuff is projected to be the sixth pick in the 2026 NBA Draft in a mock posted by the Bleacher Report on Tuesday. Acuff could be the most dangerous player Arizona could face, with it being in the Regional Semifinal. Acuff has proven the ability to carry his team in a tournament.
Dybansta scored 59 points, had 11 rebounds, seven assists and one steal in two games against Arizona this season. Arizona made Dybansta inefficient as he shot six for 24 in an 86-83 win as the Wildcats won 86-83 in Provo on January 26.
Dybantsa production at Arizona
After scoring 24 points in the Arizona win in Provo, Dybantsa had 35 points on 13 out of 28 from the field, seven out of eight from the free throw line, with seven rebounds and two assists in a 75-68 win for the Wildcats in Tucson on February 18.
Acuff is a mix of Dybansta and Smith as a point guard who can score and produce opportunities for his teammates. Smith is a pure point guard who is two assists away from the all-time record set by Bobby Hurley at Duke from 1989 through 1993.
In 2025-26, Smith is averaging 14.0 PPG, 3.6 RPG and is second nationally, averaging 9.1 APG. Smith was a pure point guard in the Big 10 Tournament with 46 assists in four games while scoring 29 points. In the Big 10 Championship Game against Michigan, Smith had 14 points, five rebounds and 11 assists on six of 12 from the field.
Arizona has had a lot of success in 2025-26, making the opponent's best player inefficient. The first game against BYU is a good example of that. Arizona freshman forward is a good matchup defensively against Dybansta and Jaden Bradley and Brayden Burries provide Arizona with two quality guards against Acuff and Smith.