No. 3 UConn men's basketball meets No. 7 BYU in first of several 'big-time' games: How to watch

There are more than a handful of freshmen who’ve already taken college basketball by storm this season, and UConn will have to face at least four of them before conference play begins.

First up is A.J. Dybantsa as the third-ranked Huskies get into the grueling part of their nonconference gauntlet, starting with a nationally televised matchup against No. 7 BYU at TD Garden on Saturday night. A 6-foot-9, do-it-all wing from Brockton, Mass., Dybantsa is good enough for a homecoming and will have plenty of friends and family in attendance for the top-10 matchup.

Coach Kevin Young built his second BYU roster around the potential top NBA draft pick and, in only three college games, including a season-opening win over Villanova, Dybantsa has lived up to the hype averaging 18.7 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 28.7 minutes per game.

Saturday’s game will also be somewhat of a homecoming for UConn captain Alex Karaban, from Southborough, Mass. Averaging 17.3 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game, Karaban is part of a strong Huskies’ returning corps that includes center Tarris Reed Jr. and guard Solo Ball.

“It’s a tremendous challenge. I don’t think A.J. is gonna be just a problem for us, I think he’s gonna be a problem for everyone that has to try and guard him this year,” UConn coach Dan Hurley said. “He’s got a big bag… You can see the influences of the training and the NBA mentorship that he’s received, the skill training, just the individual offensive game, his ability to get to the rim in transition, whether he’s defensive rebounding and pushing it, or running a wing. I mean, he’s on top of you like you rarely see players, kind of like Terrance Shannon (at Illinois) a couple years back, great in transition. But he’s so tall, he’s got such a high level of offense. He’ll be a challenge for anyone.”

The Cougars run a system heavily inspired by Young’s NBA coaching background. Before moving to the college ranks last season, Young was associate head coach of the Phoenix Suns and had previously spent several years coaching in the G League.

It has left BYU with a clear big three of Dybantsa, senior guard Richie Saunders and point guard Robert Wright III, who scored 22 points at Gampel Pavilion while playing for Baylor last year. Saunders is averaging 20.3 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.3 steals per game while shooting 47.4% from beyond the arc. After a strong freshman year with the Bears, Wright has upped his production to 18.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game so far this year.

The Cougars could be without one of their starting guards, Kennard Davis Jr., after he was arrested on suspicion of DUI following a crash on Thursday. It is unclear whether he made the trip to Boston with the team.

“Richie Saunders and A.J., I mean, that’s the best wing tandem in the country in terms of firepower, and then you add (Dawson) Baker to that, the way he can shoot it, score it, experienced player,” Hurley said. “But then Rob Wright – if your on-ball, isolation defense, if you’re not in a stance and fundamental, knowing where the help is, knowing where you want to send him.

“If your ball-screen defense is leaky, even a little bit with him, he’s gonna expose you, get to the rim, get to the roller or get someone a 3. Just his ability to create off-script is just very dynamic and you’ve just got to keep your body between him and the rim. He gave us fits last year.”

UConn could be getting at least one of its freshmen back from injury with Australian wing Jacob Furphy returning to live practice this week. Hurley said he will be a game-time decision on Saturday, though it isn’t clear how much he will impact the rotation.

Braylon Mullins, the preseason Big East Freshman of the Year also dealing with an offseason ankle injury, seems to be ahead of schedule in his recovery: “He’s recovering well. Next week I think will be a big week for him to ramp things up, he’s healed nicely,” Hurley reported Friday.

UConn’s main focus into Saturday’s game, as it has been in every game this season, is on the defensive end: Did the Huskies fill enough of their holes from last season to be able to hold strong against BYU’s high-powered talents?

“Last year, our perimeter defense was our undoing. So this is probably the most explosive perimeter that we’re – we’re gonna see a bunch of them but this is the first one,” Hurley said. “Wright, Saunders, Dybantsa, Baker, and then obviously they’ve got some bench pieces, too, that are skilled and have firepower, but that’s a pretty elite group.”

The Huskies will face another top freshman four days after taking on the Cougars when No. 5 Arizona comes to Gampel Pavilion with forward Koa Peat. Other top freshmen on the nonconference schedule – with BYU being the first of five ranked opponents – include Kansas guard Darryn Peterson and Illinois forward David Mirkovic.

“Coaches and players, there’s definitely added excitement, you’re heading to Boston or headed to MSG and playing a big-time opponent, it’s got extra juice to it,” Hurley said. “But that being said, we all go into these games, the preparation is the same, you don’t change the way you practice. Just the margins for error are a lot slimmer, you’ve got to be razor sharp because now, when you play these types of teams and then we play against each other, just everything gets exposed. Vulnerabilities, strengths, that you really only see when you play teams like we’re about to start playing.”