In case you didn’t see, BYU upset #7 Kansas AT Kansas. Bill Self was 292-16 in his 20 years coaching at Kansas playing at home. He is now 292 and 17, thanks to the Cougars. BYU is now 1 of 17 teams to win at Kansas in Lawrence in the last 20 years. It is also Kansas’ first loss at home against a non top 25 team since November of 2018. It also snaps Kansas’ current 19 game home win streak. Craziness, I tell you.
Game Recap vs Kansas St
But before we dive into Kansas, lets dive into the other Kansas team in the Big 12, Kansas St. BYU lost 74-84, to the Wildcats. BYU was not good. They couldn’t hit a 3 to save their lives. They shot 19% from 3. Dallin Hall and Jaxson Robinson combined to go 1-14 from 3. Kansas St on the other hand, shot 47% from 3. The teams completely switched roles from the 3 point arc. But that is going to happen when the good shooting teams are on the road.
Box Score
Kaluma had a career night. He had 28 points to set a new career high. He also had 10 rebounds. BYU had no one to guard him. Hes too big for a guard and too fast for a big man. BYU did make a run with Saunders guarding him at one point, but he just played bully ball after that. Despite losing, BYU had 5 players in double digit scoring with Robinson leading the team with 15, Waterman and Johnson with 12, Saunders with 11, and Fouss with 10.
Team Stats
BYU, overall, shot 41% from the field. Not too bad, but the 3 point shot really hurt them. The FT discrepancy was also pretty interesting. Kansas St shot a total of 31 FTs while BYU only shot 16. I know that BYU’s style of play is not to draw fouls, but still, thats a big difference. BYU won the rebound battle and had less turnovers with more points off those turnovers. So BYU had a chance to win this game, but they had too many fouls and not enough 3 pointers fell. BYU never had a lead in this game.
Game Recap vs #7 Kansas
Now we get to the game we all want to talk about. It was amazing. This is right up there with one of the best wins in BYU basketball history. I think its #2, personally. #1 would have to be beating undefeated #1 Gonzaga at Gonzaga, in the Kennel, in 2017.
BYU got their first lead of the game with about 5 minutes left. In the first half, it was all Kansas. They couldn’t do anything wrong. They were getting and 1s, driving the ball for easy baskets, and making their shots. In the second half, it all switched. BYU were the ones who started to make their shots and get easy baskets inside. They also started to be the aggressors.
Box Score
Dickinson for Kansas was a monster. He led the way for the Jayhawks with 17 points. He was killing us. Kansas was in this game because of him. There was also a double technical foul on him and Knell. Dickinson walked into Knell as he was coming to the BYU huddle and then shoved Knell in the throat area. Knell didn’t do anything really and he still got a technical.
For BYU, it was the play of Dallin Hall and Jaxson Robinson. Both Hall and Robinson had 18 points. BYU, overall, didn’t shoot a better percentage than their loss to Kansas St. They shot worse, at 39%. But they shot tremendously better from 3, shooting 38%. BYU made 13 3s, Kansas only made 3. Thats a difference of 30 points.
Team Stats
BYU clamped down against Kansas. Their defense in the second half was so good. BYU was down 12 at one point in the second half and came back. BYU shot a better percentage than Kansas overall, from 3, and from the FT line. There’s not more you could ask for. BYU also won the turnover battle with only 7 turnovers. I also have to give a huge shoutout to Fouss who played so well. He only had 6 points, all in the second half, but he also had 5 assists and 7 rebounds.
Game Preview vs TCU
BYU now plays TCU on Saturday, in Provo, at 7pm MT on ESPN+. TCU cannot be taken lightly. They are physical and one of the top teams in the Big 12. But they may have had one of their worst games at home. They lost in Fort Worth to #15 Baylor, 62-54. In that game, TCU shot awfully. They were only 33% from the field and 26% from 3, and that was at home. But BYU has to be careful. TCU has beaten Kansas St and #15 Baylor on the road. At home, they have beaten Oklahoma, #2 Houston, #15 Texas Tech, and Texas. Luckily this game isnt in Fort Worth, but they are still a pretty good team.
Player Preview
BYU hasnt played TCU yet this year, so this will be a new challenge. What makes TCU really good, is they have a good coach and are physical, but they also have really any player that could go off for them. Their main candidates, though, are Emmanuel Miller, a forward averaging 15.9 points per game, Nelson Jr, a guard, averaging 10.9 points per game, and Peavy, another guard, averaging 11.2 points per game.
Miller is also a pretty good rebounder at 6 rebounds per game. He likes to get the ball inside. Hes a driver but will take a couple of 3s and shoots it pretty well at 40% from 3. BYU will need to contain him. He reminds me of a slightly smaller Kaluma from Kansas St, and will be tough to guard.
Predicition
This game is going to be a lot closer than people realize. ESPN Analytics says that BYU has a 75.6% chance to win. While I do like the confidence that ESPN has in BYU, I dont think it will be that far apart. I think more 60-40. I think BYU wins this game because they are at home and will make 3s. Its a total contrast of style. TCU is physical and punches you in the mouth and BYU likes to run and shoot. I think BYU pulls this one out by 5, but TCU will come back in the second half and make it close.
Other BYU Basketball News
BYU’s midweek game next week is on Wednesday night instead of Tuesday night, so I will preview that one, against #8 Iowa St, on my newsletter for next Wednesday.
The AP Poll came out on Monday, and BYU dropped one spot and are now not in the top 25. They are technically #26, the first team receiving the most votes not in the top 25. If BYU can win at home against TCU, they should jump up to around #18-20 in my opinion. Even if they lose to TCU, I could still see BYU sneaking into the Top 25 because of the win against Kansas.
BYU was bumped down and is now projected as a 7 seed according to ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi. This projection came out Tuesday morning so it doesn’t take into account BYU’s win against Kansas. I would expect them to jump up to the 6 seed line even if they lose to TCU. As for the other Utah schools, Utah is still in the “first four out” section as the third team in the first four out. Utah St jumped back up and are now projected as a 7 seed, just like BYU.
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