3 takeaways from BYU’s blowout win over No. 23 Kansas

What a statement from BYU.

In one of the most highly-anticipated matchups in Marriott Center history, Kevin Young’s Cougars took down No. 23 Kansas in 91-57 fashion Tuesday night in Provo.

The victory marks Young’s first against a ranked opponent in his career at BYU.

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The Cougars are now 18-8 on the season, 9-6 in Big 12 play and hold sole possession of fifth place in the conference.

3 takeaways

BYU came out firing. The Cougars wasted no time letting everyone know it would be their night, as they led 8-0 after less than two minutes in the game and 22-7 after seven.

Three BYU players had already reached double figures in scoring by halftime, with the team draining 10 3-pointers in that same span.

The early — and continual — deficit put Kansas in panic mode, leading to a number of awkward offensive possessions and poor decisions for BYU to take advantage of.

Additionally, the Cougars’ opening excellence lit a figurative fire in the Marriott Center, further strengthening BYU’s already palpable home court advantage.

The Cougars’ offense was elite. How good was BYU against Kansas? With 14 minutes remaining in the contest, legendary Jayhawks head coach Bill Self called his final timeout.

Self truly had no other choice. Aside from one lengthy scoreless stretch in the first half, Kansas just couldn’t figure out how stop the Cougars.

BYU was lethal from long distance, draining 14 3-pointers at a 38.9% clip.

The Cougars shot 51.5% from the field, with 24 of their 34 made field goals getting assisted.

Richie Saunders led the way with 22 points, continuing his case for inclusion on the All-Big 12 First Team. Trevin Knell and Mawot Mag added 15 and 13 points each, respectively, while Dallin Hall and Egor Demin combined for 17 points and 13 assists.

The most impressive part? Heading into Tuesday night, KenPom had rated the Jayhawks as the No. 5-best defensive squad in the country. Against the Cougars, such status could not have appeared more incorrect.

BYU handed Kansas one of its most lopsided losses ever. Seriously — the winningest program in the history of college basketball never gets beat this badly.

The 34-point margin of defeat is the largest for the Jayhawks as a ranked team against any unranked opponent and ties their largest loss in Self’s 22 seasons as head coach.

The Cougars defended extremely well, with Kansas shooting 36.5% from the field, 28.1% from 3-point range and turning the ball over 15 times.

The Jayhawks’ two leading scorers on the season — Hunter Dickinson and Zeke Mayo — were essentially non-factors. Mayo scored six points on 2-9 shooting, while Kansas was -39 with Dickinson on the floor.

All things considered, it was arguably BYU’s best all-around performance of the season, with the Cougars continuing to improve and trend in the right direction heading down the stretch into March.

“I think BYU could have beaten anybody tonight,” Self told reporters after the game. “They were great, and we didn’t do anything to make them play less than great … we couldn’t stop them or get any momentum.”