Provo • Last year it was Dallin Hall who cleared everyone out, isolated himself onto 7-foot-2 big man Hunter Dickinson, and buried the dagger against Kansas.
This year, it was Egor Demin, in nearly the same situation, who rose up over the All-American to polish off a win for the BYU Cougars.
Both shots finished the Jayhawks. The only difference: Hall’s came in the final minutes of a tight game. Demin’s put BYU up by 31 with 14 minutes to go, giving BYU an insurmountable lead during a drubbing of college basketball’s most storied program.
The Cougars finished with a 91-57 win.
It was Kansas' third-largest margin of defeat in program history, tying a 34-point defeat against USC in 2021. That mark trails only a 40-point loss in 1900 and a 37-point defeat against Kentucky in 1974.
Richie Saunders led BYU with 22 points. Trevin Knell and Mawut Mag added 15 and 13 respectively. Hall had 10.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Kansas Jayhawks center Hunter Dickinson (1) shoots as Brigham Young Cougars center Fousseyni Traore (45) defends, in Big 12 basketball action between the Brigham Young Cougars and the Kansas Jayhawks, at the Marriott Center, in Provo, on Tuesday, Feb 18, 2025.
“I know what the deal is. I know we need to get a win against a notable opponent,” head coach Kevin Young said. “It is cool to be on ESPN and have people watching what we are doing. Hopefully people take note that need to take note.”
BYU’s entire night was a statement to the Selection Committee.
The Cougars were up by double-digits just six minutes into the game and up 20 by halftime.
As Kansas struggled to adjust defensively, BYU punished the Jayhawks with open threes and in transition. By the intermission, BYU was shooting nearly 42% from three with 75% of its field goal attempts coming from deep.
“It got away from us quick,” Dickinson said. “They set screens and stuff like that, we weren’t as attached as we needed to be [on the screen]. That gave them a lot of space to come up and shoot cleanly. Then transition, those two things.”
KU left Knell open in the corner several times. With fellow guards Dawson Baker and Mag, it was more of the same.
BYU finished the night shooting 39% from three, close to its season average. It was the first time KU gave up 90 points this season.
“That’s the best somebody’s played against us,” Kansas head coach Bill Self said. “It was probably some mistakes [why BYU was so open]. When you’re switching [all] five, you don’t have to help. We helped when we’re switching five.”
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Brigham Young Cougars forward Richie Saunders (15) drives inside, in Big 12 basketball action between the Brigham Young Cougars and the Kansas Jayhawks, at the Marriott Center, in Provo, on Tuesday, Feb 18, 2025.
Offensively, Self was equally at a loss for answers. KU turned the ball over 15 times. Dickinson was mostly a nonfactor even on a smaller Fouss Traore.
He had 12 points on an inefficient 5-for-13 from the field.
This is BYU’s ninth conference win, inching closer to being in the NCAA Tournament field comfortably. If it can win one or two more, it will likely clinch its spot in the field.
“We’re just hitting our stride right now at the right time of year, playing our best brand in basketball,” Hall said. “We’re less concerned with the opponent in front of us, and more concerned with executing our side of things.”
Or, as Knell put it more succinctly, “I feel like it’s a statement.”
