BYU beats No. 23 Kansas 91-57 to earn 3rd straight victory

PROVO, Utah (AP) — Richie Saunders scored 22 points to lead BYU to a 91-57 victory over no. 23 Kansas on Tuesday night.

Trevin Knell added 15 points and Mawot Mag had 13 to help the Cougars (18-8, 9-6 Big 12) get their third straight win. Saunders, Knell, and Mag combined to make 11 3-pointers.

Hunter Dickinson led the Jayhawks with 12 points. Kansas (17-9, 8-7) trailed by as many as 38 points in the second half.

Efficient shooting and relentless defensive pressure powered the Cougars. Mag and Keba Keita each scored a pair of baskets to fuel a 14-2 run that gave BYU a 22-7 lead just seven minutes into the game.

Kansas had a chance to close the gap after BYU went six minutes without scoring a basket. The Jayhawks cut the deficit in half, pulling to 25-17 on a 3-pointer from Rylan Griffin.

The Cougars regained a double-digit lead behind a flurry of 3-pointers. BYU made five 3s over the final 6:15 before halftime, highlighted by back-to-back outside baskets from Saunders and Knell, to extend its lead to 46-26 at the break.

Takeaways

Kansas: The Jayhawks suffered back-to-back losses for the first time this season after committing 15 turnovers and allowing 52% shooting. Kansas’ 34-point defeat tied the biggest defeat under coach Bill Self.

BYU: The Cougars had 15 assists on all 15 of their first half field goals and made 14 3-pointers against the Jayhawks.

Key moment

Kansas held BYU without a basket for six minutes late in the first half before Mag and Saunders made 3-pointers a minute apart to boost the Cougars’ lead back to double digits.

Key stat

Kansas has not led through its last 80 minutes of basketball.

Up next

Kansas hosts Oklahoma State on Saturday, and BYU is at Arizona.

___

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP collegebasketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball