PROVO, Utah — The Cougars look to avenge their loss at Allen Fieldhouse and earn their fourth-straight Big 12 win as the Kansas Jayhawks come to town on Feb. 17. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m. MT at the Marriott Center.
Matchup Breakdown
The meeting between BYU and Kansas on January 31st was the first-ever meeting with the Jayhawks coming out on top with a 67-53 win. This will be the first meeting in Provo.
All-Time: 0-1
In Provo: 0-0
In Lawrence: 0-1
At Neutral Site: 0-0
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BYU Cougars (15-11, 5-8 Big 12 Conference)
PLAYER/FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK SWEEP: Lauren Gustin (player) and Amari Whiting (freshman) swept the Big 12 women's basketball weekly awards after knocking off No. 18 Baylor and Cincinnati to go 2-0 on the week.
In the win over Baylor, Whiting flirted with the first triple-double in BYU women’s basketball history with 14 points, nine assists and eight rebounds while Gustin scored 23 points while pulling down 16 boards in the win. Each scored in double-figures as the Cougars took down the Bearcats on Saturday, Gustin with 21 points and 20 rebounds while Whiting scored 10 points with seven rebounds, two assists and a block in the win over Cincinnati.
DEFYING THE FIRST QUARTER 8-BALL: In their first 12 conference games, the Cougars trailed after the first period in eight of 12 contests by an average of 3.5 points, going 0-8 in such games leading up to Tuesday’s game against UCF.
BYU trailed UCF by three after the first and by seven at the half on Tuesday before outscoring the Knights 23-6 in the third to take a 10-point lead into the fourth.
The Cougars earned their first Big 12 win after trailing after the first 10 minutes by knocking off UCF 64-60. During their three-game win streak, the Cougars have outscored Baylor, Cincinnati and UCF 18-15.3 and outshot them 49.8-33.2 percent in the opening frame.
MAGIC NUMBER...66 POINTS OR LESS: Coach Whiting prides her team on their ability to defend. Her defense has held opponents to 65.2 points per game this season and 15 of its 26 opponents to 66 or fewer points. When holding teams under the 66-point threshold, BYU is 14-1 including their last three wins over No. 18 Baylor, Cincinnati and UCF.
Head Coach – Amber Whiting
Kansas Jayhawks (12-10, 7-6 Big 12 Conference)
ONE STREAK MUST BE SNAPPED: The Jayhawks come into the matchup with the Cougars on a four-game win streak having knocked off BYU (67-53), TCU (81-74), Houston (69-52) and Cincinnati (75-60). The Cougars are on a three-game win streak of their own having taken down No. 18 Baylor at home (78-66) and beat Cincinnati (69-57) and UCF (64-60) on the road.
ROAD STRUGGLES: Kansas holds a 2-7 record in true road games this season and is 1-5 on the road in conference play. The Jayhawks’ lone Big 12 road win came at TCU by a score of 81-74 on Feb. 3. KU is a prolific scoring team at Allen Fieldhouse as they average 71.7 points per game on 45.8 percent shooting. On the road, the Jayhawks only scored 65.3 points while shooting 42.9 percent from the floor. The Jayhawks also turn over the ball at a higher clip on the road (15.7-12.9) while grabbing 5.4 rebounds less than the visiting team.
JACKSON'S ON A TEAR: In the first meeting between BYU and Kansas, Taiyana Jackson scored 25 points on 10-of-16 shooting, grabbed 22 rebounds and sent away five shots in the 14-point win. Since that game, she has continued her dominant play with 20 points on 8-for-11 shooting with nine rebounds and three blocks against TCU. In a 17-point win over Houston, Jackson recorded 25 points on 11-of-15 shooting, 15 rebounds, nine blocks and two steals. Against Cincinnati, she finished with 18 points, 13 rebounds, six blocks and a steal.
HOLLY KERSGIETER: The super-senior scored a game-high 23 points to help Kansas take down Cincinnati on Wednesday. Her 23 points came on 7-of-13 shooting as she cashed in on a season-high five threes, grabbed seven boards, two assists and two steals in the win. Kersgieter is the sixth all-time leading scorer in KU history with 1,823 points and holds the record for made threes in a career with 256.
YOUNG RELIABLE: Freshman point guard S’Mya Nichols has been a huge piece of the puzzle for this Kansas team. Nichols is the leading scorer for the Jayhawks at 14.4 points per game and has scored in double figures in 12 consecutive games and 21 of 24 games this year. Her 14.4 points is good for the third-best mark in school history by a freshman. She has earned Big 12 Freshman of the Week Honors twice this season and is averaging 15.8 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.5 steals and 0.5 blocks during Kansas’ four-game winning streak.
Head Coach – Brandon Schneider