BYU welcomes No. 23 Kansas to Marriott Center on Tuesday

Tuesday will be the seventh all-time meeting between the two schools and Kansas' first game at the Marriott Center.

Author Tyson Jex
BYU welcomes No. 23 Kansas to Marriott Center on TuesdayBYU welcomes No. 23 Kansas to Marriott Center on Tuesday

PROVO, Utah - BYU welcomes No. 23 Kansas to the Marriott Center for the first time on Tuesday, Feb. 18. Tip is scheduled for 7 p.m. MT. 

WHERE TO WATCH
Tuesday's game will be broadcast on ESPN with Roxy Bernstein and Sean Farnham.

WELCOME TO THE BEEHIVE STATE
Tuesday will be the seventh all-time meeting between the two schools and Kansas second trip to Provo. The Cougars are 2-4 all-time against the Jayhawks.

Their previous meeting in Provo was BYU's only win in the series prior to to last season's 76-68 vitory at Allen Fieldhouse. Dave Eastis was one of four Cougars to score in double figures in a 80-70 victory for the Cougars on Dec. 20, 1960. Eastis finished with a game-high 22 points with Bruce Burton recording a 16-point, 12-rebound double-double. 

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YOU AREN'T IN KANSAS ANYMORE
BYU held Kansas State to a season-low 22 first half points in Saturday's 80-65 victory in front of 17,228 fans at the Marriott Center, ending the Wildcats six-game win streak. The Cougars led by 18 at intermission, 40-22, holding K-State to 29.7 percent shooting from the field including nine straight misses from 3-point range.  

Fousseyni Traore and Dallin Hall combined for 27 of BYU's 41 bench points as the second unit outscored the starters for a second straight game. Traore scored 10 points, marking the second time this season he has scored in double figures in the first half as the senior moved up to 28th on the all-time scoring list. Hall scored 14 of his season-high 16 points in the second half going 7-of-9 from the free throw line. 

Richie Saunders recorded his first career double-double in the BYU's fourth straight win in Provo over K-State. The junior led the team in scoring for a ninth time this season, finishing with 17 points to go along with a career-high 14 rebounds, five of those coming on the offensive glass. 

STELLAR SECOND UNIT
The Cougars rank second n the Big 12 and 18th nationally in bench points per game (30.24) after scoring more than half of their points for the second straight game and fifth time for the season. 

BYU is one of three Big 12 schools to rank in the Top 25 in the category as its second unit has scored 40 or more points four times, including a season-high 45 points in its overtime victory over Baylor on January 28. 

THE BEST ATMOSPHERE IN COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Since losing two of its first three Big 12 home games when it joined the league, BYU has won 11 of its last 13 conference games at the Marriott Center, including ranked wins over Iowa State and Baylor last season. 

In seven home conference games this season, BYU is outscoring opponents by close to 10 points per game (79.3-69.7) while shooting 49.2 percent from the field, 35.7 percent from three and 71.2 percent from the free throw line. They have held opponents under 70 points in four of their five league wins inside the friendly confines of the Marriott Center with the lone exception being the overtime victory over Baylor.

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TONIGHT IS THE NIGHT
The wait is almost over as Trevin Knell is one point away from becoming the 54th player in program history with 1,000 points as the senior has scored 14 points over the past four games, 12 of those coming in the first half. 

Tuesday will be his 140th appearance for the Cougars which will tie him with Kyle Collinsworth (2010-11, 13-16) for the third-most games played in history. The native of North Salt Lake is also two 3-pointers away from leapfrogging Chase Fischer (2014-16) and moving up to fifth on the all-time 3-point list. 

BEWARE OF KEBA
With his performance on Saturday, Keba Keita joined Kansas' Flory Bidunga and Arizona State's Jayden Quaintance as the only players in the Big 12 with at least nine points, 10 rebounds and five blocks in a game this season. Keitaís five blocks in the win over K-State were the most by a Cougar in a game since Matt Haarms had six against Saint Maryís on Feb. 27, 2021. 

The junior also went 4-of-5 from the field from the field and is now shooting a  team-high 63.0 percent from the field, the third-highest in a single season in program history (min. 50 FG made). He is also shooting 73.7 percent from the field in home games this season.

RICHIE RICH
BYU'S leading scorer Richie Saunders is having the best season of his career as the junior is scoring 15.0 points per game while shooting 50.0 percent from the field, 42.4 percent from three and 76.5 percent from the free throw line. He also ranks third on the team in offensive rebounds with 32, five of those coming in Saturday's win over K-State. 

The junior has scored in double figures in 11 of BYUís 14 Big 12 games as he ranks in scoring in league play at 16.9 points per game. He also is shooting a conference-high 43.8 percent from the behind the arc (min. 2.5 3FG/G) while ranking fifth in field goal percentage. 

UP NEXT
BYU starts its two-game road trip on Saturday, Feb. 22, when the Cougars make the trip to McKale Memorial Center to take on No. 19 Arizona. Tip is scheduled for 8 p.m. MT on ESPN.