Kevin Young Hopped On SportsCenter After BYU’s Win Over Kansas
Feb 19, 2025, 1:40 AM
PROVO, Utah – BYU basketball made its first national statement under head coach Kevin Young on Tuesday night.
The Cougars crushed No. 23 Kansas, 91-57 at the Marriott Center. It was the third-largest defeat in the history of Kansas basketball, and it was the biggest setback in the 22-year tenure of Bill Self.
BYU coach Kevin Young on SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt
What makes the win even sweeter for BYU is that it was in front of a nationally televised “Super Tuesday” audience on ESPN.
After BYU’s win, first-year head coach Kevin Young popped on the headset and had an interview with ESPN SportsCenter host Scott Van Pelt.
SVP starts the show with BYU, does a numbers segment on the Cougs, and then interviews Kevin Young. It’s a great time to be a BYU fan!!! pic.twitter.com/Azqlb5nXQG
— Jake Lee (@JakeLeei) February 19, 2025
Van Pelt laid out some noteworthy stats from BYU’s blowout victory, then turned his attention to Young, who earned a signature victory.
“It’s your first year there. I’ve been doing this for God knows how long. It feels like forever. I have never seen a Bill Self team get beat like that,” Scott Van Pelt said. “What has to go right for your guys to be on the right side of a victory like you had?”
Young replied, “Our guys believe in themselves. We’ve had a couple of good wins in a row. We just try to stack up good days. We’re starting to see the fruits of the labor. The attention to detail was top-notch on both ends of the floor.”
Van Pelt closed the interview by asking Young, “You’ve got a bunch of guys that get minutes and get points. How do you get a group to buy in to say, ‘Look, everyone’s gonna get theirs, but we could be better together if we’re all together. You know what I’m saying?”
Winning is all that matters
The first-year head coach, who had spent the past eight years in the NBA, highlighted his team’s maturity after the big win over Kansas.
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“You nailed it. You hit it on the head. It’s hard to have joy for your teammates when you’re over there sitting on the bench when you’re playing well. I think it speaks to the maturity of our group. Our practices have been super competitive, and we’ve had a lot of carryover. But, you know, we’ve got high-character guys in our locker room that care about one thing this time of year, and that’s winning. We’re really starting to see that come together.”
The win improves BYU’s record to 18-8 overall and 9-6 in Big 12 play. Next up for BYU is another matchup against an AP Top 25 team as the Cougars go on the road to take on No. 19 Arizona on Saturday in Tucson.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on X: @Mitch_Harper.
