BYU Set To Host No. 23 Kansas For First Time At Marriott Center
Feb 17, 2025, 3:04 PM | Updated: 10:07 pm
BYU will host No. 23 Kansas at the Marriott Center, one year after knocking off the Jayhawks in Lawrence. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
(Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
PROVO, Utah – It’s been 64 seasons since BYU basketball last hosted the Kansas Jayhawks in Provo.
That last visit by Kansas on December 20, 1960, was when BYU played in the Smith Fieldhouse, not their current home of more than 50 years, the Marriott Center.
Since BYU was invited to the Big 12 Conference in 2021, one of the marquee events in the league that media and fans have pointed to was men’s basketball playing games against blueblood Kansas.
BYU will get its first chance to host Kansas inside the Marriott Center as Big 12 Conference foes on Tuesday night. The game has been sold out for weeks.
Kansas enters the game after losing at Utah in Salt Lake City on Saturday. The Jayhawks are still ranked No. 23 in the latest AP Top 25 poll, their lowest ranking in four years.
BYU is riding high on a two-game win streak after taking down West Virginia in Morgantown and red-hot Kansas State over the weekend in Provo.
Both teams are 8-6 in Big 12 play in a tie to have an outright lead for fifth place in the league standings.
BYU vs. Kansas on Super Tuesday
Last year, BYU pulled off a surprising upset over No. 7 Kansas. BYU went into Allen Fieldhouse and ended the Jayhawks’ 19-game home win streak with a 76-68 victory.
Will revenge be on Kansas’s mind?
Kansas head coach Bill Self said he hadn’t heard any revenge talk from his guys. Regardless, BYU sounds ready for the challenge.
“I think you can also add in, BYU goes there last year, beats them at their place. They come out here, they’ve lost a couple in a row, you can make that narrative that they’re going to be hungry and this and that. Well, so are we,” said BYU head coach Kevin Young on the Kansas matchup. “We’ve played a couple of good games in a row, but we’re hungry as well. So I think all of that stuff kind of goes out the window once the ball gets thrown up, and you’ve just got to execute the game plan.”
BYU basketball notes entering Kansas matchup
- Richie Saunders is fifth in scoring during Big 12 play at 16.9 points per game.
- BYU is number one in team field goal percentage in league action at 47.5%.
- BYU has improved to 11th in the Big 12 in team free throw percentage at 69.7%.
- Richie Saunders is number one in 3-point field goal percentage in the Big 12 at 43.8%.
- Dallin Hall scored a season-high 16 points in BYU’s win over Kansas State.
- Egor Demin dished out eight assists in the Kansas State win. Demin is number one in assist rate in the Big 12.
Getting to know the Kansas Jayhawks
Since a shocking double overtime loss to Houston in Lawrence, Kansas is 3-4 and has not won consecutive games in close to a month. In that seven-game stretch, they haven’t lost consecutive games.
Kansas will look to continue that trend as they get set to take on BYU on Tuesday night.
The Jayhawks were the preseason AP No. 1 team in the country for the second consecutive year. During Big 12 play, they have not come close to looking like the dominant team that many believed Kansas would be entering the season.
What’s confusing about Kansas is that they still have a resume that includes wins over Michigan State, Duke, and Iowa State.
It’s an inconsistent team. Yet, when Kansas plays at its best, they can compete with anyone in the sport.
Kansas continues to be led by center Hunter Dickinson, who is fourth in scoring during Big 12 play at 17.1 points per game, second in rebounds with 8.9 per game, and is third in field goal percentage at 51.3%.
Kansas is the most experienced team in college basketball, with Dickinson, Dajuan Harris, KJ Adams, and former South Dakota State transfer Zeke Mayo.
Despite that experience and star power in the post with Dickinson, Utah held Kansas to only six offensive rebounds. Meanwhile, Utah had 16 offensive boards. That will be an area to monitor in Tuesday’s matchup against BYU.
Kansas head coach Bill Self is in his 22nd season leading the Jayhawks. The veteran coach last visited the Marriott Center in Provo when he was the head coach at Tulsa in 1998. BYU lost to Self’s Golden Hurricane, 65-59, in a matchup from the old 16-team WAC.
BYU vs. No. 23 Kansas
Date: Tuesday, February 18, 2025
Tip-Off: 7 p.m. (MST)/8 p.m. (CST)
TV: ESPN
Radio: KSL NewsRadio (102.7 FM, 1160 AM – Pregame begins at 6 p.m.)
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.
