A Double Technical Changed the Game in BYU's Win Over No. 7 Kansas
On Tuesday night, BYU did what no other team has been able to do this season: beat the Kansas Jayhawks in the Allen Fieldhouse. The win was unique for so many reasons. The Jayhawks had won 82 consecutive games at home when they had a halftime lead. Kansas also had not lost to an unranked team at home since 2018. The course of the game was also unique for BYU. BYU had only won one other game this season when trailing at halftime. In conference play, BYU had not won a game that they did not lead at halftime.
Credit: BYU Photo
At the start of the second half, it looked like Kansas was on the verge of taking control of the game. The Jayhawks started the second half on a 6-0 run and took a 12-point lead with 18 minutes remaining. Then a double technical was called on Kansas big man Hunter Dickinson and BYU wing Trevin Knell. During a dead ball, BYU got together for a quick huddle. Dickinson entered the huddle and gave Knell an elbow to the throat. Knell retaliated and pushed Dickinson back. After reviewing the play, the referees handed out double technical fouls to Dickson and Knell.
With the benefit of hindsight, that interaction completely changed the momentum of the game.
Before that point, Kansas was shooting 50% from the field. After the double technical, Kansas shot 24%. BYU was shooting 26% before the double technical, the Cougars shot 59% afterward. The Cougars outscored the Jayhawks 45-27 in that time.
Free throws were Kansas’ primary method of scoring in the second half. The Jayhawks were in the double bonus for the majority of the second half. The Jayhawks had 11 more free throw attempts than BYU if you exclude BYU’s last four attempts when Kansas was intentionally putting BYU on the line. Despite the free throw disparity, BYU held on to win.
BYU was the more resilient team and responded better to that situation and it showed down the stretch.
Dallin Hall, in particular, was fantastic over the last seven minutes. Hall finished with 18 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists. 13 of his 18 points came in the last seven minutes and every one of his points were critical to hold on for the win.
BYU has some really good wins this season. The Cougars have wins over top 25 programs Baylor, San Diego State, and Iowa State. This win over Kansas, however, was the best win of the season. Road wins are hard to come by in this conference. Road wins at Kansas, however, are few and far between in this conference. This win could give BYU the confidence to close strong in conference play. A 10-8 conference record is now on the table.
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