BYU Basketball Uses Dominant First Half to End Kansas State's Winning Streak

Going into their game against BYU on Saturday night, Kansas State was the hottest team in the country. The Wildcats had won six consecutive games, including wins over four Top 25 teams. BYU ended that winning streak, using a dominant first half to beat Kansas State 80-65.

BYU big man Keba Keita was the top story of the night. Keita was an absolute force on defense. He had a career high five blocks against the Wildcats. He dominated the paint defensively from start to finish. Keita finished with 9 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 blocks. It was the first time a BYU player had five or more blocks in the same game since Matt Haarms in 2021.

Keba hosting a block party tonight 😎

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— BYU Men's Basketball (@BYUMBB) February 16, 2025

The first half was perhaps the best half of the season for BYU. The Cougars outscored Kansas State 40-22 and kept a Kansas State offense in check that averaged 77 points per game during their winning streak. The Wildcats scored just 2 points during the final 7:43 of the first half.

Veteran Richie Saunders led BYU with 17 points and a career high 13 rebounds. It was his first career double-double. It was a nice bounce-back game for Saunders who had an uncharacteristic couple of games at Cincinnati and West Virginia.

Dallin Hall had a season high 16 points on 4/8 shooting. Hall was +21 on the night, second behind only Richie Saunders who was +25. Hall has been getting better and better over the last few weeks. Hall has turned into the "X" factor for this BYU basketball team. When he is playing well, BYU is usually playing well.

BYU will turn the page to take on Kansas at home on Tuesday. That is a massive opportunity for BYU to potentially get off the bubble and firmly in the NCAA Tournament field.