No. 14 Kansas Basketball vs No. 13 BYU: Get to Know the Cougars

The No. 14 ranked Kansas Jayhawks (15-5, 5-2) tip off against the No. 13 ranked BYU Cougars (17-3, 5-2) inside Allen Fieldhouse at 3 p.m. CT Saturday afternoon for what is expected to be one of the best games of the entire college basketball season.

The Jayhawks have won four straight games since their disappointing loss at West Virginia earlier this month, while BYU heads to Lawrence fresh off a close loss at home to No. 1 Arizona (86-83) on Monday night.

Here are some things to know about the Cougars ahead of the game on Saturday.

History

Kansas owns a 4-3 all-time record versus BYU dating back to their first meeting on Dec. 19, 1959 – a game KU won handily 96-64. The Jayhawks lost the next matchup a year later in Provo, Utah, but then rattled off three straight wins against the Cougars spanning from 1971 to 2019.

However, BYU is undefeated versus KU since joining the Big 12 and has beaten the Jayhawks in back-t0-back seasons. With a win in Lawrence on Saturday, they would even the series at 4-4.

Record

The Cougars are 17-3 overall and 5-2 in Big 12 play this season. Their three losses have come against No. 2 UConn in Boston (86-84), at Texas Tech (84-71), and home against No. 1 Arizona (86-83).

They have just one win this year against a team that is currently ranked in the top 25 and that is No. 22 Clemson, whom the Cougars narrowly defeated 67-64 at Madison Square Garden in early December.

Key players

It’s no surprise who leads BYU in scoring this season, and that is star freshman forward AJ Dybantsa. He averages 23.6 points per game (ppg) on 53% shooting from the field and 31.8% from 3-point range. He’s also second on the team in rebounds (6.7 per game) and assists (3.6 per game).

Senior guard Richie Saunders is the second leading scorer for the Cougars with an average of 18.8 ppg. He’s also one of the more dangerous outside shooting threats for BYU, averaging 39.3% from behind the arc. He’s made 53 of his 135 3-point attempts this season.

Sophomore guard Robert Wright III is a key player for the Cougars as well, averaging 17.4 ppg. The Baylor transfer also leads the team in assists with an average of 5.2 per game. Last season for the Bears he was named Big 12 All-Freshman Team and Big 12 Honorable Mention.

Coaching

BYU is led by second-year head coach Kevin Young. His first year was a huge success for the program as he led the Cougars to a 26-10 record and a Sweet 16 appearance in the NCAA Tournament. His 26 wins were the most for a first-year head coach in school history.

He came to Provo with a wealth of experience in the NBA, most recently as associate head coach for the Phoenix Suns. He now owns a 43-13 (.768) record as head coach at BYU.