BYU builds its NCAA tournament resume with historic, signature win over No. 23 Kansas
Coming into Tuesday night's game against the No. 23 Kansas Jayhawks, BYU was in desperate need of a signature win.
The Cougars had yet to beat a ranked team all season, and have been tip-toeing the line of in and out of the NCAA Tournament for the last month.
Presented with a golden opportunity to cement their resume, the Cougars took it and ran, demolishing the Jayhawks 91-57.
When BYU needed it the most, it beat a ranked blue-blood by 34 points. It tied the record for the most lopsided loss during Kansas coach Bill Self's 22-year tenure.
The Cougars got their win.
Right out of the gates, BYU played nearly perfect.
All 15 of the Cougars made shots came off of assists and they only turned the ball over three times. Every coach's dream.
The ball movement was flowing so well for BYU that three Cougars scored in double figures before halftime. Richie Saunders, Mawot Mag, and Trevin Knell combined for 37 points on 10 of 13 shooting from deep in the first half.
It was evident early too that BYU came to play. After going up 8-0 early, Self elected to use the Jayhawks' first timeout less than two minutes into the game. He then burned Kansas' second timeout five minutes later.
The timeouts didn't slow down any of BYU's momentum. The Cougars had won the game before it even started.
"I thought we were awful, and I thought they were great," Self said. "I think BYU could've beat anybody tonight, they were great and we didn't do anything to make them play less than great."
There's no sugarcoating just how big this win is for BYU — 34-point wins over ranked blue bloods don't come along often.
Before this victory, the Cougars were desperately looking for that win. Up to this point, that win was probably at home against Baylor, a team that was unranked and 13-7 on the season.
The whole nation's eyes were centered on Provo tonight too, as the ESPN game did not have much competition nationally.
Coach Kevin Young even got the chance to get interviewed by Scott Van Pelt postgame, giving the world — and the selection committee — a glimpse of BYU basketball.
"It is cool, to be on ESPN, to have people watch what we've been doing," Young said. "Hopefully people can take note that need to take note."