BYU cools off Kansas State's hot streak in shutdown fashion

In the fight to keep both teams' NCAA Tournament chances alive, the Kansas State Wildcats challenged BYU, in Provo, as the hottest team in the Big 12.

The Wildcats had won six straight games, including beating four ranked opponents. The hot streak abruptly ended as BYU came ready to play, leading to an 80-65 win.

The Cougars and Wildcats got off to hot starts from the field, with Kansas State hitting three quick 3s. Those were the only three the Wildcats would make to finish the half shooting 3 of 12 from 3.

Kansas State struggled to score the basketball all night due to the Cougars' relentless defensive effort. In the last 7:43 of the first half, the BYU defense held Kansas State to only two points.

“I thought we set the tone really well with our defensive execution coming out to start the first half,” said head coach Kevin Young. “We did some really good things against a team that can be challenging to guard given their different pick-and-roll combinations.”

The Cougars also had seven blocks on the night with five of them coming from Keba Keita.

BYU, on the other hand, quickly took advantage of the hard closeouts from Kansas State and attacked the paint early and often. Scoring 24 points in the paint in the first half, something the Cougars would take advantage of all night.

“That was a massive point of emphasis coming into the game, they (Kansas State) give up the most rim shots in the Big 12.” said Young.

The game looked to be tucked away to start the second half, but Kansas State wasn’t content to get blown out on the road. Point guard Dug McDaniel did all he could to keep the Wildcats in the game, scoring 15 of his 22 points in the second half, the third 20-point game of his career.

Despite its efforts, Kansas State could never pull within striking distance of taking the lead from BYU, as the Cougars withstood runs and quickly responded with their own. Dallin Hall and Richie Saunders took over the scoring load in the second half for the Cougars to help them maintain the lead.

Saunders had a career-night, recording the first double-double of his career. He finished with 17 points and 14 rebounds, five of those rebounds coming on the offensive glass.

“His will is uncommon, so shout out to him.” said Young.

Dallin Hall also scored 16 points, 14 of them coming in the second half.

“My teammates and my coaches have been on me to be assertive and get downhill more,” said Hall. “The rim was open tonight so I put it in the basket.”

The Cougars looked like they learned from the win at West Virginia that there is strength in numbers. Young elected to play a 12-man rotation that featured lineups that had not been seen all year.

“Having depth is a blessing and a curse,” said Young. “It shows the maturity of our group to be able to allow us to do that (play 12 guys).”

BYU’s defense-first mindset held Kansas State to just 41% from the field and 28.6% from three as the Cougars snapped the Wildcats’ six-game winning streak.

With the win, the Cougars now move to 8-6 in the Big 12, tied for fifth place with Kansas and Baylor.

BYU host the No. 17 Kansas Jayhawks in the Marriott Center Feb. 18.