BYU is doing things few people expected the Cougars to do in their first season competing in the Big 12 Conference. One such accomplishment was winning at Allen Fieldhouse.
The Cougars host TCU on Saturday in Provo, Utah, fresh off beating No. 7 Kansas 76-68 on Tuesday for their third road victory in league play.
In doing so, BYU (20-8, 8-7 Big 12) snapped the Jayhawks’ 19-game home winning streak. Other streaks also fell for Kansas, including an 82-game winning streak at home when leading at halftime and a 67-home game winning streak against unranked opponents.
BYU knocked down 13 3-pointers against Kansas to rally from a 12-point second-half deficit. Jaxson Robinson and Dallin Hall led the way with 18 points apiece. Hall sank two free throws to break a 66-66 tie and made a 3-pointer with 1:33 left to put the Cougars ahead for good.
In the end, BYU came away with its first win over Kansas since 1960.
“I was proud of how the guys hung in there,” Cougars coach Mark Pope said. “Defensively, I thought our guys were tough all night long.”
TCU (19-9, 8-7) will head to Utah looking to end a long drought in the win column against the Cougars. The Horned Frogs have dropped 16 straight games to BYU dating back to 1997. They never beat the Cougars when the two played one another in the Mountain West Conference from 2005 to 2012.
TCU has lost two of its past three contests after falling 62-54 at home to No. 15 Baylor on Monday night. Jameer Nelson Jr. paced TCU with 11 points.
The Horned Frogs trailed the entire second half with the Bears building as much as an 18-point lead. TCU produced a season-low point total and had a season-low seven fastbreak points. The Horned Frogs lead the nation in fastbreak points, averaging 19.1 per game.
“They played hard defense,” TCU forward Emanuel Miller said. “They threw the zone out for 40 minutes, and we just had no answer. This loss hurts. It definitely stings.”
–Field Level Media