LAWRENCE, Kan. – BYU picked up its biggest win of the Mark Pope era on Tuesday night at Phog Allen Fieldhouse, defeating No. 7 Kansas 76-68 in a crucial Big 12 game.
The Cougars (8-7, 20-8) trailed by as many as 12 points in the second half before staging a spirited comeback in one of the toughest places in college basketball.
Kansas fell to 9-6 and 21-7, losing at home for the first time this season.
The Cougars capitalized on KU's 19 of 31 shots from the free throw line and made 12 of 15 from the charity stripe themselves.
They were 13 of 34 from 3-point range, three days after going 6 of 31 from distance in a loss to Kansas State.
Here are 3 keys to the Cougars' big win:
• For the third straight game, the Cougars got off to a terrible start. They fell behind 8-3 and 12-6, and to make matters worse, starters Noah Waterman and Trevin Knell each picked up two quick fouls in the first 10 minutes.
It was almost the third straight road game in which the Cougars never took a lead, following their appearances at Oklahoma State and Kansas State. However, the Cougars rallied in the second half and led 62-60 with 3:35 left when Dallin Hall hit a three-pointer.
Kansas shot 15 of 30 from the field and took a 35-29 lead at halftime. Kansas also had a 12-point lead in the second half. The Jayhawks shot 40% from the field.
• BYU had no answer early on for KU's KJ Adams Jr., who scored his first nine points inside and put a couple of Cougars in foul trouble. He was 4 of 7 in the first half and 1 of 2 from the line. But he only scored two points in the second half.
Kansas big man Hunter Dickinson, the Big 12 Player of the Year candidate, had a mediocre first half by his standards with seven points and six rebounds. He finished the game with 17 points but was a frigid 6 of 15 from the free throw line.
Kansas' poor free throw shooting cost the Jayhawks the game.
• The Cougars stuck to their game plan and hit 3-pointers at every opportunity. They were 6 of 19 from deep in the first half – Jaxson Robinson was 2 of 4. They finished 13 of 34 from deep – after going 6 of 31 three days ago at Kansas State.
Dallin Hall struggled with foul trouble and was eventually fouled out, but not before scoring 18 points; Robinson also had 18, while Noah Waterman had nine.