After leading his team past No. 7 Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse on Tuesday night, BYU coach Mark Pope said the 76-68 victory was memorable in part because of where it happened.
“I think the guys agree that everybody that grows up knows what this place is, and then, this was my first time walking into a game and I’ve never seen an atmosphere quite like this,” Pope said after ending the Jayhawks’ 19-game home winning streak. “It’s actually really special. This is a great team. We’re grateful we got an opportunity to come and compete here. It’s one of the meccas in college basketball.”
BYU erased a double-digit lead in the second half with a 3-point barrage (7-of-15 after halftime). And Kansas struggled to get any offense from its half-court sets, missed key free throws down the stretch and couldn’t defend the perimeter as BYU turned the game in its favor after the break.
It was just the 18th home loss since Bill Self took over at Kansas in 2003. And it snapped a handful of other notable Jayhawks streaks, including an 82-game home win streak when leading at halftime and a 67-game home win streak against unranked opponents.