Big 12 Women’s Tournament Kansas vs. BYU Preview
Here is everything you need to know about Kansas and BYU in our Jayhawks vs. Cougars Big 12 Tournament women’s basketball second-round preview.
Game 5: No. 7 Kansas (18-11, 11-7) vs. No. 10 BYU (16-15, 6-12)
Time, TV: 5:30 p.m. CT Friday, Big 12 Now/ESPN+
Location: T-Mobile Center, Kansas City, MO
Season series (Kansas 2-0): Kansas def. BYU, 67-53; Kansas def. BYU, 70-62.
Winner gets: a Saturday game with No. 2 seed Texas at 5:30 p.m. CT.
Here is the full Big 12 women’s tournament schedule and results.
Projected starting lineups
Kansas: C Taiyanna Jackson, G S’mya Nichols, G Ryan Cobbins, G Holly Kersgieter, G Zakiyah Franklin.
BYU: F Rose Bubakar, F Lauren Gustin, G Kailey Woolston, G Amari Whiting, G Kaylee Smiler.
Players to watch
Kansas
G S’Mya Nichols: Nichols emerged as one of the top freshmen in the Big 12 this season and earned a spot not only on the All-Big 12 First Team and the All-Big 12 Freshman Team. She averaged 15.1 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.6 assist while carving out a starting role on one of the most experienced teams in the Big 12.
BYU
F Lauren Gustin: She earned All-Big 12 Second-Team honors as the Cougars wrapped up their first season in the Big 12. Gustin was one of the few players in the conference to average a double-double all season, as she averaged 17.3 points and 15.4 rebounds per game. Gustin has averaged a double-double her entire college career.
Key storylines
Kansas
The Jayhawks entered the season with one of the most experienced starting lineups in the league but struggled mightily to start Big 12 play. At one point, after a loss to Oklahoma in late January, the Jayhawks were 10-10 and appeared to be heading nowhere. But after that loss, Kansas has won eight of its last nine games going into Kansas City and has played its way into a position to get a bid to the NCAA Tournament.
BYU
The Cougars held their own in their first season in the Big 12 and had two of the best freshmen in the league in Amari Whiting and Kailey Woolston. So BYU has building blocks for the future. But looking ahead to next year the Cougars need more wins against legacy Big 12 teams. Four of their six league wins were against the other three new teams to the league — Cincinnati, UCF and Houston.
Prediction
Kansas 76, BYU 69. BYU’s other two Big 12 wins were against Texas Tech and Baylor. Beating Kansas isn’t out of the question. But BYU has lost four of their last five and Kansas is on one of the hottest streaks in the conference.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
