Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
- BYU defeated No. 23 Kansas 91-57, with Trevin Knell scoring 15 points.
- Knell achieved his 1,000th career point at home, delighting the sold-out crowd.
- Coach Kevin Young praised Knell's performance, highlighting his leadership and shooting prowess.
PROVO — Trevin Knell needed just 26 seconds to get his own career milestone out of the way in BYU's statement-making 91-57 rout of No. 23 Kansas, but 6-foot-5 sharpshooter didn't stop there Tuesday night.
The former Cal signee whose BYU career has included two coaching changes, NCAA Tournament highs, and all-too-many lows of injury that included missing the entire 2022-23 season following rotator cuff surgery, sprinted up the court on a fast break, took a pass from leading scorer Richie Saunders, and flushed his 215th 3-pointer of his career as part of an 8-0 run to start a game that BYU (18-7, 9-6 Big 12) never trailed.
With it — and a season-high three more 3-pointers that helped hand the Jayhawks back-to-back losses for the first time this season — Knell scored 15 points with eight rebounds and four assists and became the 54th 1,000-point scorer in BYU men's basketball history.
Saunders, who leads BYU in scoring, finished with a game-high 22 points. But Knell's perimeter acumen was a key spark for a team that shot 14-of-36 from the 3-point line and assisted on 24-of-34 made field goals.
That his 1,000th career point came at home, in front of a sold-out crowd of 17,978 fans, was no less important for Knell, who has become a fan favorite for a BYU team that welcomed former coach Mark Pope to the program following legendary coach Dave Rose's retirement as Knell returned to the program in 2019 following a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Uruguay.
"It means a lot to me in terms of hard work," Knell said of his 1,000th career point, adding that it came as a "continuation" of a three-game winning streak. "My career has been up and down with injuries and stuff like that, but being able to get 1,000 — especially at home in front of a crowd like this — was a really special time. We're playing for each other. I think we are turning a corner at a great time."
After initially committing to Rose before his mission — and after Cal fired the head coach who recruited him in Cuonzo Martin — Knell also watched Pope leave for his alma mater Kentucky last spring, based on three postseason appearances in five years (including the COVID-19 impacted 2019-20 campaign) and an NCAA Tournament berth a year ago en route to a 23-11 overall record.
Yes, Knell has seen almost everything in his six seasons at BYU — or maybe close to a decade, if you believe the snarky quips of first-year coach Kevin Young. The NBA's former highest-paid assistant coach has leaned on his veterans since returning to the college ranks for the first time in over 10 years, even while assembling a roster of four- and five-star talent like Egor Demin and Kanon Catchings.
Perhaps fittingly, Knell was the first player to re-commit to Young after he was hired in April, setting the tone to bring back the team's core of Saunders, Dallin Hall, Fousseyni Traore, Dawson Baker and others.
"Shout out to Trev for going over 1,000 points in his BYU career; it only took him 10 years to do it," Young said cheekily of his veteran leader who teammates call the Shot Doctor. "That's impressive, but I love Trev. He was sick yesterday, and even missed shootaround, but I wasn't worried about him. He knows what's going on out there."
Knell shot 5-of-11 from the field, but 4-of-7 from the perimeter in 22 minutes for a BYU team whose 10 first-half 3-pointers set a season-high. Add to it the catch-and-shoot prowess of Mawot Mag, who scored 10 of his 13 points in the first half on 3-of-4 3-point shooting, and the Cougars carried a multi-dimensional threat against one of college basketball's biggest brands (and an NCAA Tournament staple).
"I thought Trevin's shot making really set the tone for us, especially when they tried to go with the bigger lineup," Young said. "They just couldn't catch the ball, and he made them pay.
"Mawot's a guy who, when he's making decisive catch-and-shoot reads, he can get in rhythm. And I thought we were really hurting them on some of the single-side, pick-and-roll action, and he was able to find rhythm. They give up a lot of threes, and tonight he made them pay."
For Knell, Tuesday night's game that marks Kansas' worst loss since Bill Self took over in 2003, and the second-worst in program history, ranks among the highlights of his career. That's not only for his personal mark, but because of the win that improved BYU to 2-0 against the Jayhawks since the two became Big 12 foes two years ago.
But mostly for the 17,978 friends who gave him his flowers before the Cougars head out on a two-game road trip that begins Saturday against No. 19 Arizona (8 p.m. MST, ESPN).
"This is a special win, especially doing it in front of our fans," Knell said. "It was really cool. The energy from the start of the whistle to the end of the whistle was there. I say it every time, but I think the Marriott Center is the best place to play in the country."
