With 13:34 left in Saturday’s Kansas-BYU matchup, Bryson Tiller had a clean look from deep. He was already 3-for-3 from beyond the arc, putting together his best shooting night from distance since November. But instead of settling, the KU freshman gave fans a reminder of just how explosive he can be.
The play started with Tiller setting a screen for Jayden Dawson. BYU’s defense overcommitted to Dawson, leaving Tiller wide open on the perimeter.
He gave a quick shot fake, and BYU’s Abdullah Ahmed bit-hard. As Ahmed flew by, Tiller put the ball on the deck, took one dribble, and exploded toward the rim.
Even with Richie Saunders stepping in to help, it didn’t matter. Tiller launched from the Big 12 logo and hammered home a statement dunk, stretching KU’s lead to its largest margin of the game.
It wasn’t just a highlight-it was a moment that captured the version of Tiller Kansas has been waiting to see consistently.
The freshman forward finished with a career-high 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting, adding 7 rebounds and knocking down three triples. It was the first time he’d made multiple threes in a game since non-conference play, and he made more from deep in this one night than in his previous 16 games combined.
One of those makes? A contested corner three early in the shot clock-pure confidence, the kind that comes when a player knows his teammates and coaches believe in him.
That trust was clear postgame.
“My teammates are trusting me to be aggressive,” Tiller said. “That’s going to open up a lot of things on the floor for them as well. Just being aggressive, using my skill and size.”
Head coach Bill Self echoed the sentiment, noting that Tiller played with the kind of assertiveness the staff has been pushing him to embrace.
“I thought he was aggressive,” Self said. “When you play a big guy the way we’re playing him… I think sometimes he can get a little bit lost and float. Tonight, I didn’t see that at all.”
That “floating” Self referred to has been part of Tiller’s up-and-down freshman campaign. He’s had stretches of high-level play, and others where he’s looked like a player still figuring things out. But Saturday night, he looked locked in from the jump-and not just because of the moment, but because of the message.
Melvin Council Jr. made sure Tiller felt that message loud and clear. Whether it was pregame or in-game, Council wasn’t shy about firing up the freshman.
“The reason he played like that-I was in his ear,” Council said. “I can’t say what I said to him, but I like that.
I just called him soft, but in a different way. He’s got a switch.
BT is the type of guy that, when coaches yell or players yell, he turn it up. I like that about him, and he don’t let it affect him at all.”
Tiller didn’t deny it. But he also made it clear-his confidence doesn’t waver.
“I trust in my game wholeheartedly,” he said. “I feel like no one can bring my confidence down, so it’s just a matter of me being turned up, which I continue to do.”
This wasn’t just a breakout game-it was a statement under the bright lights. With 32 NBA representatives in the building, including multiple general managers, scouts, and even an owner, Tiller picked the perfect time to deliver his most complete performance yet. And Self didn’t shy away from acknowledging that the stakes may have elevated his play.
“You can’t tell me… Bryson didn’t love the opportunity to go against one of their guys,” Self said. “You can’t tell me that there’s not an individual pride standpoint, just like them guarding DP. One thing about having guys on your team that everybody would be watching from a professional standpoint-it allows everybody else the opportunity to be seen.”
With Darryn Peterson sitting most of the second half, Kansas needed someone to step up. Tiller answered the call-and then some.
He’s now posted back-to-back games with 15+ points for the first time in his college career. If this is the version of Tiller that Kansas can count on down the stretch, it changes the ceiling for this team.
One game doesn’t define a season, but sometimes it reveals what’s possible. For Bryson Tiller, Saturday night wasn’t just a career-high-it was a glimpse of what might be coming next.