In the current college landscape of the transfer portal and NIL payouts, you might think teammates sit around all day talking about how much money they can make.

You’d be wrong, at least if you’re thinking about BYU men’s basketball players.

Senior Spencer Johnson began his college career in 2018, well before the transfer portal and NIL became such a lightning rod. His perspective is unique.

“I think more than anything you just go out there and compete,” Johnson said. “I think the one thing we do talk about is the best way to attract NIL money for yourself as individuals is to win games. The better your team wins, the better shot you have to earn money. So I guess that the biggest conversation that we have.”

Last week, BYU head coach Mark Pope said NIL fundraising is probably the most important aspect of his coaching duties. And certainly the players are aware of what’s going on around them.

“This is definitely new territory for me and for a lot of people,” Johnson said. “I’m interested to see how it develops in the future. A lot of these teams around the country have really jumped on it and maybe got themselves into some trouble. You know, you’ve seen some articles out or whatever. But BYU is doing a really good job of doing it the right way. They are making sure that they’re attracting the right type of players and putting them in the right situations. So it will be interesting to see how it continues to unfold.”

SCOUTING REPORT

Kansas State was 14-4 on Jan. 20 and knocking at the door of a Top 25 ranking. The Wildcats, picked to finish sixth in the Big 12, were at the top of the league with a 4-1 record.

But then Kansas State lost four games in a row — three to ranked teams and one to last place Oklahoma State.

That’s the way the Big 12 is trending these days, right?

It’s hard to stay on top.

The Wildcats got suddenly well Monday, knocking off bitter rival and then-No. 4 Kansas 75-70 in overtime at Manhattan.

“They’re a good team,” Pope said. “I mean, they just beat Kansas. Seems like we always play the guys next that just beat Kansas. They play with a ton of energy. Their backcourt is really explosive with three guys who can go get their own basket at all three levels. They can make really hard shots and they really compliment each other well.”

Pope was talking about the triumvirate of 6-foot-3 junior Cam Carter (16 points per game), 5-11 North Texas transfer Tylor Perry (15.1) and 6-7 Creighton transfer Arthur Kaluma (14.4). Cougar fans are well aware of Kaluma, who scored 27 points for the Bluejays in an 83-80 BYU win at Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas last season.

Either Carter, Perry or Kaluma have led the Wildcats in scoring in 22 of the team’s 23 games.

One player BYU won’t be seeing on the court is guard Ques Glover, who suffered a knee injury in the team’s exhibition game against Emporia State back in November, then reinjured the knee in practice and hasn’t played this season. Glover originally signed with the Cougars last spring but left for Kansas State after just a month due to some issues with his NIL agreement. At the time, Wildcats coach Jerome Tang made some comments about trust in the NIL world that reflected badly on BYU, but Pope said he and Tang have worked things out.

“I’m a huge fan of his,” Pope said. “I think that he’s good for the game of basketball.”

The BYU-Kansas State series is being renewed for the first time since 2010, when the Cougars and Wildcats met in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. In a game played in Oklahoma City, Jacob Pullen scored 34 points to lead Kansas State to an 84-72 victory over BYU and junior Jimmer Fredette.

The Cougars are coming off their worst loss in Big 12 play, an 82-66 defeat at Oklahoma. Pope was non-committal about the possible return of starting big man Ali Khalifa, who has missed the past two games due to illness.

Johnson said BYU has moved on from the loss quickly.

“In the WCC, it seemed like you could lose one to like maybe three games, depending on who was against,” Johnson said. ” But the Big 12, any team can be any team on any night, as we’ve seen. So there’s no time to sit there and be like, ‘Oh my gosh, we just lost, what are we doing?’ We have another big, Top 25 team in three days. You’ve got to move on, you’ve got to learn from it. There’s no time to sit there and dwell on it.”

The last time the Kansas State was in Provo was in 1971, the first-ever game played in what was then a brand-new Marriott Center.

“They are a well-put together team and a well-thought out team,” Pope said. “They’re coming off an Elite 8 year so it’s another great team.”

Men’s College Basketball

Kansas State (15-8, 5-5 Big 12) at No. 21 BYU (16-6, 4-5 Big 12)

Saturday, 8 p.m. MT

Marriott Center in Provo

TV: ESPN2

Streaming: ESPN.com

Radio: KSL 102.7 FM/1160 AM

Live stats: byucougars.com

The Word: Kansas State leads the overall series 4-3. … The Wildcats won the last meeting, an 84-72 victory in the second round of the 2010 NCAA Tournament. … In Big 12 play, Kansas State is first in both field goal percentage defense and 3-point field goal percentage defense. … BYU is coming off its worst performance in a Big 12 game, a 16-point loss on the road to Oklahoma. … The Cougars are 11-2 at home this season.

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