The post-game interviews with BYU basketball after Saturday’s win against Kansas State were a little more graphic than usual.

Don’t worry, nobody lost their heads and said naughty words or anything like that. The Honor Code wasn’t breached.

No, it was the description of what junior center Aly Khalifa has gone through the past two weeks while dealing with an illness that caused him to miss two games.

“Aly was six (assists) and two (turnovers),” BYU coach Mark Pope said. “He came off eight days of bed rest and 17 quarts of vomit and he’s six and two. Come on. How great is that?”

Khalifa also scored eight points on a pair of 3-pointers in the first half.

“Obviously, I haven’t played basketball in two weeks,” Khalifa said.

Pope interjected, “You haven’t done anything for two weeks.”

Khalifa continued: “I’ve been asleep and throwing up for two weeks. It was great to be back competing with the guys and just having fun out there at home. The guys played great. We played hard. So I’m very happy with the win.”

Khalifa played just short of 20 minutes in his return.

“I was a little worried yesterday (Friday),” he said. “In practice I was kind of up and down a little bit. Shout out to Rob (trainer Rob Ramos) and Wiz (strength and conditioning coach Michael Davie) for trying to keep me in shape. Obviously I was a little tired today. I haven’t played for a while and I’ve been sick for a long time.”

Another player making an appearance after a long absence was junior guard Trey Stewart, who hadn’t seen any game action since the Cougars’ Big 12 opener against Cincinnati on Jan. 6.

Stewart entered  Saturday’s game at the 12:09 mark of the first half to a warm reception from the home fans. He made an immediate impact on both ends of the floor. Stewart played nearly nine minutes and scored four points while adding three rebounds, two steals and an assist.

“I was really proud of Trey,” Pope said. “He’s been increasingly bringing unbelievable energy to our practices and in our locker room. He’s been playing great in practice and working hard. His minutes were really really important to me. He played a huge role in the swing and I’m really happy for him. It’s awesome to watch guys grow, man. It really is. It’s pretty special.”

Every game

Kansas State coach Jerome Tang was asked about what BYU and fellow newcomers UCF, Cincinnati and Houston have brough to the Big 12.

“Just look at the NET (ranking),” Tang said. “Tonight was a great environment, great coaches, really good teams, from top to bottom. I think two games separate, first (place) from 10th or whatever it is, and there’s no there’s no easy game, whether it’s at home or on the road, there’s no easy win. Anybody can beat anybody and we have the best conference in America. That’s why we’ll have 10, maybe 11 teams in the NCAA Tournament.”

On Tuesday BYU gets its first rematch in the Big 12 by hosting UCF (13-9 overall, 4-6 Big 12).

The Cougars earned their first league win on Jan. 13, beating the Knights 63-58 in Orlando. It was similar to the Kansas State win because BYU built a double-digit lead against UCF, lost most of it in the second half but held on for the victory.

The Knights have lost three of their past four games, including Saturday’s 66-59 defeat in Lubbock at the hands of No. 23 Texas Tech. The Red Raiders held a one-point advantage with two minutes to play when UCF missed a free throw that would have tied the game. A Darrion Williams jumper allowed Texas Tech to take a 60-57 lead with 1:45 remaining and the home team made six straight free throws to hold on.

Seven-footer Ibrahima Diallo, who impacts the game at both ends for the Knights, sat out the Texas Tech game due to a knee injury.

UCF’s win in the last four-game stretch was against then-No. 23 Oklahoma, which handed BYU its worst Big 12 loss last Tuesday.

“What a team,” Pope said about the Knights. “It’s like a slugfest and they’re doing an unbelievable job moving into the big 12. They’ve had huge wins. They’re ridiculously physical and athletic. Jonny (Dawkins) is a great coach and a better human being and I love him. So it’s going to be an all-out war, just like every game is in this league.”

Men’s College Basketball

UCF (13-9, 4-6 Big 12) at No. 19 BYU (17-6, 5-5 Big 12)

Tuesday, 7 p.m. MT

Marriott Center in Provo

TV: None

Streaming: ESPN.com

Radio: Sirius XM 143/BYU Radio.org/BYU Radio app/KSL 102.7 FM/1160 AM

Live stats: byucougars.com

The Word: BYU won the previous meeting with UCF 63-58 in Orlando on Jan. 13. … The Knights have two wins against Top 25 teams this season (No. 23 Oklahoma, No. 4 Kansas). The program has never won three games against Top 25 teams in a season. … BYU has been ranked in the Top 25 for 12 straight weeks, the fourth-longest streak in school history.

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