Richie Saunders leads BYU into Big 12 clash vs. Cincinnati

Field Level Media|published: Sat 25th January, 02:47 2025

Jan 18, 2025; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Brigham Young Cougars forward Richie Saunders (15) lays the ball up during overtime at Jon M. Huntsman Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images

Despite the hype that has surrounded BYU freshman Egor Demin -- a potential NBA lottery draft pick -- it's junior Richie Saunders who has been the Cougars' MVP and steadiest player this season.

BYU (12-6, 3-4 Big 12) will lean on Saunders again Saturday night when it hosts Cincinnati (12-6, 2-5) and tries to get its conference record back to .500.

In an 83-67 victory at Colorado on Tuesday -- BYU's first true road win this season -- Saunders scored 25 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the field and grabbed five rebounds. He is averaging a team-high 14.5 points while shooting 52 percent overall and 43 percent from 3-point range.

"Richie's been a stud for us all year," BYU coach Kevin Young said. "He's very consistent. He's a hard guy to stop, because a lot of stuff he gets, he gets it within the flow. He probably has one of the quickest releases in the country, I think."

The Cougars likely will need more than the two points Saunders contributed last year when Cincinnati visited Provo and upset the then-No. 12 Cougars 71-60 in BYU's Big 12 debut.

Trevin Knell led BYU with 27 points on nine 3-pointers when the teams met last year. Knell had 14 points against Colorado to help the Cougars win for the second time in three games after a three-game skid.

Demin dished out a team-high seven assists to go with eight points, four steals and two blocked shots against the Buffaloes.

The Cougars made 11 of 24 3-point attempts, which played a key factor as they turned a two-point halftime lead into a blowout victory. This season, BYU is shooting 35.9 percent beyond the arc.

"They can rain threes like Texas Tech can do," Cincinnati coach Wes Miller said. "They probably get to them slightly differently, but you've got to get set in transition and not give them up. You can't give them up on offensive rebounds like we did against Texas Tech."

In an 81-71 loss to the visiting Red Raiders on Tuesday, Cincinnati allowed 10 offensive rebounds and were outrebounded 34-27. The Bearcats shot 51.9 percent from the field but made only three 3-pointers compared to 12 for Texas Tech.

Jizzle James led Cincinnati's offense with 17 points, while leading scorer Simas Lukosius (12.2 ppg) was held to 10 points on 1-of-7 shooting from the field.

--Field Level Media