BYU Men’s Basketball: Jimmer honored, but Saunders’ season-ending injury breaks hearts
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- BYU guard Richie Saunders (15) is helped off the court after an injury during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Colorado, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026, in Provo, Utah.
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- Former BYU star Jimmer Fredette addresses the crowd at the Marriott Center during his jersey retirement ceremony on Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026.
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- BYU guard Robert Wright III (1) celebrates after scoring a 3-point basket during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Colorado, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026, in Provo, Utah.
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- Shirts are displayed on seats where former BYU player Jimmer Fredette will have No. 32 retired during a ceremony at the BYU and Colorado, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026, in Provo, Utah.
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- BYU head coach Kevin Young, right, argues with a referee during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Colorado, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026, in Provo, Utah.
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- BYU’s Robert Wright III goes up for a shot against Colorado in a Big 12 men’s basketball game at the Marriott Center on Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026.
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- BYU’s AJ Dybantsa shoots over a defender against Colorado in a Big 12 men’s basketball game at the Marriott Center on Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026.
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- BYU’s AJ Dybantsa drives to the basket against Colorado in a Big 12 men’s basketball game at the Marriott Center on Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026.
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- Former BYU star Jimmer Fredette addresses the crowd at the Marriott Center during his jersey retirement ceremony on Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026.
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- Former BYU star Jimmer Fredette greets school president Shane Reese at the Marriott Center during a jersey retirement ceremony on Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026.
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- Former BYU star Jimmer Fredette signs autographs before a ceremony retiring his jersey at the Marriott Center on Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026.
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- BYU’s Robert Wright III dribbles to the basket against Colorado in a Big 12 men’s basketball game at the Marriott Center on Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026.
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- BYU’s AJ Dybantsa rises up for a shot against Colorado in a Big 12 men’s basketball game at the Marriott Center on Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026.
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- BYU’s Kennard Davis Jr. drives to the basket against Colorado in a Big 12 men’s basketball game at the Marriott Center on Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026.
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- BYU’s Robert Wright III goes up for a shot against Colorado in a Big 12 men’s basketball game at the Marriott Center on Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026.
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- BYU’s AJ Dybantsa (left) and Mahailo Boskovic defend a shot from Colorado’s Isaiah Johnson in a Big 12 men’s basketball game at the Marriott Center on Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026.
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- BYU men’s basketball head coach Kevin Young signals in a play during a Big 12 game against Colorado at the Marriott Center on Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026.
BYU gained another legend in the Marriott Center rafters on Saturday but may have lost the season.
Former Cougar great Jimmer Fredette had his No. 32 jersey retired at halftime of BYU’s game with Colorado but the 18,163 fans in attendance were still buzzing about what happened in the first minute of the contest.
On the Cougars’ first possession, All-Big 12 guard Richie Saunders drove the lane and leaped into the air to throw a pass. When he came down, he crumpled to the ground under the basket and grabbed his right knee.
A hush fell over the home crowd as medical staff attended to Saunders. They helped him to his feet and toward the BYU locker room to the other side of the court. When he’d nearly reached the tunnel, Saunders pulled away from the medical staff and waved to the crowd, moving under his own power.
Saunders would not return to the court and it appeared his parents and his wife were with him in the locker room.
On Sunday, BYU reported that Saunders suffered a season-ending ACL injury. So it appears Saunders, a senior with an eye toward playing professional basketball, has played his last game in a Cougar uniform.
The loss of Saunders is a devastating blow to a team that has relied so much on his scoring and leadership.
“It (the injury) sucked the life out of the gym, if I’m being honest,” BYU head coach Kevin Young said after the game. “You never want to see an injury to a player but definitely not to someone who’s the heart and soul of our team and bleeds BYU blue. Unfortunately, you’ve got to move on and find a way to channel that emotion.”
Meanwhile, what is now the “Big Two” led No. 22 BYU to a 90-86 overtime win against the Buffaloes. Sophomore Rob Wright III scored a career-high 39 points and freshman AJ Dybantsa — despite missing 14 of 20 shots and making seven turnovers — finished with 20 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists.
In the extra session, Wright — after almost losing the ball — dished to freshman Aleksej Kostic for a 3-pointer with 1:20 to play and an 85-82 lead. The Cougars made enough free throws in the game’s final minute to hold off the Buffaloes.
“His guy helped in and when I went to make my move, I just felt the paint was too congested,” Wright said. “So I looked out and he (Kostic) was relocating to the 3-point line. He makes shots like that all the time.”
As for Fredette, it was a glorious weekend of reunion and celebration. Each of the fans in the arena received a No. 32 jersey and stood to cheer as Fredette’s jersey was raised to the rafters, chanting “Jimmer! Jimmer! Jimmer!” just as crowds did 15 years ago.
“It’s pretty wild,” Fredette said. “It’s hard to put into words, right? You see all the jerseys that are up there, and it’s not easy to get your jersey retired at Brigham Young University, with all the requirements they have. So it’s a special thing to be able to have that and to be here and to do this with my family and my kids. I’m glad they waited 15 years, honestly, because I get to have all three of my kids here. The older two, for sure, kind of knew what was going on.”
Fredette found it hard to choose only one moment during his career as the most memorable.
“I’ve had so many great memories here and a lot of them were off the floor,” Fredette said. “A lot of them were just with my friends and being stupid college kids and having a great time on the (team) bus, doing fun things. But once we made the Sweet 16 my senior year, there’s not much better than that for us. To get that monkey off our backs, it was pure happiness.”
BYU received buzz as a possible Final Four team at the beginning of this season but without Saunders, the Cougars will be challenged to finish the Big 12 schedule on a positive note. BYU struggled to get past Colorado, a Quad 3 program with a 4-8 Big 12 record coming off a 34-point loss to Texas Tech on Wednesday.
As has been the case in most league games, the opponent’s guards feasted on the Cougars lack of perimeter defense. Freshman Isaiah Johnson, who came in averaging 16.1 points per game, scored a team-high 27 and Barrington Hargess (13.9) added 20 for Colorado.
BYU made 7 of it first eight 3-pointers and led by as many as eight in the first half, but the Buffaloes stayed close and pulled to within five on a Johnson 3-pointer with two seconds left.
The Cougars had a five-point lead after a 3-point play from Wright with 3:14 remaining but Colorado tied the score at 78 on a Johnson drive with 18 seconds to go. After a time out, Dybantsa was forced into an air ball jumper at the buzzer to send the game to overtime.
After the Kostic 3-pointer, Colorado earned three looks at tying the game after pulling down two offensive rebounds. But Sebastian Rancik missed twice and after Bangot Dak also missed, Dybantsa secured the key defensive rebound. The Cougars made just 5 of 8 from the free throw line down the stretch but it was enough.
Wright made 12 of 16 from the field, including 4 of 4 from the 3-point line, to top his previous career high of 30 he set on Tuesday at Baylor.
“Honestly, it just felt good to get the win,” Wright said. “They were doubling AJ, so I was just playing off him, making shots early. When Richie went down, I knew somebody had to step up. So I guess it was me today.”
Both Tyler Mrus and Kostic came off the bench to make a pair of 3-pointers each for the Cougars and Abdullah Ahmed played a season high 23 minutes, contributing five blocks.
All of those players will be forced into more minutes with Saunders officially out.
“I’m super confident (in the guys coming off the bench),” Dybantsa said. “I see these guys in practice stepping up. It’s definitely hard, because he (Saunders) brings so much shot making, he brings so much offensive rebounding, defensive rebounding, and he’s our vocal leader. He’s a vet on the team. But I have confidence in the guys to step up.”
BYU (19-6 overall, 7-5 Big 12) will head to Tucson next Wednesday for a showdown with top-ranked Arizona, The Cougars will be facing an angry bunch of Wildcats: Arizona lost at No. 9 Kansas 82-78 last Monday to see its unbeaten streak end at 23 games and fell at home 78-75 in overtime to No. 16 Texas Tech on Saturday.
The Wildcats (23-2, 10-2) beat BYU 86-83 in Provo on Jan. 26.
From Richie Saunders’ Instagram Page (rsaunders15)
“Unfortunate news last night — I tore my ACL, ending my season.
Thank you for all the thoughts and prayers. They mean more than you know.
To end my BYU career like this is heartbreaking. I’ve loved every moment and every challenge that came with representing the school I love. These past four years have shaped who I am — on and off the court.
Cougar Nation, thank you. Through the ups and downs, you’ve stuck with me. I’ll never forget that.
My story has never been one of ease. And while I didn’t plan for this, my career is not over. I will return with more fight and more grit than before. My goals haven’t changed.
I don’t always understand why things happen the way they do, but I trust that God is in the details. I trust His plan.
The next chapter begins the same way I’ve always lived.
Work With Faith.”
