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BYU guard Richie Saunders celebrates after an NCAA college basketball game against Kansas Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024, in Lawrence, Kan. BYU won 76-68.

Charlie Riedel, AP Photo

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BYU's Richie Saunders, left, drives past TCU's Emanuel Miller during a Big 12 men's basketball game at the Marriott Center on Saturday, March 2, 2024.

Courtesy BYU Photo

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BYU's Richie Saunders drives to the basket against Arizona State in a Big 12 men's basketball game in the Marriott Center on Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

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BYU's Richie Saunders celebrates a 91-89 victory against Wisconsin in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at Ball Arena in Denver, Colo., on Saturday, March 22, 2025.

Courtesy BYU Photo

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BYU guard Richie Saunders, whose great-grandfather helped invent the Tater Tot, has signed an NIL deal with Ore-Ida.

Courtesy Ore-Ida

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Emotions will be overflowing on Saturday night in the Marriott Center, for obvious reasons.

It’s Senior Night and one of the most popular players to ever wear a BYU uniform, Richie Saunders, will receive his final good-bye from the ROC and loyal Cougar fans just weeks after a knee injury stole the rest of his senior year.

If you come to Saturday’s game wearing one of Saunders’ signature headbands, you’re a real one.

On top of those wistful emotions will be the frustration BYU fans and players have been feeling lately with a once promising season slipping away.

The Cougars come into Saturday’s Big 12 regular-season finale against No. 10 Texas Tech unranked, having lost three games in a row and four of their past five.

Coming home to the Marriott Center after two losses on an Eastern road swing would usually bring some relief, but the place may bring back bad memories from BYU’s last home game: A 97-85 loss to UCF where the Cougars trailed by 36 points just three minutes into the second half.

Saunders began his career as a energy guy coming off the bench, but thrived last season under head coach Kevin Young to earn first-team All-Big 12 honors. He was stellar in BYU’s Sweet 16 run last season, drawing national attention when it became known that his great-grandfather, Nephi Gregg, created the Tater Tot.

This season, Saunders averaged 18 points and 5.8 rebounds per game while shooting 38% from the 3-point line. His 33-point, 10-rebound performance at Kansas, where he scored 24 in the second half and made six 3-pointers, took place in front of dozens of NBA scouts.

On BYU’s first offensive possession against Colorado on Feb. 14, Saunders went down in a heap under the Cougars basket and had to be helped from the court, stunning fans and teammates. The verdict came the next day: A season-ending ACL injury that devastated BYU’s chances of making another NCAA Tournament run.

Saunders spent all four years of his college eligibility in Provo.

How rare is that?

CBS Sports College Basketball Writer Isaac Trotter did some research and found that there are only 22 high-major scholarship players who will celebrate Senior Night this week having played at just one place. There are five in the Big 12 (including Saunders).

With a NET ranking of 25 and a 6-8 record against Quad 1 opponents, BYU would seem to be safely in the NCAA Tournament field. But the Cougars, once projected to be as high as a No. 3 seed, have seen their seeding fall steadily in the past month.

Saunders’ leadership is missed more than his scoring ability, and that leadership mantle has fallen on freshman AJ Dybantsa and sophomore Robert Wright III, the team’s two top scorers.

The growth (of leadership without Saunders) is a work in progress,” Young said. “For sure, you’re asking young guys to do a lot more from a leadership standpoint. It’s not just Richie we miss. We miss Dawson Baker’s leadership. We miss Nate Pickens’ veteran leadership. So that’s the hand we’ve been dealt.

“I’m a very optimistic person. I think it’s a great opportunity for a guy like AJ, even though he’s a freshman, to learn how to be a leader in a very pressure cooker-type of situation. There’s a lot on the line, and I think he can really grow during this time because of it. I’ve talked to him about that. I think about Rob the same way. Keba (Keita) is a guy who’s quiet, but he’s a guy who’s been here before. Mihailo (Boskovic) is another guy that I think can and should be more vocal, because he’s a mature player. He has a high basketball IQ. He’s been through the ringer in the Big 12. So we need guys to step up in that area, but it’s a growth moment for our guys.”

Baker and Nate Pickens, who both suffered season-ending injuries, are not listed with the other seniors. It’s expected both will attempt to gain injury redshirts and return next season.

Scouting Report

BYU isn’t the only Big 12 team to lose one of its big guns.

Big 12 Player of the Year frontrunner JT Toppin of Texas Tech went down with a season-ending knee injury against Arizona State on Feb. 17. At the time, Toppin was averaging 21.8 points and 10.8 rebounds per game while shooting 55% from the field. In the first meeting against BYU, Toppin had 27 points and 13 rebounds, also making 3 of 4 from the 3-point line in an 84-71 victory in Lubbock.

The Cougars were at the apex of their season coming into that game, 16-1 overall (4-0 Big 12) and ranked No. 11 in the country. BYU actually led the Red Raiders by nine points with just under ten minutes to play but were outscored 32-10 the rest of the way.

Even with Toppin out, Texas Tech has plenty of scorers who will give BYU’s struggling defense fits. Guards Christian Anderson (19.1 points per game, 43% from 3) and Donovan Atwell (13.3 ppg, 46% from 3) and forward LeJuan Watts (11.7 ppg) will be a huge challenge for a defense that has allowed 90+ points in Big 12 play four times.

The latest was a 90-68 loss at Cincinnati, a brutal defensive effort where the Cougars trailed by double digits for nearly 30 minutes of game time.

“In terms of the film that I just showed them, they understand,” Young said. “There are too many lapses with poor effort, which honestly has not really been an issue with our team. I think our guys generally play really hard. I thought in that game, for whatever reason it was, the intensity that was required for 40 minutes was not there. That was my challenge to the group. We have a good group of guys. It’s a prideful group. They want it. They want to do the right thing. It’s my job to continue to teach them what the right things are and play the guys who are going to do those right things.”

Men’s College Basketball

No. 10 Texas Tech (22-8, 12-5 Big 12) at BYU (20-10, 8-9 Big 12)

Saturday, 8:30 p.m. MT

Marriott Center, Provo

TV/Streaming: ESPN

Radio: BYU Radio

Live stats: bucougars.com

The Word: Texas Tech leads the overall series with BYU 5-3. … The Red Raiders won the last meeting with the Cougars 84-71 on Jan. 17 in Lubbock. … BYU’s last victory against Texas Tech came in 1993, an 84-74 victory in Provo. … The Red Raiders are coming off a 73-65 loss to TCU, which ended a three-game winning streak. … The Cougars will honor seniors Richie Saunders, Keba Keita, Mihailo Boskovic and Jared McGregor.

BYU Senior Night

Richie Saunders 6-5 Sr. G Riverton, Utah

Served a church mission in Seattle, Wash. … Married to former BYU women’s basketball player Sierra Johnson. … Great grandson of Ore-Ida founder and creator of the Tater Tot, Nephi Gregg. … Named first team All-Big 12 in 2025. … Played in 128 games in his BYU career, starting 63 with 1,544 points (12.1 per game) and 205 3-pointers before suffering a season-ending knee injury against Colorado on Feb. 14.

Mihailo Boskovic 6-10 Sr. F Uzice, Serbia

MVP of the 2022 FIBA U20 European Championships. … Learned English from watching the Disney Channel. … Has played in 59 games and started five since joining the program in 2024-25, scoring 203 points, grabbing 111 rebounds and making 29 3-pointers. … Scored career-high 13 points against Iowa State on Feb. 21.

Keba Keita 6-8 Sr. C Bamako, Mali

Has an older brother, Noumory, who plays professional volleyball in Italy. … Transferred to BYU from the University of Utah, where he played for two seasons, in 2024. … Has started 76 games for the Cougars, scoring 434 points, shooting 67% from the field, grabbing 302 rebounds and blocking 90 shots.

Jared McGregor 6-3 Sr. G Saratoga Springs, Utah

A walk-on who played at Westlake High School. … Spent the 2021-22 season as team manager. … Served a church mission to Spokane, Wash. … His father, Mark, was an All-American swimmer at BYU. … Academic All-Big 12 First Team in 2024. … Has scored 16 points and made five 3-pointers in his career at BYU.