Richie Saunders’ season is now over.
The BYU guard tore his ACL in the team’s win over Colorado on Saturday, he announced on social media on Sunday afternoon. He will now miss the rest of the season, his final one with the Cougars.
“Thank you for all the thoughts and prayers. They mean more than you know,” he wrote on Instagram, in part. “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.”
Saunders went down not even a minute into No. 22 BYU’s 90-86 overtime win against Colorado on Saturday night. He crashed down hard awkwardly under the rim after he drove to the basket before kicking a pass back out on the Cougars’ first possession of the game. He remained down for quite some time and was eventually helped off the court at the Marriott Center. He limped off to the locker room and did not return.
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Saunders is the best player on BYU’s roster other than star freshman AJ Dybantsa. The senior entered Saturday’s game averaging 18.8 points and six rebounds per game while shooting just shy of 49% from the field. He earned first team All-Big 12 honors last season, and was the league’s Most Improved Player.
“I think it sucked the life out of the gym, if I’m being honest,” BYU coach Kevin Young said after the game, via The Associated Press. “You never want to see an injury to any player, but definitely [not] to someone who’s the heart and soul of our team [and] bleeds BYU blue. Just didn’t like seeing it.”
What’s next for a struggling BYU?
Though Saunders played a big role in BYU’s early-season success and the high expectations that came with it, the Cougars have struggled lately. Saunders’ absence is only going to make things that much more difficult for Dybantsa and the Cougars.
BYU, after starting the season 16-1 with just a narrow two-point loss to UConn early on that kept it from being perfect, is coming off a very rough stretch in the Big 12. The Cougars lost five of six games, four of which came against ranked opponents, almost unraveling completely.
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Saturday’s win over Colorado was the team’s second straight, following a five-point victory at Baylor.
It’s not going to get any easier for BYU, either. It’ll travel Wednesday to Arizona, which will lose its No. 1 ranking on Monday after dropping back-to-back games for the first time all season this week. The Cougars will then have to host No. 5 Iowa State, which is fresh off a huge win against Kansas on Saturday. Texas Tech awaits early next month, too.
A big win or two over the next several weeks, whether in the regular season or Big 12 tournament, would go a long way in getting the Cougars back on track. Now, though, they’ll have to find a way to do it without Saunders.
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