No. 25 BYU concludes road trip at Arizona State

The Cougars put their four-game win streak on the line when they face Arizona State on Wednesday evening.

Author Tyson Jex
No. 25 BYU concludes road trip at Arizona StateNo. 25 BYU concludes road trip at Arizona State
Nate Edwards

TEMPE, Arizona - No. 25 BYU looks to extend its win streak to five games on Wednesday, Feb. 26, when the Cougars finish their two-game road against Arizona State at Desert Financial Arena in Tempe. Tip is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. MT. 

WHERE TO WATCH
Wednesday's game can be found on ESPN+ with Roxy Bernstein and Scott Williams. 

THE VALLEY OF THE SUN
Wednesday will be the 47th all-time meeting between the two schools with BYU holding a 27-19 advantage. The Cougars are 5-14 all-time in Tempe including a 64-60 win in their last visit on Dec. 4, 2002. 

BYU opened Big 12 play with a 76-56 victory over Arizona State on New Year's Eve where Richie Saunders scored a career-high 30 points. After only leading by five at halftime, BYU shot 60.7 percent from the field in the second half to secure their third straigth win over ASU. Saunders was 11-of-18 from the field, 6-of-11 from behind the arc and 2-of-3 from the free throw line en route to becoming the first Cougar with 30 or more in a game since Alex Barcello had 33 at Pepperdine on Feb. 12, 2022. 

BYUSportsNetworks
Opens in a new window Listen Here

HATERS GONNA HATE
BYU won consecutive games over ranked teams for the first time since 1988 with its 96-95 victory over No. 19 Arizona on Saturday at McKale Center in Tucson, Ariz. It was the most points allowed at home by the Wildcats since 2009 when Jimmer Fredette scored a then school record 49 points in a 99-69 victory. 

The Cougars shot 55.4 percent from the field, 45.2 percent from three and 71.4 percent from the free throw line in a game that featured 20 lead changes including two in the final 14 seconds of regulation. After turning the ball over seven times in the first half, BYU only turned the ball over twice in the final minutes as they matched the Wildcats bucket-for-bucket. 

Richie Saunders led the team in scoring for the 11th time this season as the junior scored 23 points, none bigger than his two free throws with less than four seconds remaining to give BYU a 96-95 lead. He was 8-of-10 from the field, 3-of-4 from 3-piont range and 4-of-5 from the charity stripe. He was joined in double figures by Kanon Catchings (14), Egor Demin (13), Mawot Mag (11) and Keba Keita (10). 

RAGS TO RICH(I)ES
Richie Saunders was named the Big 12 Player of the Week for the first time in his career on Monday after the junior averaged 22.5 points per game in wins over No. 23 Kansas and at No. 19 Arizona. He also becomes the first Cougar to earn Big 12 Player of the Week honors since they joined the conference in 2023.

The junior is having the best season of his career averaging a team-high 15.5 points per game, shooting 52.0 percent from the field, 43.8 percent from three and 76.7 percent from the free throw line. With four games remaining in the regular season, Saunders has already set career highs in points scored, field goals, 3-point field goals, free throws, assists, blocks and steals. 

CATCHING FIRE
After only playing two minutes against Kansas, Kanon Catchings went 3-of-4 from 3-point range in eight minutes of action as the Cougars improved to 6-1 this season when he hits three or more triples.

His 43 3-pointers this season are tied for the fourth-most by a freshman in program history with Jimmer Fredette (2007-08). Saturday was also the seventh game this season with three or more 3-pointers, tied with Matt Carlino (2011-12) for the third-most by a freshman. 

GameNotes
Opens in a new window Click Here

CHANGING THE TOPIC
BYU lost its first three road games of Big 12 play where they were outscored by an average of 12.0 points per game, 76.7-64.7. They shot 40.7 percent from the field and 32.1 percent from 3-point range with opponents shooting at a 45.4 and 38.3 clip. The rebounds were nearly equal, 108-103 in favor of the home teams but struggled with turnovers (39-28). 

The Cougars have won four of their last five road games in league play since defeating Colorado 83-67 on January 21 for the first road win over the Kevin Young era. During that streak, BYU is outshooting opponents 51.1-48.4 percent from the field, 41.0-38.6 percent from behind the arc. 

Richie Saunders is one of two Cougars to be scoring in double figures during that stretch as the junior is averaging 18.8 points per game in BYUís last five road games shooting 61.8 percent from the field, 48.1 percent from three and 81.3 percent from the free throw line. Dallin Hall also has 20 assists to only seven turnovers. 

FEED THE MAN
BYU is a perfect 7-0 this season when Keba Keita scores in double figures following his 10-point, six rebound performance on Saturday. The junior was a perfect 5-of-5 from the field marking the second time his has been perfect in a game this season as he shot 6-of-6 in a win over Fresno State. 

With that performance against the Wildcats, Keita is now shooting a program record 65.0 percent from the field (min. 50 FGM). Fousseyni Traore isn't far behind his countryman as he is shooting 61.6 percent, tied for the seventh-highest with Tom Gneiting (1986-87). The senior owns three of the Top 10 marks in program history. 

STAYING ALIVE
Saturday's win over Arizona kept a few streaks alive for the Cougars as they have now won 47 straight games when leading with five minutes remaining in regulation. It was also their 26th straight victory when scoring between 90-99 points and was their first victory when allowing 90+ since Jan. 9, 2016 against San Francisco (102-92). 

It was also BYU's 26th consecutive win when shooting 50.0 percent or higher and on the contrary, it was their first win on the road when its opponent shoots over 50.0 percent since Feb. 12, 2022 at Pepperdine. 

UP NEXT
BYU returns to the friendly confines of the Marriott Center on Saturday, March 1, when the Cougars host West Virginia in Provo for the first time. Tip is scheduled for 8 p.m. MT.

The Cougars are 2-0 against the Mountaineers since joining the conference including a 73-69 victory on Feb. 11 in Morgantown.