Saunders named First Team All-Big 12, Most Improved Player; Demin also honored

Richie Saunders becomes the first Cougar to earn First Team all-conference accolades since 2022.

Author Tyson Jex
Saunders named First Team All-Big 12, Most Improved Player; Demin also honoredSaunders named First Team All-Big 12, Most Improved Player; Demin also honored
Aaron Cornia/BYU Photo

IRVING, Texas – Fresh off leading No. 17 BYU to its eighth straight win on Saturday, Richie Saunders was named the Big 12 Most Improved Player and claimed First Team All-Big honors. Egor Demin earned honorable mention all-conference and all-freshman accolades.

Saunders was voted as the Most Improved Player by the league’s head coaches after setting career highs in multiple categories. After averaging 9.6 points per game last season, Saunders went from glue guy to go-to-guy as the 6-foot-5 wing scored a team-high 16.0 points per contest during the regular season. He scored in double figures 23 times in 30 appearances, two more than he had in first two seasons in Provo combined.

He is on pace to become one of seven players in program history to shoot 50/40/70 as he's shooting 51.4 percent from the field, 43.7 percent from three and 79.8 percent from the free throw line. His 69 3-pointers this season are the 16th most in a single season in program history.

Saunders was also one of 10 players to earn First Team All-Big 12 honors after ranking fourth in scoring in league play. He shot a league-high 45.1 percent from three (min. 2.5 3FG/game), while ranking fifth in the field goal percentage, fourth in the 3-point field goals made and eighth in the field goal percentage.

The junior scored in double figures in all but three Big 12 games, including nine games with 20 or more, as the Cougars finished tied for third after being picked ninth in the preseason poll. Saunders averaged 17.9 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game, shooting 52.4 percent from the field, 45.1 percent from behind the arc and 82.7 percent from the free throw line.

The Riverton native also knocked down 51 3-pointers, making him one of three players in program history with 50 or more triples in a single season in conference play. He connected on a career-high six 3-pointers in both of BYU’s wins over Arizona State.

Demin becomes the first Cougar to earn all-conference accolades as a freshman since TJ Haws was named First Team All-WCC in 2017. The 6-foot-9 guard was one of 13 players to pick up honorable mention accolades, finishing as one of two players in the league to average at least 10.0 points and 5.0 assists per game.

The native of Moscow, Russia also earned All-Freshman honors after averaging 10.8 points, 5.6 assists and 3.9 rebounds per game, shooting 41.9 percent from the field, 27.6 percent from three and 67.1 percent from the free throw line. Demin’s 156 assists this season are the seventh-most by a Big 12 freshman since 1970-71 and three away from breaking Danny Ainge’s BYU freshman record.

In conference play, Demin’s 110 assists were tied for third-most with Kansas’ Dajuan Harris Jr. He is one of two NCAA Division I freshmen to have double digit assists in multiple games including his 10-assist performance in the Cougars' 91-81 victory over Arizona State.

No. 17 BYU opens the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship on Thursday, March 13, against No. 12 Iowa State, Oklahoma State or Cincinnati. Tip is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. CT at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo.