No. 17 BYU ends season with loss to No. 7 Alabama in NCAA Sweet 16

The Cougars finish the 2024-25 season 26-10 after being picked to finish ninth in the Big 12 Preseason Poll.

Author Tyson Jex
No. 17 BYU ends season with loss to No. 7 Alabama in NCAA Sweet 16No. 17 BYU ends season with loss to No. 7 Alabama in NCAA Sweet 16
Box Score

NEWARK, N.J. – No. 17 BYU’s run through the NCAA Tournament came to an end on a Thursday evening with a 113-88 loss to No. 7 Alabama in the Sweet 16 at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.

“All credit goes to Nate Oats, their staff and their players. Historic shooting performance,” head coach Kevin Young said. “That was hard to overcome for us. We felt like we made a little dent and started going the other way, and they just kept it going. In terms of our group, just extremely proud of our guys. I just told them in the locker room, which is something we hadn't talked about literally all year until just now, this was a team that was picked ninth in the Big 12, and we're one of the last 16 teams standing.”

Richie Saunders scored in double figures for the 12th consecutive game as the junior finished with a team-high 25 points. Egor Demin also reached double figures with 15 points, as the Cougars shot 45.8 percent from the field, 20.0 percent from three and 80.0 percent from the free throw line.

Alabama’s Mark Sears finished with 34 points as the All-American knocked down 10 of the Crimson Tide’s NCAA-Tournament-record 25 3-pointers. Thursday marked the first time since 2022 that BYU had allowed 100 or more points.

First Half
Both teams came out firing from the tip as the Cougars had a 13-12 lead at the under-16 timeout. After falling behind 4-0 in the opening minute, Trevin Knell’s 3-pointer got BYU on the scoreboard and spearheaded a 9-0 run for BYU. A steal from Knell resulted in a layup for Keba Keita, followed by another basket around the rim from Saunders. Knell finished the run with a layup on an assist from Saunders.

It was a 15-15 game a minute later when Saunders got to the rim again to give the Cougars their final lead of the game. Alabama responded with nine of the next 11 points, including a pair of triples from Sears to make it a 24-19 game.

An old-fashioned 3-point play from Fousseyni Traore off an offensive rebound cut the deficit to one, 27-26, with 10:43 remaining in the first half. The Cougars had a chance to take the lead, but Mihailo Boskovic’s jumper bounced off the rim which saw Labaron Philon knock down a triple to start a 5-0 run. 

Saunders and Keita kept the Cougars afloat with a 4-0 run to once again cut the deficit to a single possession, 32-30, before Alabama finished the half on a 16-10 run to lead 51-40 at the break.

Second Half
Like he did in the first half, Knell got BYU on the board in the final 20 minutes with a corner three. The senior was tagged with a technical foul on his way back down the court, resulting in two more points for Sears.

Egor Demin got a layup to go a minute later, cutting the deficit to eight points, 53-45, followed by an 8-0 run to push the deficit to 16. The Cougars didn’t give up, as they went on an 8-0 run of their own. Saunders converted near the rim, followed by a steal from Knell, resulting in an old-fashioned 3-point play from Demin. The freshman finished the run with his only 3-pointer of the game.

The deficit was seven, 68-61, on a 3-pointer from Mawot Mag, before the Crimson Tide went on a 20-9 run over the next four minutes to make it a 21-point game, 91-70. BYU went on a 6-0 run later in the half, but it was too late as they fell 113-88 to the Crimson Tide in their third-ever appearance in the Sweet 16.