How sweet it was: 2024-25 Men's Basketball Season Review

Author Tyson Jex
How sweet it was: 2024-25 Men's Basketball Season ReviewHow sweet it was: 2024-25 Men's Basketball Season Review
Nate Edwards

PROVO, Utah – BYU finished the 2024-25 campaign 26-10, returning to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2011 under first-year head coach Kevin Young.

WE WANNA BE FOREVER YOUNG
Kevin Young was named a finalist for the Joe B. Hall Award, awarded to the top first-time head coach in NCAA Division I men’s basketball, after leading the Cougars to their first Sweet 16 since 2011. BYU finished the season 26-10, including five ranked wins and finishing tied for third in the Big 12 after being picked to finish ninth in the preseason poll.

Young’s 26 wins are the most by a first-year head coach in program history, while the Cougars' 15 wins at the Marriott Center tied him with Roger Reid for the most home wins by a coach in his first season in Provo.

He became the 10th different head coach in program history to win their first game in charge, with BYU’s 33-point margin of victory over Central Arkansas the highest among those coaches.

WE DECIDED TO GO ON A LITTLE RUN
The Cougars advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2011 and third time in program history with wins over VCU and No. 13 Wisconsin in the opening two rounds of the NCAA Tournament in Denver, Colo.

BYU ended its five-game losing streak in the NCAA Tournament with an 80-71 victory over VCU where Egor Demin became just the eighth freshman to have at least 10 points, eight rebounds and eight assists in tournament game, joining the likes of Magic Johnson, Jameer Nelson and Jason Kidd. They followed that up with a 91-89 victory over the Badgers at Ball Arena in the Round of 32 where Richie Saunders scored a game-high 25 points.

The 2024-25 season would come to an end at the hands of No. 7 Alabama in Newark, N.J. as the Crimson Tide knocked down a NCAA Tournament record 25 3-pointers.

NOT WHAT YOU ‘TOT’
Richie Saunders earned First Team All-Big 12 honors after leading the Cougars to a third-place finish in the league where he averaged a career-high 16.5 points per game. He became the fifth player in program history to shoot 50/40/80 in a single season, shooting 51.8 percent from the field, 43.2 percent from three and 83.5 percent from the free throw line.

In league play, the 6-foot-5 guard averaged 17.9 points per game, shooting a Big 12 high 45.1 percent from behind the arc. He scored 20 or more points nine times in conference play, including a 30-point performance in a win over Arizona State on New Year’s Eve. He also became the first BYU player to be named the Big 12 Player of the Week, earning the honor in back-to-back weeks. He was also named the Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week.

In BYU’s run to the Sweet 16, Saunders averaged 22.0 points and 5.7 rebounds per game, while shooting 59.5 percent from the field, 41.7 percent from three and 100.0 percent from the free throw line (11-of-11).

ROC, PAPER, SCISSORS
BYU ranked in the Top 10 in average attendance for a second straight season as the Cougars ranked seventh in 2024-25 with 17,054 fans per contest. It was the second time this millennium that BYU averaged more than 17,000 fans at the Marriott Center for an entire season.

It marked the first time since the Big 12 was founded in 1994 that Kansas did not lead the conference in attendance.

FIND SOLUTIONS.
After opening Big 12 play 2-4, BYU won 12 of it is last 14 league games to finish in a tie for third with Arizona, earning the No. 4 seed in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship.

The Cougars ended league play with eight straight wins, including a pair of ranked wins on the road. During its longest conference win streak in more than five years, BYU outscored opponents by close to 13 points per game, 85.1-72.8, while shooting 50.2 percent from the field, 37.4 percent from three and 71.6 percent from the free throw line.

Saunders solidified himself as one of the top players in the Big 12 during the Cougars' win streak as the junior averaged 18.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game. He also shot 53.2 percent from the field, 42.9 percent from beyond the arc and 85.3 percent from the charity stripe.

GameNotes
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IT’S NOT WHERE YOU START, BUT WHERE YOU FINISH
The Cougars were in the Top 15 in both the final edition of the AP and Coaches Polls released on Tuesday, April 8, marking the first time BYU has ended a season ranked since 2019-20.

They ended the season ranked 13th in the AP Poll, BYU’s highest ranking in the final poll since the last time they made the Sweet 16 in 2011. They also received 316 votes in the coaches poll to finish 15th, one point ahead of the Badgers of Wisconsin.

Young became the third first-year head coach in program history to get a team ranked in the Top 25, as they entered the poll (25th) on Feb. 24 following ranked wins over Kansas and Arizona.

IT’S JUST A NUMBER
BYU tied a program record with five ranked wins in 2024-25, including roads win at Arizona and Iowa State. The Cougars won four straight games against ranked opponents for the first time since 1951 during their nine-game win streak.

Their 91-57 victory over preseason No. 1 and 23rd ranked Kansas was the largest margin of victory over a ranked opponent in program history. It was just the second time that BYU had defeated a ranked opponent by 30 or more points.

HAVING FUN
BYU tied the program record in 3-point field goals as the Cougars went 378-of-1,028 from behind the arc in 2024-25, including knocking down 18 triples in the win over Iowa State in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Championship.

Individually, Egor Demin broke two freshman records previously held by Danny Ainge. The 6-foot-9 guard's 180 assists and 5.5 assists per game broke Ainge’s record that had stood since 1977-78. 

Keba Keita shot 67.3 percent from the field, breaking the single season field goal percentage record (min. 100 FGM) set by Russell Larson in 1992-93. The junior also shot 68.9 percent in Big 12 play, breaking another program record.

Speaking of great shooting, Fousseyni Traore finished his career as the program’s all-time leader in field goal percentage, as he shot 61.1 percent during his time in Provo. The native of Bamako, Mali came up three offensive rebounds shy of breaking Kyle Collinsworth record of 307.