BYU basketball's Richie Saunders named Big 12 player of the week — again

Richie Saunders is making a habit of this.

For the second week in a row, the BYU junior guard has been named Big 12 player of the week after leading the Cougars to wins over Arizona State and West Virginia.

With a six-game win streak and Saunders shooting the lights out, BYU fans have plenty to cheer about as the regular season winds down.

Against Arizona State, Saunders was unstoppable, tying his career-high with six 3-pointers and finishing with 26 points.

The Sun Devils’ defense had no answers as Saunders connected from deep, helping the Cougars to a 91-81 victory.

Just days later, he followed up with a 13-point performance against West Virginia. Saunders was so effective that he spent the last 12 minutes of the game on the bench with BYU comfortably ahead, finishing the week with averages of 19.5 points and 4.0 rebounds.

With just two games remaining in the regular season, Saunders and the Cougars are aiming to keep their momentum rolling straight into tournament play.

As BYU gears up for a strong finish, one thing is certain: for opponents, slowing down Richie Saunders is going to be a tall order.