If they were to look in the mirror, both BYU’s and Arizona’s basketball teams might see disappointments that resemble each other in recent weeks. Both are dealing with injuries to one of their star players.
For BYU, they are mourning the season-ending ACL tear to Richie Saunders, the Cougars' star forward, whom Kevin Young called the “flagbearer of the Kevin Young era.” Saunders averaged 18.0 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game.
For Arizona, star freshman Koa Peat has been ruled out for at least another week with a muscle strain “in his lower leg area.” He is averaging 13.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game. Senior forward Tobe Awaka is expected to fill the starting lineup for the injured Peat. Awaka leads the team with 9.7 rebounds despite playing only 21.2 minutes per game.
Arizona is coming off a two-game losing streak that caused them to drop from an undefeated, unanimous No. 1 ranking in the country to No. 4. They lost to Texas Tech in overtime on Saturday and to a Darryn Peterson-less Kansas team the previous Monday.
BYU has recent experience breaking its own losing streak after beating Baylor on the road last week and then squeezing by Colorado at home on the night of Jimmer’s jersey retirement.
Both teams have seemed to handle adversity well. The last time the two played, Arizona overcame foul trouble and responded to every BYU surge, including the Cougars’ miraculous end-of-game run that put them within one point and gave them a shot at the lead. Robert Wright’s potential game-winning shot was blocked by Arizona freshman Brayden Burries, and Cougar fans went home depleted.
Many have written BYU off after Saunders’ injury, but Kevin Young doesn’t necessarily see that as a bad thing. In his most recent press conference, he said he feels he performs better when his back is against the wall. “
I’m as energized as I’ve ever been as a coach,” he said. He also acknowledged that he knows the McKale Center will be energized and that both teams will be highly motivated.
Young said that while Arizona has added “a few small wrinkles” since the last time the two teams played, he respects coach Tommy Lloyd for his ability to “do what he does” and challenge opposing teams to stop it.
While some things may change due to Peat’s injury, depth has been a strong suit of the Wildcats. They have seven players averaging more points than BYU’s fourth-leading scorer, Kennard Davis. They will also be without freshman wing Dwayne Aristode, but Tommy Lloyd said after their loss to Texas Tech that he hopes to get freshman forward Sidi Gueye and senior guard Evan Nelson more involved to strengthen depth.
BYU’s depth is certainly being tested, and they will need increased contributions from their bench. Kevin Young is hoping some of the pressure will be taken off players like Tyler Mrus, Aleksej Kostić, and other bench contributors with the understanding that they will have a bigger workload.
When the two teams met last year at the McKale Center, Saunders hit two clutch game-winning free throws to give BYU a 96-95 lead with 3.2 seconds remaining. That game propelled the Cougars to finish the season strong, earning a 6-seed in the NCAA tournament and their first Sweet Sixteen appearance in over a decade. Saunders scored a team high 23 points which BYU will have to find elsewhere this time around.
ESPN’s matchup predictor gives Arizona an 81.8% chance to win tonight. It will certainly be a catfight between two feisty teams hungry for a win. Tune in to ESPN at 7 p.m. MST to find out which cat loses another one of its nine lives.