Salt Lake City— No. 9 BYU came out on Friday looking like a group that had been waiting six long days to take the floor again, and the result was a 98–70 win over No. 23 Wisconsin that never really felt in doubt.
Afterward, Coach Young pointed to the stretch that led up to it. “That doesn’t happen if we don’t play North Carolina and UConn,” he said. “I think our guys had a little added motivation, having to sit on the UConn loss for so long.”
Beyond the margin, Friday offered a clearer look at who this BYU team is becoming. Three things, in particular, rose to the surface.
Richie Saunders is resilient, and somehow better…
Richie Saunders had made his way late into the second half against Wisconsin having made just one of his first five 3-point attempts. That changed quickly, almost as if a switch had gone off in his head.
He knocked down four straight threes, finishing the night with five makes from deep and 26 points on an efficient 10-of-16 shooting. His final one, an and-one 3-pointer, capped off his best outing of the season.
After averaging nearly 17 points last year on 51% field goal shooting and 43% from three in 2024, it wasn’t clear whether Saunders would be able to maintain his level of production with the additions of Rob Wright lll and AJ Dybantsa. Early on, he looks even more comfortable as a multi-faceted scorer.
What continues to define his game is his consistency.
Saunders stays engaged regardless of how he’s shooting, and he doesn’t shy away from taking open looks. Even coming into the matchup at 34% from three, low for his standards, he continues to shoot with confidence and appears to be shooting himself out of a mini-slump.
Defense, defense, defense
Defense 👉 Offense@BYUMBB rolling early 💪
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) November 21, 2025
(via @NBCSports)
pic.twitter.com/YMyhqU0LIV
Wisconsin entered Friday shooting 49% from the field and 36 % from three, averaging 12 made 3-pointers and 93 points per game. Even with a lighter schedule, those numbers were hard to overlook.
BYU took them out of rhythm from the start. The Cougars contested nearly everything in the first half, holding the Badgers to 32% from the field and 19% from 3-point range. They also neutralized Wisconsin’s four primary scorers—Boyd, Blackwell, Winter, and Rapp—who arrived averaging a combined 65 points per game, but finished 15 of 45 from the field.
Much of BYU’s defensive tone was set by Khadim Mboup. His energy surfaced throughout the night, most notably in a loose-ball scrum he refused to concede. When he finally got up, he turned and yelled to the BYU faithful in the crowd.
The bench provides stability in extended minutes
Keba Keita, AJ Dybantsa and Dawson Baker each picked up their fourth foul early in the second half, forcing coach Kevin Young to rely heavily on his bench. The group delivered.
The combination of Mboup, Mrus and Diomande contributed 18 points and posted a combined +54, giving BYU valuable minutes in a stretch where the game easily could have swung.
Coach Young admitted post game that he was “worried that it could get out of hand," referring to when Dybantsa picked up his fourth foul just two minutes into the second half, but the bench was able to maintain and even extend.
Depth has been one of Young’s biggest questions to start the season, with most of the offensive load falling on the "Big 3."
And with Kennard Davis Jr.’s status still uncertain, dependable role players are going to matter even more moving forward.