Takeaways From No. 25 BYU’s Win At Arizona State

BYU basketball closed its two-game trip to Arizona with a 91-81 road win at Arizona State in Tempe.

It was the fifth consecutive victory for BYU, days after climbing into the AP Top 25 for the first time this season.

Here are takeaways from the victory over the Sun Devils that improved BYU’s record to 20-8 overall and 11-6 in Big 12 play.

BYU’s offense is rolling

In the last three games, BYU has knocked down 45 three-pointers.

Wednesday night’s 17 threes against Arizona State was a season-high for BYU. It was the fourth-most in a single game in program history.

Kevin Young’s squad is on fire offensively.

BYU has reached 90 points in three consecutive games.

The efficiency shines when you look at the numbers from BYU’s performance against ASU.

BYU had 1.28 points per possession. They buried 50% from three and hit 60% of their attempts from inside the arc.

Four BYU players scored double-figures, led by Richie Saunders with 26, Trevin Knell hit 18, Dallin Hall dropped 13, and Fousseyni Traore added another 10 off the bench.

BYU basketball handled business against shorthanded ASU

BYU head coach Kevin Young decided to have his team stay in Arizona for the two-game road trip that spanned five days. The thought was to get a team bonding experience for the final stretch run.

It paid off, as the team spent a lot of time at the Phoenix Suns practice facility. When there was downtime, they had time to bond at the Arizona Grand Resort’s pool.

With Arizona State down to six scholarship players, and then quickly it became five when ASU’s Adam Miller suffered an injury, it could have been easy for BYU to take their foot off the gas and have a lackluster performance.

Instead, BYU looked prepared and ready to stack another good work day after jumping into the Top 25 rankings.

It’s time to launch the Big 12 Player of the Year campaign for Richie Saunders

When you look around the Big 12 Conference, who is the clear-cut Player of the Year? Maybe it’s Texas Tech’s JT Toppin or West Virginia’s Javon Small. But as the league schedule plays out, we can’t help but ask, why not BYU junior Richie Saunders?

BYU vs Arizona State || FULL GAME HIGHLIGHTS pic.twitter.com/CzeGxwZx1S

— BYU Men’s Basketball (@BYUMBB) February 27, 2025

Saunders was lights out in BYU’s 91-81 win over Arizona State.

The defending Big 12 Player of the Week finished with 26 points on 10-of-19 from the field and was 6-of-11 from 3-point range. To go along with his 26 points, Saunders had six rebounds, two steals, and one assist.

Saunders has reached 20-plus points in three consecutive games. He’s scored at least 20 in eight of BYU’s 17 conference games this season.

BYU basketball appeared distracted by the “Curtain of distraction”

The free throw shooting woes reared its ugly face again for BYU on Wednesday night in Tempe.

Arizona State students are known for their “curtain of distraction” when opponents are shooting from the charity stripe. It appeared to have an impact on BYU.

The Cougars shot 3-of-11 from the free-throw line in the second half.

For the game, they were 6-of-15. That’s good for 40%, tied for a season-low from the charity stripe. The last time it happened was a loss at Utah on January 18.

It’s the first time since February 4 against Arizona that BYU finished below 70% from the free throw line.

Now that the calendar is turning to March, BYU has to get back on track from the foul line.

Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on X: @Mitch_Harper.

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