BYU Basketball Earns National Team Of The Week Recognition
Feb 24, 2025, 10:41 AM
BYU basketball defeated Arizona and Kansas last week to earn National Team of the Week recognition from NCAA.com's Andy Katz. (Brice Tucker, Deseret News)
(Brice Tucker, Deseret News)
PROVO, Utah – BYU basketball is on a roll.
The Cougars completed one of the best weeks in program history by defeating a pair of Top 25 opponents. It was the first time BYU has put together back-to-back wins over ranked opponents since 1988.
That type of success, paired with a team that is surging as March approaches this weekend, has people nationally giving BYU basketball more attention.
Andy Katz tabs BYU Basketball as National Team of the Week
On Monday, NCAA.com’s Andy Katz awarded BYU as the National Team of the Week.
🏆 Weekly Awards from @TheAndyKatz 🏆
Team of the Week: BYU
Player of the Week: Jase Richardson pic.twitter.com/tMPbRhEPky— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) February 24, 2025
BYU knocked off Kanas by a historic 34-point outcome last Tuesday in Provo. Then, they followed up the impressive outing against Kansas with a 96-95 road win at Arizona inside the McKale Center.
BYU is 19-8 overall this season with a 10-6 record in Big 12 play.
Over the past two weeks, BYU has been on fire, reeling off four consecutive victories. The Cougars have won eight of their last 10 games.
BYU’s Richie Saunders led the Cougars in the two victories. He averaged 22.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.5 steals last week.
Complete team performances
However, the team effort they are receiving from their expanded rotation has lifted BYU during its current winning streak.
In both victories over Kansas and Arizona, BYU had five players reach double-figures in scoring.
Rutgers transfer Mawot Mag has shined in a starting role for the Cougars. Mag averaged 12 points last week, knocking down five 3-pointers in the two victories. Last season at Rutgers, Mag had a true shooting percentage of 46%. This season, Mag has improved that mark to 62.8%.
Egor Demin, Dallin Hall, Keba Keita, and Trevin Knell are among the notable performers in BYU’s memorable week.
Since Saturday’s win at Arizona, BYU has remained in the Grand Canyon State as they prepare to take on the Arizona State Sun Devils on Wednesday night in Tempe. BYU will return home to host West Virginia on Saturday, March 1.
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.
