BYU Basketball’s Gavin Baxter To Have MRI On Injured Knee

PROVO, Utah – BYU basketball starter Gavin Baxter went down with a knee injury during the first half of the Cougars 86-61 win against New Orleans on Thursday.

Baxter, a junior forward, suffered the injury at the 4:06 mark of the first half on a defensive series where he collied with New Orleans forward Damion Rosser. The third-year BYU big man did not return to action and was not on the bench the rest of the evening.

#BYU forward Gavin Baxter suffered an injury and had to be helped off the court by his teammates.#BYUHoops @kslsports pic.twitter.com/NSfvUueli1

— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) November 27, 2020

BYU coach Mark Pope had few details on Baxter’s status but did note that his starting power forward would be getting an MRI on Thursday.

“He’s going to go get imaging, and we’re going to see. We’re just really hopeful and praying that it is something that is recoverable quickly,” said Pope.

Baxter has started both games to open the 2020-21 season for the Cougars. A former four-star recruit out of Timpview High School, Baxter had a torn labrum that was expected to keep him out all of last season. He had a quicker than expected recovery, playing in BYU’s final seven games of their 24-8, nationally-ranked campaign.

Prior to Thursday, Gavin Baxter was finally fully healthy and ready to contribute to BYU’s deep and talented frontcourt for an entire season.

You can only hope Gavin Baxter’s injury isn’t as serious as it looked in real time.

Baxter had put in a ton of work to get back to full strength from last year’s injuries.#BYUHoops @kslsports pic.twitter.com/8isE988Vue

— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) November 27, 2020

“It’s always hard to see a player go down. We don’t know anything yet, I hope the best. As a team, we’re praying for his health,” said BYU guard/forward Connor Harding. “He gives us a lot of length and he’s really athletic. Seeing him go down, personally to me, it broke my heart. But also on the other hand, as a team, we’ve got to step up and know that we have other games and other players to step in. But hopefully, he is fine and hopefully, we can see him out on the court. The last two games his ability to run the floor, get people open, we really need that.”

Through two games this season, Baxter has averaged 6.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, and shot 85 percent from the field.

BYU is next in action on Saturday night when they host Utah Valley University in the UCCU Crosstown Clash at the Marriott Center.

Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12–3 p.m., KSL Newsradio). Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper and the KSL Sports app.