BYU gets the injury update on Richie Saunders that no one wanted to hear

Unfortunately, it's devastating news for Richie Saunders and BYU's hopes of making a deep tournament run. The senior guard will miss the remainder of the season with a torn ACL. 

While most of the national attention rightfully goes to superstar freshman and future lottery pick A.J, Dybantsa, many Cougar fans know that Saunders was the glue that kept everything together. Not only did he provide a ton on offense (18 ppg), but he was tough on defense and the boards. Saunders has been a staple in the program and at 24 years old, he provided leadership on and off the floor.

Richie Saunders will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL

The injury came down in the first minute of Saturday's overtime win over Colorado. It was a non-contract injury and Saunders collapsed and immediately grabbed his knee before being assisted off the court. He gave a thumbs up to the crowd, which provided hope that the injury wasn't as severe as it appeared, and eventually proved to be.

To the credit of the Cougars, they rallied in overtime to hold off a Buffaloes team that really came to play. Dybantsa fought through some turnover issues and nearly had a triple-double (20 points, 13 rebounds and eight rebounds) while Robert Wright III had a season-high 39 points on 12-of-16 shooting from the floor and hitting all four three-point attempts. But the talk after the game was about Saunders. 

"I think it sucked the life out of the gym if I'm being honest. You never want to see an injury to any player, but definitely to someone who is the heart and soul of our team and bleeds BYU blue," coach Kevin Young said. "You just didn't like seeing it. But unfortunately, you've got to move on, right? You've got to find a way to come in and channel that emotion."

Young mentioned Tyler Mrus, who came off the bench to hit a couple of 3-pointers, as a player that stepped up to help get the Cougars get back on track. 

The loss of Saunders will have a ripple effect on the team going into the final stretch of the season. Almost immediately, there was an outpouring of support for Saunders. Assistant coach Brandon Dunson sent out a heartfelt message through his social media,

Now BYU has to pick up the pieces and continue forward. The Cougars have No. 1 Arizona on the road this Wednesday and No. 5 Iowa State at home next Saturday, so things won't get any easier heading into the Big 12 conference tournament.