BYU basketball approaches what may be the toughest week of basketball of any team this year, as they travel to Tucson to face the number-one Arizona Wildcats, only to turn around and take on the top-5 Iowa State Cyclones on Saturday.
The worst part? They'll have to do it without senior guard Richie Saunders, who went down early against Colorado and was recently confirmed to have torn his ACL, ending his season and career with BYU basketball.
A gut-punch for a player who gave so much to the BYU basketball program, opted to stay in Provo as Mark Pope recruited him to Lexington, and earned All-Big 12 First Team honors at the end of his junior year. Forever a legend, Saunders will set his sights on recovery and the upcoming NBA Draft, where he's currently projected as a second-rounder.
Led by Rob Wright's near-40-point game and AJ Dybantsa's near triple-double, the home Cougars barely scraped past a relatively weak Colorado team in overtime. Against the very best the Big 12 Conference has to offer, there's little optimism that two players alone could drag the unbalanced Cougars over the finish line and into contention with giants like Arizona.
Optmism or no, however, these teams are scheduled to clash, and that's just what they'll do.
The previous time BYU faced off against Arizona, a furious comeback effort nearly erased the Wildcats' double-digit advantage that they had held for the majority of the game. Down one point with control of the final possession, Rob Wright found himself with a wide-open look at the rim. Out from nowhere, Brayden Burries soared over to erase Wright's shot attempt, blocking and boarding the ball to secure the win in Provo.
It took a miracle for BYU to compete in Provo. Now in Tucson, and without Saunders, it'll take several consecutive miracles to give the rock-solid Wildcats a scare.
How to watch BYU vs Arizona:
Date: Wednesday, Feb 18, 2026
Time: 7:00 PM MT
Location: McKale Memorial Center, Tucson, AZ
Channel: ESPN