Saunders, Demin earn dual Big 12 honors; Cougars ranked No. 17 in AP poll

BYU junior Richie Saunders (left) battles for position during the non-conference game against Idaho at the Marriott Center in Provo on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024.

BYU’s Richie Saunders (15) and Egor Demin greet fans at Colorado’s CU Events Center in Boulder after an 83-67 victory on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

BYU junior Richie Saunders (left) battles for position during the non-conference game against Idaho at the Marriott Center in Provo on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024.

BYU junior guard Richie Saunders is not one to dwell on individual accolades.

When asked about his recent back-to-back Big 12 Player of the Week honors, Saunders called them “a team award.”

So it’s no wonder that when the Cougars struggled to begin league play, his thought’s weren’t on his individual numbers but on the team and how they could get better.

“We’re 1-3 in conference, and I’m sitting there in church on a Sunday depressed, and was just like, ‘How in the world are we going to turn this around?’” Saunders recalled. “Because I didn’t want to just be done. I didn’t want to give up and move on to the next year just four games in, right? I’m super proud of the guys for moving forward after that and we just kept coming. We came every day and we’ve been working to finish the regular season. This is so cool and I’m so happy, especially for our seniors.”

Saunders commitment and that of his teammates bore fruit in the form of a 13-3 record since that slow start. The Cougars (23-8 overall) won eight straight games to finish the regular season, tied for third in the Big 12 with a 14-6 record and soared to No. 17 in the AP poll released Monday.

Courtesy BYU Photo

BYU’s Richie Saunders (15) and Egor Demin greet fans at Colorado’s CU Events Center in Boulder after an 83-67 victory on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025.

Also on Monday, Saunders was named first team All-Big 12 as well as the league’s most improved player by the league’s coaches.

“I think it’s a combination of things,” BYU coach Kevin Young said. “Richie obviously has an unbelievable work ethic and just an unbelievable motor. So those are the things that drive him and and help him be successful. I think it’s been a good marriage in terms of the way we like to play, and his strengths. He’s kind of been a poster child for when two things like that meet in a good way. So it’s just been a seamless fit. He’s been great at adapting to a couple of things that are maybe different and then utilizing his strengths within how we like to operate, so he’s taken full advantage of that opportunity.”

Saunders set career highs in multiple categories. After averaging 9.6 points per game last season, Saunders went from glue guy to go-to-guy as the 6-foot-5 wing scored a team-high 16.0 points per contest during the regular season. He scored in double figures 23 times in 30 appearances, two more than he had in first two seasons in Provo combined.

In Big 12 play, Saunders is first in 3-point field goal percentage (.451), tied for third in scoring (17.9 points per game) and fifth in overall field goal percentage (.524).

He is on pace to become one of seven players in program history to shoot 50/40/70 as he’s shooting 51.4 percent from the field, 43.7 percent from three and 79.8 percent from the free throw line. His 69 3-pointers this season are the 16th most in a single season in program history.

Freshman Egor Demin also earned dual awards, voted to the All-Big 12 honorable mention and all-freshman squads.

Demin becomes the first Cougar to earn all-conference accolades as a freshman since TJ Haws was named First Team All-WCC in 2017. The 6-foot-9 guard was one of 13 players to pick up honorable mention accolades, finishing as one of two players in the league to average at least 10.0 points and 5.0 assists per game.

The native of Moscow, Russia also earned All-Freshman honors after averaging 10.8 points, 5.6 assists and 3.9 rebounds per game, shooting 41.9 percent from the field, 27.6 percent from three and 67.1 percent from the free throw line. Demin’s 156 assists this season are the seventh-most by a Big 12 freshman since 1970-71 and three away from breaking Danny Ainge’s BYU freshman record.

In conference play, Demin’s 110 assists were tied for third-most with Kansas’ Dajuan Harris Jr. He is one of two NCAA Division I freshmen to have double digit assists in multiple games including his 10-assist performance in the Cougars’ 91-81 victory over Arizona State.

No. 17 BYU opens the Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournament on Thursday against No. 12 Iowa State, Oklahoma State or Cincinnati. Tip is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. MT at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo., and can be viewed on ESPN2.

2024-25 Phillips 66 All-Big 12 Awards

Player of the Year: JT Toppin, Texas Tech

Defensive Player of the Year: Joseph Tugler, Houston

Scholar-Athlete of the Year: LJ Cryer, Houston

Freshman of the Year: VJ Edgecombe, Baylor

Newcomer of the Year: JT Toppin, Texas Tech

Sixth Man Award: Curtis Jones, Iowa State

Most Improved: Richie Saunders, BYU

Coach of the Year: Kelvin Sampson, Houston

All-Big 12 First Team

Caleb Love, Arizona

Norchad Omier, Baylor

Richie Saunders, BYU

LJ Cryer, Houston

J’Wan Roberts, Houston

Curtis Jones, Iowa State

Hunter Dickinson, Kansas

JT Toppin, Texas Tech

Darrion Williams, Texas Tech

Javon Small, West Virginia

All-Big 12 Second Team

VJ Edgecombe, Baylor

Keyshawn Hall, UCF

Milos Uzan, Houston

Joshua Jefferson, Iowa State

Chance McMillian, Texas Tech

All-Big 12 Third Team

Joseph Tugler, Houston

Zeke Mayo, Kansas

Coleman Hawkins, Kansas State

Keshon Gilbert, Iowa State

Tamin Lipsey, Iowa State

Honorable Mention

Arizona: Tobe Awaka, Henri Veesaar

Baylor: Robert Wright

BYU: Egor Demin

UCF: Darius Johnson

Cincinnati: Jizzle James

Colorado: Julian Hammond III

Houston: Emanuel Sharp

Kansas: Dajuan Harris Jr.

Kansas State: David N’Guessan

Oklahoma State: Bryce Thompson

TCU: Noah Reynolds, Ernest Udeh Jr.

Utah: Gabe Madsen

All-Defensive Team

Jayden Quaintance, Arizona State

J’Wan Roberts, Houston

Joseph Tugler, Houston

Tamin Lipsey, Iowa State

Sencire Harris, West Virginia

All-Freshman Team

Jayden Quaintance, Arizona State

VJ Edgecombe, Baylor

Robert Wright, Baylor

Egor Demin, BYU

Christian Anderson, Texas Tech

All-Newcomer Team