The bad news was confirmed as BYU star senior Richie Saunders announced he suffered a torn ACL. Saunders suffered a non-contact knee injury in the first minute versus Colorado Saturday. The injury will obviously end Richie’s season and BYU career.
The news is devastating for both BYU and Richie. Richie is the heart and soul of BYU’s team and formed arguably the best big three in the country with Dybantsa and Rob Wright. BYU has already been floundering a bit the last month, and Richie’s injury puts
even more on AJ, Richie, and an already thin roster. AJ and Rob’s usage rates will go even higher, and BYU will hope that the duo can at an elite level and that other players can do just enough to keep BYU afloat for a solid NCAA Tournament seed.
Richie had a high likelihood to get drafted and the injury puts that in jeopardy. Richie may be able to return to close to the beginning of the NBA season, but we’ll see what NBA teams think of him during the draft process with his knee injury.
BYU gutted out a win over Colorado without Richie, and now the competition steps up significantly with games upcoming at Arizona and versus Iowa State.
