BYU head coach Kevin Young has seen his team endure the highs and lows of the college basketball season, but believes it is peaking at the right time despite its loss to Houston in the Big 12 Tournament. Young especially admires how well the Cougars have rebuilt themselves since Richie Saunders' devastating season-ending ACL injury.
The 44-year-old coach has preached about what he frames as a three-chapter season, with the third and current frame being BYU's post-Saunders era. Young called watching BYU's recent surge “rewarding” after overcoming “dark times.”
“Very, very [rewarding],” Young said after the loss. “I can see it on the guys. Everyone in our locker room is extremely competitive. We had some dark times, even recently, but we were able to just push through it. There's always a way… It's been rewarding because when you go through adversity, it really does bring groups together. I think it's brought our group closer together; I think it's brought our fan base closer together… It's really galvanized Cougar Nation. It's galvanized our locker room, our coaching staff.”
Saunders was averaging a career-high 18.0 points per game before going down in the opening minute of BYU's 90-86 win over Colorado on Feb. 14. He endured the coaching transition from Mark Pope to Kevin Young to remain in Provo for all four seasons, a rarity in the modern college basketball era.
BYU went 1-4 in its first five games without Saunders, its emotional leader and second-leading scorer. The Cougars entered their Big Ten Tournament rematch with Houston on a three-game win streak, including a historic win over Kansas State and a blowout of West Virginia in the first two rounds.
BYU is just 3-4 in its last seven games and now awaits Selection Sunday to receive its opening-round March Madness assignment. Young led the Cougars to the Sweet Sixteen in 2025, his first season with the team.
