Cincinnati visits BYU after Saunders' 25-point showing

Published Jan. 24, 2025 3:42 a.m. ET

Associated Press

Cincinnati Bearcats (12-6, 2-5 Big 12) at BYU Cougars (12-6, 3-4 Big 12)

Provo, Utah; Saturday, 10 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: BYU plays Cincinnati after Richie Saunders scored 25 points in BYU's 83-67 win against the Colorado Buffaloes.

The Cougars have gone 9-1 at home. BYU ranks eighth in the Big 12 at limiting opponent scoring, giving up 67.0 points while holding opponents to 41.9% shooting.

The Bearcats have gone 2-5 against Big 12 opponents. Cincinnati has a 1-1 record in games decided by less than 4 points.

BYU makes 47.8% of its shots from the field this season, which is 8.7 percentage points higher than Cincinnati has allowed to its opponents (39.1%). Cincinnati averages 5.3 more points per game (72.3) than BYU gives up (67.0).

The Cougars and Bearcats face off Saturday for the first time in Big 12 play this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Saunders is scoring 14.5 points per game and averaging 4.1 rebounds for the Cougars. Trevin Knell is averaging 2.4 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.

Simas Lukosius is scoring 12.2 points per game with 3.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists for the Bearcats. Daniel Skillings Jr. is averaging 12.4 points over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Cougars: 6-4, averaging 77.1 points, 32.8 rebounds, 16.3 assists, 6.8 steals and 2.7 blocks per game while shooting 48.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 66.7 points per game.

Bearcats: 5-5, averaging 64.6 points, 32.8 rebounds, 11.8 assists, 7.7 steals and 4.5 blocks per game while shooting 40.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 64.0 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.