The BYU basketball program notched their biggest win of the season on Saturday night against No. 19. BYU star Richie Saunders made a pair of free throws with three seconds remaining to give BYU a 96-95 win.

The game between BYU and Arizona was as good as college basketball gets. Both teams were playing at an extremely high level on the offensive side. Going into this game, Arizona was 43-1 under Tommy Lloyd when scoring 90 or more points. The Cougars overcame the odds and outscored the Wildcats in their own building.

It looked like BYU was about to pull out the win when Richie Saunders made a layup and got fouled with 41 seconds remaining. That shot gave BYU a 94-90 lead with a chance to extend the lead at the free throw line.

Then BYU’s shooting woes from the free throw line nearly cost them the game. Saunders missed his free throw and Arizona star Caleb Love made a three on the other end to make it 94-93. On the ensuing possession, Dallin Hall was fouled and missed the front end of the one-and-one.

With 13 seconds remaining, Love went to the free throw line where he hit two free throws to give Arizona the 95-94 lead. On BYU’s final possession, a questionable call sent Saunders to the free throw line for two free throws. Saunders redeemed his earlier miss and made both free throws to win the game.

Saunders was brilliant on Saturday night. He scored 23 points on 8/10 shooting. He scored the final five BYU points to secure the victory. Saunders continues to get better and better. His scoring efficiency is almost unheard of at the college level.

This win cements BYU as an NCAA Tournament team. It also gives BYU the opportunity to start playing for a better seed in the tournament.

BYU-Arizona went back and forth from start to finish. This game featured 20 lead changes and 11 ties. BYU shot 55% from the field and Arizona shot 54% from the field. Both teams shot 45% from three.

The difference in this game was points off turnovers. BYU outscored Arizona 22-10 in points off turnovers.

BYU got key contributions from players all over the roster. Five BYU players scored in double figures: Richie Saunders (23), Kanon Catchings (14), Egor Demin (13), Mawot Mag (11), and Keba Keita (10).

With the win, BYU improves to 10-6 in conference play and is only one game outside fourth place in the Big 12 standings.