Lack of defense, rebounding and overall effort have been the main reasons for the BYU men’s basketball team’s collapse the past few weeks as the Cougars have gone about playing without star senior Richie Saunders.
But coach Kevin Young’s squad is also clearly missing some offensive firepower from guys not named AJ Dybantsa and Rob Wright III.
Amid the current three-game losing streak, however, freshman Aleksej Kostic has emerged as a possible third scoring option. The 6-foot-4 shooting guard from Austria by way of the Arkadia Traiskirchen Lions of the Austrian Superliga has scored in double figures in those three games, almost entirely from the 3-point line.
Kostic has gone 12 of 24 from 3-point range and scored 40 points in the past three games, losses to UCF, West Virginia and Cincinnati.
“I just always believe in myself, believe in my work, and am just trying to step up into a bigger role since we lost so many players, and also trying to use the opportunity coach gave me,” Kostic told the Deseret News after scoring 14 points against Cincinnati.
During his coaches show Thursday night, Young credited former BYU star Charles Abouo, now a graduate assistant on the coaching staff, “for keeping him in a space where he is very confident.”
Kostic’s role has increased since Saunders went down with a season-ending ACL injury in BYU’s first possession against Colorado on Feb. 14. He scored 6 points and played 15 minutes against the Buffaloes, his most playing time since he had 15 points in 22 minutes in a December win over UC Riverside.
“He’s been a bright spot, no question. His ability to come in and stretch the floor has helped,” Young said. “He’s playing with a high, high level of confidence. … He’s been really good.”
When BYU signed Kostic back in July as the final addition to the 2025-26 roster, it was more of an insurance policy than anything else. After all, the Cougars already had several experienced guards in their expected rotation, most notably returning senior Dawson Baker and UC Riverside transfer Nate Pickens.
Pickens suffered an injury that required season-ending surgery before the season began, while Baker was lost in the Miami game in November. When Saunders went down, Kostic’s minutes went up, understandably.
“He puts the work in. That’s something that I love about him,” Young said. “He wasn’t expected to come in and get as big of a role. But just given the situation we are in (he has). He is the epitome of a ‘stay ready so you don’t have to get ready’ guy. He has been great for us, and we are going to continue to need him.”
BYU hosts No. 10 Texas Tech on Senior Night
BYU (20-10, 8-9) will honor Saunders, Keba Keita, Mihailo Boskovic and walk-on Jared McGregor on Saturday night before it hosts No. 10 Texas Tech (22-8, 12-5) at the Marriott Center. Tipoff is at 8:30 p.m. and the regular-season finale for both teams will be televised by ESPN.
That Baker and Pickens are not scheduled to be honored most likely means that they plan to return to college basketball, presumably at BYU. Obviously, the bulk of the spotlight will be on Saunders, a rare bird who played for the Cougars all four seasons of his outstanding college career.
Saunders graduates and moves on to professional basketball as one of the most beloved Cougars ever.
“I am excited for our seniors to be honored,” Young said. “They all deserve it, and it should be a great night.”
What’s at stake for backsliding BYU?
Regardless of what happens Saturday, BYU will play in a Big 12 tournament first-round game Tuesday at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City.
Entering the weekend, BYU was tied with West Virginia for ninth place in the league standings. If the Mountaineers beat UCF Friday night in Morgantown, they will get the No. 9 seed in the conference tournament and BYU will get the No. 10 seed and face No. 15 seed Kansas State in the first round at 5 p.m. MST Tuesday.
If West Virginia loses and BYU beats Texas Tech, the Cougars would get the No. 9 seed and would play No. 16 seed Utah at 1 p.m. MST on Tuesday in Kansas City.
Young said Thursday night that the losing skid has not divided the team.
“The thing I love about our group is it has not torn the team apart,” Young said. “The last road trip was difficult, but guys are in a great place.”
