BYU basketball goes on the road for a rematch opportunity against one of the top teams in the country.

The Cougars are gearing up to face the No. 4 Arizona Wildcats on Wednesday night at the McKale Center in Tucson.

It will be the first game this season where No. 23 BYU will be without star guard Richie Saunders.

Saunders suffered a season-ending ACL injury in BYU’s overtime win over Colorado this past Saturday.

It’s a significant loss, as Saunders was the 10th-leading scorer in the Big 12 Conference this season, averaging 18 points per game.

BYU still has stars AJ Dybantsa and Rob Wright III to carry the workload, but they will need the supporting cast to step up.

Their first crack at life without Saunders will be against Arizona, which, like BYU, will be without one of its top players on Wednesday night.

Freshman Koa Peat is out with a muscle strain in his lower leg area. He sustained the injury in last Saturday’s loss to Texas Tech.

Koa Peat has a muscle strain in his lower leg area. He will be re-evaluated next week and will return to the court when cleared by the medical staff.

Dwayne Aristode (illness) will also not be available Wednesday against BYU.

— Arizona Basketball (@ArizonaMBB) February 18, 2026

Arizona will also be without Dwayne Aristode, who is battling an illness. That significantly shrinks Arizona’s bench, reducing it to a six-man rotation.

Arizona has dropped its past two games. The Wildcats have not lost three consecutive games in the Tommy Lloyd era (since 2021).

BYU enters the game with a 19-6 overall record, and 7-5 mark in Big 12 play.

BYU basketball availability report against No. 4 Arizona

OUT

• #4 Brody Kozlowski
• #10 KJ Perry (redshirting)
• #12 Nate Pickens
• #15 Richie Saunders
• #25 Dawson Baker
• #33 Xavion Staton

Arizona Wildcats report

OUT

• #2 Dwayne Aristode
• #10 Koa Peat

No. 23 BYU at No. 4 Arizona

Date: Wednesday, February 18, 2026

Tip-off: 7 p.m. (MST)

TV: ESPN

Radio: KSL NewsRadio (102.7 FM, 1160 AM)

Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for KSLsports.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast daily on KSL Sports YouTube and KSL NewsRadio (SUBSCRIBE). Harper also co-hosts Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL NewsRadio.

Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU athletics in the Big 12 Conference on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram: @Mitch_Harper.

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