Could sidelined college stars win the NCAA title? A case could be made

Just how valuable are stars like Richie Saunders?

You take guys like him out of a lineup and the impact, as BYU has witnessed, is obvious. Like a missing portion of a three-legged stool.

Now comes the question: If you could miraculously heal college basketball’s top injured players and create a team out of these limping, bandaged soldiers, could that team win a national championship?

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The case could be made.

They are that talented.

Yes, there is a talent drain from injuries like Saunders this March as madness unfolds. It is a tragedy, and it has impacted teams like Texas Tech, Kentucky, North Carolina, Nebraska and Michigan, as well as BYU.

The Big 12 has suffered more key injuries to big-time contending teams than most in the college game, a fact that changed the trajectory of the Big 12 tournament in Kansas City this week.

John Kurtz, a Kansas-based podcaster who covers the Big 12, noted the ACL injuries to Saunders and Toppin came within days of each other and were devastating, especially with Toppin and TT.

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“It’s a loss for the sport, not just the Big 12, to see him (Toppin) go down. As the reigning Big 12 Player of the Year, Toppin helped Texas Tech beat three top-five teams (Duke, Houston and Arizona) and turned the Red Raiders into a real national title contender.”

Make a team out of these Out For the Season All-Stars, and I like the chances of this cadre of surgical patients to win it all.

Consider this group of rotational players:

Richie Saunders, an electric energy guy for BYU, a Big 12 first-team player last year and performing at that level this year as one of the nation’s most accurate 3-point shooters, sidelined after ACL surgery in February. Saunders averaged 18 points and 5.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists with a 48% shooting accuracy from the field before his injury.

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Caleb Wilson, the highly touted freshman forward for North Carolina. At 6-foot-10, 215, he is a lottery pick in the upcoming NBA draft. This year he started all 24…

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Publish date : 2026-03-09 18:37:00

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