We have made it, everyone. March Madness, the best time of the year, is here. BYU has made March Madness for the first time in 3 years, since 2021, when they were also a 6 seed. They played against 11 seed UCLA and lost by 11. I am hoping that the same fate for BYU, as a 6 seed, in the 2024 edition of March Madness, is not the same as 2021.

For a brief history, BYU has never made the Final Four. The farthest they have ever gone was in 1981, with Danny Ainge, when they went to the Elite 8. Jimmer, then, took BYU to the Sweet 16, where they lost in OT. They would have gone farther I am sure of it if Brandon Davies didnt break the Honor Code. BYU also has the most appearances in the NCAA Tournament, 30, without making a Final Four appearance out of all D1 schools. Could this year be the year?

Big 12 Conference Tournament Recap

BYU played Texas Tech in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament, where they fell, 81-67. It was a little bit of a let down. They played so well against UCF in the previous round and then looked so flat and non existent against Texas Tech. They had no fight or energy.

Team Stats

BYU shot so bad, they didnt even look like themselves. Overall they shot 37%. From 3, they shot 20%. Those percentages will not win you most games. BYU was also out rebounded by 8 rebounds, only had 14 assists, and had a ton of fouls. They just didnt play with any heart. BYU also never led in the game.

Box Score

Leading the Cougars was Jaxson Robinson. He had 18 points. Fouss had 13 and Saunders had 12. Dallin Hall was 0-6 and 0-3 from 3 and Trevin Knell was 0-4 from 3, that cant happen when you are one of the best 3 point shooters on the team. Aly Khalifa also only played 8 minutes in this game because he turned his ankle and they were resting him for the NCAA Tournament.

March Madness Preview

Alright, enough about games in the past, lets talk about the seed and draw for BYU! BYU earned a 6 seed. Most bracketologists had BYU as a 4 or 5 seed. BYU fell to a 6 seed because of their no Sunday play. They had to be in a region where they could play Thursday and Saturday in the next game and have the Sweet 16 game also not be on a Sunday. That gave BYU only 2 options, the 4 or 5 seed games in Salt Lake. All of the other 4 or 5 seed games are playing on Friday and Sunday.

Seeding Controversy

The teams that “took BYU’s spot” were 5 seed Gonzaga and 4 seed Kansas. They are both playing in Salt Lake on a Thursday-Saturday. BYU, in my opinion, should have taken Kansas’ spot. They beat Kansas head to head, had the same Big 12 record, and BYU had 1 win better of an overall record. It also didnt help that Bill Self, the Kansas coach, told the selection committee that their best player was healthy and playing for the tournament. Then on Tuesday, after the bracket came out, Self announced that he would be out for the rest of the season. Hmm.

Then the selection committee announced the overall rankings of the teams in the big dance and BYU was ranked 17th with Kansas 14th and Gonzaga 21st. Kansas would have been dropped if the committee knew about their best player being hurt, but even with that, how is BYU a 6 seed and Gonzaga a 5 seed if the Cougs are ranked higher? I dont know. At the very least, BYU should have taken Gonzaga’s spot and not have been punished and sent down to a 6 seed for their no Sunday play. It would have been pretty cool to watch BYU in the NCAA Tournament in Salt Lake. By the way, being ranked 17th means you would be the first 5 seed, selection committee.

A Pretty Good Draw Nonetheless

Even with BYU getting shafted because of their low seed, the Cougars did get a pretty good draw. Gonzaga gets to face McNeese St who is a very good team and capable of pulling off an upset. BYU is facing Duquesne. A slightly higher seed than where they should have been.

Duquesne is more of a 13 seed according to their rankings and the other 13 seeds. So its like BYU is a 4 seed. Duquesne is very capable of pulling off the upset though, so BYU has to come to play. The Dukes are a very defensive team, so BYU has to be willing to change their offense, cut to the basket, and get the ball to Fouss and Khalifa on the post up.

If BYU wins against Duquesne, they will play the winner of 3 seed Illinois and 14 seed Morehead St. I expect Illinois to win that game, but crazier things have happened. Illinois are the reigning Big 10 tournament champions. They have elite guard play in Terrence Shannon Jr and a great compliment to him in Coleman Hawkins, a 6’10 Forward. The Illini are the winners of the Big 10 tournament for a reason. They are a great offensive team and super athletic, but struggle on defense, something that BYU could take advantage of. The end of that score might be like 91-90.

If BYU can get past Illinois into the Sweet 16, the other part of the bracket has Washington St, Drake, Iowa St, and South Dakota St. All very winnable games for BYU. Iowa St is the highest seed here at 2, but BYU has shown that they can beat Iowa St. That would be a fun game, round 3 in March Madness.

Realistic Expectations

Where do I think BYU will end up? I expect them to win the first game against Duquesne. BYU isnt playing an 11 seed UCLA like 2021. That team went on to the Final Four. Then BYU gets most likely Illinois. I think this will be the toughest game for BYU in their section of the bracket. They dont know Illinois and how they play. But Illinois doesnt know BYU either. I think BYU shoots lights out in this game to make it to the Sweet 16. The Sweet 16 is a good realistic expectation. Even just winning the game against Duquesne is a major success for this team with the expectations that they had to start the season.

I personally think BYU makes it to the Elite 8 behind the equal balance of Khalifa, Robinson, Hall, and Fouss. We will be much more evenly divided between scoring baskets inside and on the 3 point line during the tournament, I believe. My prediction is that BYU will beat Duquesne and upset Illinois on their hot 3 point shooting. Drake will upset Washington St and Iowa St and the Cougars will take on Drake where the Cougs will come out on top to face UConn in the Elite 8. This is where the magical run ends. I think BYU actually gets killed in that game against UConn with a shot to go to the Final Four. UConn is just too good. Welcome to the Madness.

March Madness is here! Feel free to share with all of your friends and family! Here you can find all of my previous posts and dont forget to subscribe!