This time a year ago, BYU was not feeling too good heading into halftime against 11-seed Duquesne in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The Cougars did not finish that game well and ended up getting upset by the Dukes in the first round of the tournament, unable to break their streak of losses in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
BYU had not won an NCAA Tournament game since 2012 when the team won their First Four game against Iona but lost to 3-seed Marquette. The Cougars had not won a first-round game since 2011 when they made it to the Sweet 16 as a 3-seed.
Today, in their first-round game against 11-seed VCU, even with their best player Richie Saunders on the bench for a while with two personal goals in the first half, BYU is up 39-28 at the half. Saunders, the Cougars 'leading scorer this season, has just six points, but Egor Demin is stepping up BYU with a team-leading 11 points and three rebounds.
The Cougars are balanced offensively right now, with each starter having scored a backend, and currently have 10 bench points between Dawson Baker and Fousseyni Traore. Demin has hit three of his four 3-pointers today, and the courts are 5-for-10 from 3-point range. BYU is also 50% from the floor, but need to make sure they are hitting their shots from the foul line.
This is a great start for BYU and gives fans hope of making it past the first round for the first time in almost 15 years, but this is just the first half, and this is March Madness, anything can happen. BYU needs to come out of halftime ready to go, and Saunders needs to be careful with his fouls so he doesn't have to sit on the bench anymore.
VCU is 4-3 on the season when they are down at halftime, and BYU certainly doesn't want to be their fifth comeback win this season.