What to make of BYU basketball this year?
That's a challenging question to answer. Obviously, superstar and potential number-one overall NBA Draft pick AJ Dybantsa headlines this year's edition of Kevin Young's Cougars, but in a team sport, one player is never enough to finish the job himself, no matter how gifted.
For a while there, it seemed like BYU basketball was doomed to wither and die before ever reaching the postseason. Sure, they performed well overall against Quad 1 competitors, but this team was bleeding once they got into the battlefield of Big 12 Conference competition. Losers in nine of their final 14 games to close out the regular season, this team had lost key players to injury and seemed absolutely hopeless against the onslaught of elite matchups that a league like this is prone to deliver.
Sure, they managed to steal victory away from Iowa State and Texas Tech, but without Richie Saunders, is this team truly motivated enough or talented enough to compete in a do-or-die tournament?
Feel free to ask Kansas State and West Virginia, two programs that were puverized by the Dybantsa-Wright twosome with the defensive backing of Davis, Mboup, and Keita to support.
Remarkable things happened in the Big 12 tournament. For example, a team known for defending with all the constitution of wet paper was suddenly leaning on their defensive effort to close out quality opposition. Players who had struggled to find consistency -- either in playing time or performance -- lit up the, well, lit-up playing surface when it mattered most.
Even against Houston, the blue Cougars managed to enter halftime with a lead, and competed until the final buzzer against a foe that was ranked fifth nationally.
The Big 12 Tournament is now over, and to the surprise of the nation, 10th-seeded BYU basketball didn't defy the odds and defeat Arizona by 30 points in the championship round. It's a good thing I'm not a betting man. But this is a team that has found new life and a new identity, pushing defensive effort and offensive balance to the forefront and letting those ideals open the way.
The Cougars proved one critical fact about themselves in Kansas City: they can compete with the best.
For the second year in as many tries, Kevin Young's team may be peaking at the right moment, and they'll set their sights on a run in March.
With that in mind, how do the bracket projectors view this year's BYU basketball team? Here's an overview of a few major bracketology predictions to give us a sense from where BYU basketball may begin in March.
BYU basketball in Bracketology
ESPN: 6 seed vs SMU/Texas
CBS Sports: 6 seed vs Miami (OH)
On3: 6 seed vs SMU/Texas
SB Nation: 6 seed vs Texas A&M
Death, taxes, and BYU basketball at the 6 seed. This would be the Cougars' fourth straight time with a 6 seed in the bracket. It's a challenging position, as 11 seeds are popular candidates for a round-one upset (and usually get the better of BYU from this spot). Still, a 6 seed would be an incredible achievement for a team that fell off a cliff after losing many key players.
Playing their best basketball of the season, BYU could be due for an incredible postseason.