It's official: BYU basketball is pretty good this season. Kevin Young has led this program to national relevance in just one season at the head. With chemistry and cohesion unseen in Provo since Jaymon proposed to McKeighlah at first sight during the Homecoming Formal, this team is poised to lean on each other through the impending turbulence of the tournament.
And believe me, this is about to get very uncomfortable.
This BYU team has excellent talent on the roster, and they've successfully challenged every great team they've faced during Big 12 play (excepting Houston, destroyer of worlds, of course), but their magical run is about to meet rigid opposition sooner than later.
And by sooner, I mean Thursday. And by opposition, I mean a top-six Alabama team from the Southeastern Conference.
Heaven help us all.
But here's the good news: the Cougars are peaking at the right time, and showing they can be more than capable of facing off against some of the fiercest competition the nation has to offer.
Behind Egor Demin, Richie Saunders, and barracks full of offensive weapons, the Cougars boast one of the most potent scoring attacks in all of basketball. Against one of the best defensive units in the tournament, VCU, the Cougars were able to hit their spots and knock down open shots on the way to VCU's highest allowed point total on the season.
91 points on the Badgers was also helpful to BYU's case.
But the Tide will not be beaten in a track meet -- they boast the fastest pace in basketball and a prolific offense to go with it thanks to veteran point guard and Baby Brunson, Mark Sears.
As I stated while re-seeding these two teams, the Tide looked poised in both rounds, even when facing some serious scares. They were down against Robert Morris in the final seven minutes of their first-round game. They only pulled away from Saint Mary's in the back quarter of play.
This is not an unbeatable team in Alabama. But they'll certainly be favored against this blossoming BYU side.
You'd be a fool to not tune in.
How to Watch March Madness: BYU vs Alabama
Date: Thursday, March 27, 2025
Time: 5:09 PM MT
Location: Prudential Center, Newark, NJ
Channel: CBS
Odds: Alabama -5.5