No need to mark your calendars anymore and that's not just because very few people use traditional physical calendars in this, the Year of our Lord two-thousand and twenty-five. BYU basketball will take the floor of the NCAA Tournament in Denver, Colorado today.
No more waiting. No more hand-wringing anticipation. No more night terrors envisioning a first-round exit from yet another A-10 champion. No, this is March Madness, and the BYU Cougars are right in the middle of it all.
Drink this moment in -- the opening weekend of the 64-team Division I NCAA Tournament is quite literally the most fantastic period of the entire year, and we are all about to take a ladle of the sweet, sweet nectar that is postseason hoops. Go ahead, double-dip to your heart's content.
But if we can direct our gaze into the future of the game, taking a moment to observe a crystal ball and attempt to comprehend the events to come, how can we project the Provo-based Big 12 representatives to fare on the game's highest stage?
Take a look with me, please.
Round of 64 - VCU Rams
That matchup with VCU does spark reasonable doubt for the Cougars' chances of advancing in the bracket -- the Rams are criminally under-seeded and a very stout defensive team. The bad news for the Commonwealth, however, is that BYU is likewise arguably under-seeded and has their hearts set on a surprisingly deep run through the tournament.
Taking down VCU is the first step, and the Kevin Young-led Cougars should be up to the challenge.
Round of 64 Prediction: BYU wins by 8+
Round of 32 - Wisconsin Badgers
The Big 10 runners-up have left their frozen home in Madison, Wisconsin for a collision course with the dynamic BYU Cougars. A game in which the Badgers will be favored? Almost certainly. Wiscy is one of the nation's most evenly-spread squads and can win in a variety of ways. They took down the likes of Michigan State and UCLA -- two tournament teams -- before a loss to Michigan in the conference championship game.
But the Badgers are a bit of a jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none if you'll pardon my cliche. And while this team from Madison is a steady ship in the March waters, BYU is capable of lighting up the scoreboard and taking a team out of the game early. I expect they do just that and stave off a late Badgers comeback to advance.
Round of 32 Prediction: BYU wins by 4
Sweet 16 - Alabama Crimson Tide
Though this isn't the gridiron, the Crimson Tide have still been one of basketball's most consistently dominant programs over the past few seasons. This year is no different in that regard, as veteran guard and baby Jalen Brunson, Mark Sears, has led this team to a two-seed to a strong season in arguably the best conference in America this season.
But this giant has a few more glaring weak points than your standard Bama basketball side, and I expect the Cougars to scale this colossus and pierce those weak spots to a victory.
Turnovers and fouls are the Tide's most apparent issues this season, and in games they've lost, those problems are only compounded by their nation-leading pace of play. BYU has struggled with turnovers themselves, this season, but has also proved capable of overcoming those shortcomings, and Richie Saunders is developing into a foul magnet in the late season.
The Tide could play right into BYU's hands in this one.
Sweet 16 Prediction: BYU wins by 7
Elite Eight - Duke Blue Devils
For the first time since Danny Ainge's coast-to-coast winner over Notre Dame, BYU basketball plants their flag on the hallowed ground of the Elite Eight.
Unfortunately, this time they run into one of the best basketball teams the sport has seen in a very, very long time in the Duke Blue Devils. Led by three likely NBA lottery selections in Kon Kneuppel, Khaman Maluach, and some fella named Cooper Flagg, this Duke team doesn't play with their food -- just ask Illinois.
Can magic happen yet again for the BYU Cougars on this hypothetically historic run? Of course, this is the realm of imagination, I can declare BYU the National Champions right now. My finger has hovered over that button, believe you me.
But this is the end of Kevin Young's first season at the helm of BYU basketball. I know people say "There's always next season", but with AJ Dybantsa set to join the Cougs, this is a warning to the rest of the nation -- BYU basketball is coming for the crown next season.
Or not, I guess.
Elite Eight Prediction: BYU loses by 11
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