BYU in mix for NCAA bid
First came the news that BYU’s men’s basketball team had crept into one of the Top 25 polls.
Now comes the observation by Andy Glockner at Sports Illustrated that the Cougars are “in the mix” to make the NCAA Tournament.
Glockner, whose Bubble Watch is a popular and informed feature at SI, sees the West Coast Conference edging toward becoming a three-bid league. In that case, it’s party time in Provo. The Cougars are currently No. 2 in the WCC with a 5-1 record. As Glockner points out, the deciding factor for the Cougars could well be home games against Saint Mary’s and Gonzaga late this month and early next.
How is BYU’s move to the WCC going? Nicely, it appears. The arenas are smaller than the Mountain West and the overall competition a bit lower, but BYU has definitely raised the profile of the conference with its nice start.
And let’s face it, trips to San Diego, San Francisco and Portland aren’t too bad compared to Laramie, Albuquerque and Fort Worth. On the other hand, Las Vegas and San Diego in winter never got old in the Mountain West.
Cougar coach Dave Rose has established that his program is in this for the long haul. The Jimmer era was special, but the sign of a great coach is having good teams when they don’t have the player of the year.
Seems in moving to the WCC, the Cougars took their respect with them.
