|
BYU MEN: Only way Cougars will get respect is by winning in the tourney |
|
|
|
|
JaredLloyd | Wednesday, March 14, 2007, 11:41 pm
|
Darnell Dickson
DAILY HERALD
There’s only one way that BYU will ever impress the NCAA tournament committee: Win some tournament games.
Winning 25 games, playing a difficult schedule, winning the MWC regular-season title, finishing in the Top 25 and posting an impressive RPI doesn’t seem to matter to the oh-so knowledgeable rulers of the madness of March. The only way BYU or any other MWC team can improve their seeding in future NCAA tournaments is to start winning some games in the tournament itself.
Utah did it, getting all the way to the NCAA finals in 1997 and advancing to a few Sweet 16’s. If Utah had BYU’s schedule and record this year, do you think the Utes would have been higher than an eight seed?
Without a doubt.
BYU won’t play on Sundays, which eliminates half of the locations in the opening round. Is there a bias there by the committee?
Without a doubt.
But BYU fans need to stop complaining and concentrate on sending karma the Cougars way.
BYU’s NCAA reputation is one that, since the Danny Ainge-led 1981 Elite Eight trip, is without distinction. In fact, BYU holds the dubious honor of playing in the most NCAA tournament games (35) without reaching a Final Four.
Dave Rose and the Cougars hope to change all that, starting tonight with their opening-round NCAA tournament game against Xavier in Lexington, Ky. It’s an interesting matchup between two teams that mirror each other in depth and experience.
The Musketeers have a big advantage in that much of its fan base will be making the 80-mile trip from Cincinnati. It won’t be like BYU and UNLV in Las Vegas last weekend, but Xavier will have more fans in the stands than the Cougars will.
Facing big obstacles isn’t new to BYU’s NCAA tournament experience. In 2003, BYU’s first-round opponent was Connecticut. Do the names Emeka Okafor and Ben Gordon ring a bell? As a No. 12 seed, BYU was a heavy underdog, fell behind by 14 points in the second half and then rallied to within two late. Connecticut won that game 58-53 and a year later, claimed the NCAA championship. Okafor and Gordon are now playing in the NBA.
The following year, BYU was again a No. 12 seed and opened with defending national champion Syracuse. Carmelo Anthony had already left for the NBA but the Orange still had crafty coach Jim Boeheim and guard Gerry McNamara, who went off for a career-high 43 points. Syracuse needed every one of those points because BYU had a double-digit first half lead. The Cougars had it close at the end but couldn’t connect on a key 3-pointer and lost 80-75.
This year BYU gets a little bit higher seed (No. 8) and a good Xavier team to open. Of course, the winner of the 8-9 game gets the No. 1 seed in Round 2, making a Sweet 16 appearance a pretty tall mountain to climb.
Everest.
In the MWC semifinals and finals, BYU started off strong but faltered down the stretch. That can’t happen tonight.
The NCAA eats timid teams for a midnight snack.
The keys for BYU include a strong game from Austin Ainge, who has to guard Xavier mighty mite Drew Lavender. The Cougars need to establish Keena Young and Trent Plaisted down low to open up the outside for Ainge, Jimmy Balderson, Lee Cummard and Mike Rose.
Most of all, the Cougars need to not change a thing.
The best way to find yourself going home early in a tournament is to play differently than you’ve played all year.
The way they’ve played has gotten the Cougars to 25 wins and the first round of the NCAA tournament.
BYU can’t control the seeding, or the opponent, or the NCAA’s dim perception of its basketball program.
The only thing in BYU’s control is taking the court and coming out with a win. |
