BYU Basketball, Continued

Good news, friends. I have officially drunk the kool-aid, and it tastes GOOD.

I'm speaking, of course, about BYU's chances in the upcoming NCAA tournament.

I know they have lost seven straight games in this tournament. I know we haven't made it out of the first round since I was 8 years old. (Look! I've already transitioned and used the word "we" and I didn't even mean to! I'm identifying myself with the team and that is a sign of too much emotional involvement.) I know we've never been to the Final Four. (Winning the NIT in the 50's doesn't count anymore.) I know the only reason we made it to the Elite Eight was Danny Ainge, and while I like Jimmer Fredette, I don't think he's the second coming of Danny Ainge.

I love the short shorts. Pure old-school basketball right there.

But you know what, I'm saying there's a chance. We have a great matchup with Florida in the first round. They look like a team that's beatable. They look like the perfect team to get the huge seven-losses-in-a-row-in-the-postseason monkey off our back. I was initially disappointed with the seven seed, but I would much rather be playing a big conference team who barely squeaked in than a mid-major like St. Mary's or Cornell or Siena that probably should be ranked higher than what they are.

Now, IF we make it there, (huge if, I know. But I'm only getting started.) the second round would be an incredibly tough game. Kansas State is a good team. They deserve to be a second seed. They play tough defense. They've beaten some great teams.

But I think we match up well against them. Their strength is their backcourt, like BYU. They like to run the ball, like BYU. I see a high-scoring game that probably won't go our way. But...it could go our way.

That would bring us to Salt Lake for the Sweet 16. Home court advantage. We could beat Pitt (who doesn't have a star player, a go-to guy, which you need in this tournament). We could beat Xavier. We could beat Minnesota. We could beat Oakland. Combined with the home-court advantage, we could win any of those games.

The Elite 8 game would be against Syracuse. A Syracuse team that lost one of their best players recently. I know he's trying to make it back, but I'm doubtful, and I don't think he would be 100%. Of all the #1 seeds to play, I would want to play Syracuse. (Or Duke.) Remember, this game would be basically at home as well.

That would put BYU in the Final Four. Which would be in Indianapolis. Which is only a three hour drive away.

I'm not going to even think about beating Kansas in that game. That would not happen. For the record, I have Kansas beating Kentucky in the final game. Similar to the Fab Five of Michigan, a freshman class with amazing talent, and I have the feeling that someone on the team will make some boneheaded move ala Chris Webber.

I know what you're thinking, because it's what I'm thinking. It's crazy, it's not going to happen, and BYU will lose in the first round AGAIN. Jimmer will probably have a mono relapse, Tyler Haws will come out wearing an eye patch and his shooting will be off, something will happen and we'll lose. But you know what..............there's a chance. It's March! Spring is in the air, and so is optimism. And in the end, March Madness is just that: It's mad.

BYU Basketball

Last weekend the BYU played New Mexico in the Marriott Center in a game of basketball. Billed as “the biggest game in Mountain West history", it apparently lived up to its reputation, delivering a great back-and-forth, hard-fought game that resulted in a narrow victory for the Lobos.

My brother had front-row, half-court seats that he won in some contest. Lucky.

Anyway, I was watching through the internet. (Watching as in seeing the score update on the website. It’s like the modern version of listening to the radio. In fact, now that I think about it, I should have gone to www.ksl.com and listened to it…on the radio. Oh well, next time.) I noticed that our star point guard, Jimmer Fredette, was not playing. In his place was a sophomore named Michael Lloyd, Jr whose name kept coming up on the screen. A quick search found that Jimmer was out with a stomach, yet somehow BYU kept it close and had a shot to win the game in the end.

So, here’s my question. Would I rather have a BYU victory against New Mexico now…or get a couple wins in the NCAA Tournament in March? Of course I’d pick the latter. I don’t suppose the two are necessarily mutually exclusive, but I think the revelation of Lloyd as a guy that can come in and provide even more spark is an important one that could provide dividends not only years down the road (he’s only a sophomore) but next month when we try to make it to the second round of the NCAA tournament for the first time in what seems like an eternity. (In fact, I don’t remember the last time BYU made it past the first round. It was 1992, but I guess I didn’t pay attention to college basketball back then.)

So while I’m sorry about the loss, I’m still enthusiastic about the future. GO BYU.