I’m just excited. I don’t care what seed we are. We’re in. We have an opportunity to make a lot of noise and play in a big tournament. – BYU guard Kyle Collinworth
PROVO — After waiting all the way down to the final bracket to find out their postseason fate Sunday afternoon, the BYU Cougars were thrilled to receive an at-large berth into the NCAA tournament.
Even if it means a first-round play-in game in Dayton, Ohio.
“I’m just excited. I don’t care what seed we are. We’re in,” said guard Kyle Collinworth. “We have an opportunity to make a lot of noise and play in a big tournament.”
The No. 11 seeded Cougars face another No. 11 seed, Ole Miss, in the West Region Tuesday (7:10 p.m., MDT, TruTV) at UD Arena as part of the "First Four."
Coach Dave Rose felt BYU (25-9) deserved a shot in the Big Dance.
“It’s a good basketball team,” he said, “so now we’ll get a chance to prove it and see how we do.”
But that long wait — which started after a setback to Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference championship game last Tuesday — was agonizing.
“It was literally the last bracket," Collinsworth said.
“Yeah. It was terrible. The tension was pretty high in that room,” said guard Tyler Haws. “We were confident going into today. Then when you see all these other teams getting (their) name called before you, it can be nerve-wracking. We’re just really happy our name got called, and we’re excited to play.”
Haws said he’s not disappointed with his team’s play-in status. As a senior, he’s simply glad to be ending his career in the NCAA tournament.
“Any spot in the tournament is a good spot. We’re excited to play this game and get to Dayton."
“The thought of having to play in any other tournament besides the NCAA tournament is a sad thought,” said guard Skyler Halford. “You don’t want to have to go out that way. I’m just really grateful for the opportunity we do have. We’re in and I’m happy where we’re at and excited to play.”
This marks the second time in four years that BYU has drawn an NCAA tournament play-in game. In 2012, the Cougars set an NCAA tournament record for the largest comeback victory after rallying from a 25-point deficit in a win over Iona at UD Arena.
Due to a glitch on the NCAA.com website, the BYU-Ole Miss matchup was revealed on social media just before the CBS Selection Show.
Rose, who isn’t exactly social-media savvy, didn’t have any idea.
“When we got to the last couple of brackets, the last one, I thought there were a lot of really good teams that were going to be left out,” Rose said. “Hopefully, we get a shot at it, and we did.”
What factors helped the Cougars, who were among the last four of the 68 teams to make the NCAA tournament, earn a berth?
“The way we finished the last month,” Rose said. “When you get to this point, you have to take everything we did because it was so close. A lot of what determined it was how the other teams fared after we were done playing. That’s what every at-large team has to go through. It will be better one of these years to win three in a row.”
The winner of the BYU-Ole Miss game will take on No. 6 Xavier in Jacksonville, Fla., Thursday afternoon.
The Cougars enter the tournament with some health issues, although Halford, who suffered a nerve contusion in his leg in the loss to Gonzaga, said he has been practicing and is “good to go” for the tournament.
As for guard Anson Winder, who sustained a knee injury against Santa Clara in the WCC tournament, his status is in question.
“If he can play, he will,” Rose said. “The MRI left it to where it’s up-in-the-air. He’s probably going to have to have surgery at the end of the season.”
The Cougars know a bit about Ole Miss.
“We’ve watched them play a few times,” Haws said. “They play a fun style, a similar style to us. They like to get up and down. They play fast. Hopefully that plays to our advantage.”
The Rebels have a 20-12 record overall and finished in a four-way tie for third in the Southeastern Conference at 11-7.
Stefan Moody leads Ole Miss in scoring at 16.3 points per game while Jarvis Summers (12.4) and Ladarius Summer (11.2) also average double figures. Sebastian Saiz averages 5.4 rebounds per game.
Ole Miss lost to Kentucky — which is undefeated and the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament — in overtime on the road this season.
“If they’re at Kentucky and took them to overtime,” Rose said, “they’ll get our guys’ attention. A pretty good team.”
“I know they like to shoot the 3 and run,” said guard Chase Fischer. “They’re really athletic and physical. We really don’t know much. We’re kind of letting it bask in right now that we actually got in.”