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The BYU and VCU basketball teams have both lost their last five games in the NCAA Tournament and they’ll both be inspired to fight hard in Thursday’s first round of the East Regional in Denver.
The Cougars are 0-2 in their last two NCAA trips as No. 6 seeds against 11 seeds — the exact same stage we see on Thursday in this matchup. BYU has played a tougher strength of schedule and has been more successful than VCU against better offenses and defenses. The Cougar offensive metrics are by far the toughest VCU’s vaunted defense has faced this season. BYU is currently No. 11 in offensive adjusted efficiency in KenPom. The next closest-ranked offense VCU faced this season is Colorado State (No. 43).
If Kevin Young does one thing for BYU basketball this year, it is to push the Cougar program into a multiple-game appearance in the NCAA Tournament. If he does that this week in Denver, it will be evident in so many ways he’s about to break the mold of what BYU has traditionally done and justify big expenses in his behalf. The last time BYU advanced was with Jimmer Fredette in 2011.
Here are some of our stories breaking down this first round game:
- How equipped is BYU for VCU (Jay Drew)
- BYU needs to bring the circus (Dave McCann)
- Battle-tested BYU faces underseeded VCU (Jay Drew)
Cougar Insider predictions
Question of the Week: No. 6 seed BYU will play No. 11 VCU on Thursday in the first round of the East Regional in Denver after losing as a sixth seed the last two times the Cougars have played in the NCAA Tournament. A year ago a defensive-minded Duquesne stunned Mark Pope’s team at this event. Will this be a repeat of that game and an early BYU exit?
Jay Drew: Because I believe this BYU basketball team is better equipped for NCAA Tournament play, and better coached, I think the Cougars will be able to scrap their way past VCU on Thursday. Sure, VCU is an excellent defensive team, and it won’t be easy, but I think BYU will rediscover its shooting touch and make enough plays down the stretch to get the win.
I think Kevin Young’s presence and coaching has given this team more confidence than last year’s team, and that should serve the Cougars well when the game gets tight in Denver. Yes, I think it will be tight most of the way, with BYU pulling away at the end.
However, it should be noted that this is a veteran VCU squad, led by former Utah State guard Max Shulga. He’s a tough, hard-nosed player, as are his teammates. That means BYU must be able to step up and meet the challenge of that style of play, as it did twice against Iowa State.
Last year, BYU wilted a bit against Duquesne, which was playing with a sense of desperation in its coach’s last game. The Cougars need to have that whatever-it-takes mindset, and I think they will.
A couple keys to the game for BYU are defensive rebounding (no second-chance points for the Rams), playing hard without fouling, and making their free throws — which wasn’t a problem in Kansas City.
Dick Harmon: I throw a lot of respect to the VCU Rams because they are legit. They have shot blockers and rim protectors to help defend and they can get out and pressure the Cougars with an extended defense. The question I have is can VCU keep that up for an entire game if BYU is on with their outside shooting?
Kevin Young’s team has made believers out of many of the media when they beat Arizona and Iowa State (twice) and did so in highly competitive fashion. This BYU team has proven to work hard, adjust, compete and win close games at the end. Their one weakness is living by the 3 and then dying by the 3 if those shots don’t go down. The Torvik ratings has BYU ranked 10th and VCU 23rd the last two months. That same rating has BYU ranked fifth and VCU 24th in the last 30 days. In some metrics BYU was playing like the No. 6 team in the country during its recent nine-game win streak. This is on Young and his methods. A year ago Pope’s team started strong and faded at the end, but Young’s team appears to be doing just the opposite.
I think Young’s approach with this team has been impressive. He’s been able to tweak and push, gather and lead and they have responded. If the Cougars can score more than 72, they win. If they can hit 11 threes, they win. If they can get a transition offense game going off a rebounding edge, they’ll be hard to beat. Richie Saunders and Trevin Knell have to make shots and the Cougars will be playing Wisconsin in the second round on Saturday.
Cougar tales
BYU’s women finished 10th and the men 13th in the NCAA indoor track and field championships. BYU is ranked No. 17 in the final regular season AP basketball poll. Read about men’s volleyball’s rebound match against Harvard here.
From the archives
From the X-verse
- BYU’s record with seeding (@gregwrubell)
- How BYU-VCU matchup in stats (@HowInvesting)
- BYU’s success vs. ranked defenses (@CougarStats)
Extra points
- Cougar track recruit sets national marks (Deseret News)
- BYU finishes first give-take scrimmage (KSLsports)
- VCU coach talks BYU hoops (KSLsports)
Fanalysts
Comments from Deseret News readers:
Can we stop complaining about the seeding and saying BYU got a bad draw?? Every team in the 10-12 range is going to be good. I’d rather have VCU than Drake, and the First Four gets a warm-up game and one of those teams always makes the Sweet 16 so I am happy BYU is not playing one of them. VCU is a great draw and if we are as good as we think we are then we should have no problems winning this game. The committee gave them an over-seeded 11 last year in Duquesne and they couldn’t even beat them. Let’s stop trying to make excuses if they lose that the committee screwed BYU with their seed AND gave them a horrible matchup. BYU got the seed it deserved and got a great matchup against a team in a one-bid league, now they need to go win, no excuses.
As for seeding, we know the committee looks at the whole body of work. ... Yeah, they had some good wins late, which lead to the 6 seed, otherwise they would have been in the 8-9 game. If they want to be a 3-5 seed then they need to schedule some actual competition in the preseason.
— thesheriff
I used to live in Richmond, Virginia. VCU is a legitimate basketball school and they have performed well in the NCAA Tournament over the years and even advanced to the Final Four in 2011. What was their seed you ask when they made that run? Eleven — just like this year. So the Cougars have a true test, but it is one they are prepared to meet. The real question to me is how does ISU earn a No. 3 seed when BYU beats them twice, including a win on the Cardinal Home floor when their team was at “full strength.” ISU also finished behind the Cougars in the Big 12 standings. So I feel like the committee was generous to ISU with a No. 3 and stingy to BYU with a No. 6. The only consolation is that Denver is a close playing site and the crowd will be 75% pro-BYU.
— Lamar Savage
Up next
- March 19 | 11 a.m. | Women’s swim and dive | NCAA championships | @ Federal Way, Washington
- March 20 | 10 a.m. | Women’s tennis | Cincinnati | @ Cincinnati, Ohio
- March 20 | 2:05 p.m. | Men’s basketball | VCU | NCAA Tournament | @ Denver
- March 22 | noon | Women’s gymnastics | Big 12 Championship | @ West Valley City, Utah