DENVER, CO (CBB REVIEW) – Upsets such as the 11th seed beating the sixth seed are common at the NCAA tournament, and BYU basketball is no stranger to it.
The favored Cougars lost as a sixth seed to No. 11 Duquesne 71-67 in last year in Omaha. Despite the plethora of support in the stands, they were second best from the start, and never led.
Then-head coach Mark Pope left the program that offseason to join his alma mater, Kentucky, leading to Kevin Young taking over. Yet, Young’s side remained one of the premier sides in the Big 12, and once again received the sixth seed in the East region. Their eleventh seed this time was Atlantic 10 champion VCU.
The Cougars once again allowed 71 points. But this time, they were victorious, beating the Rams 80-71 at Ball Arena on Thursday afternoon to advance to the Round of 32 for the first time since 2011.
“I pulled a lot of those guys (who lost last year) aside and just asked them ‘hey, are we missing anything? Are we hitting on all the right things?” BYU basketball head coach Kevin Young said. “They were definitely good sounding boards for me.”
With both fanbases chanting their team’s acronyms, those in royal blue and white increased their volume over the last five minutes of the first half, as they witnessed their team go on a 15-4 run to end the frame. While tempers flared at the buzzer because of physicality, Young and his team remained energized, heading back to the locker room up 39-28.
“Our team is so deep,” junior guard Richie Saunders said. “During that little run, our second unit was right in there making it happen. There are so many tools that we can use as a team. We were playing fast (and) sharing the ball.”
BYU basketball’s offense continued its fervor in the second half with the help of its veterans. Saunders notched the team’s first six points out of the break before graduate guard Trevin Knell added a triple.
Saunders led the way with 16 points and four rebounds, reaching double figures for the 10th consecutive game. He has blossomed this season after only scoring four points in last year’s upset.
“We’ve had so many ups and downs this season, and we’re not ready to be done yet,” Saunders said. “It means so much that we could get the win.”
For other BYU basketball veterans, like senior forward Fousseyni Traore, the win meant continuing his collegiate career. He ended Thursday afternoon’s contest with 13 points, coming a rebound short of a double-double. The Bamako, Mali native, like his fellow forwards, weaved their way through the post for layups and occasional slams, as the boys in blue scored 38 points in the paint.
“We just don’t want to go down like that,” Traore said. “It was like every single game can be our last game.”
But BYU basketball received some help early from freshman guard/forward Egor Demin to avoid a deficit similar to last year. The Russian, who is the team’s ball handler this year, scored 11 points in the first half. He capped off the flurry with a triple to kick start the deciding run in the first half.
“At the end of the day, nothing matters (except) how strong we get to the court and how much effort we give, and how much we want to win,” Demin said. “I don’t have as much experience as these guys in March Madness, but I believe who wants the ball and who wants to win more (matters).”
“The way we have shot the ball this year, teams have had to decide whether to guard the three (point line) or let us get to the rim,” Young added. “So, tonight…I thought his approach early set the tone.”
Despite facing a 20-point deficit at times, the Rams still cut into the lead, only trailing by 11 with less than six minutes remaining. They only trailed by single digits in the final minute with a triple from graduate guard Zeb Jackson. But the Blue and White remained in front for the victory.
There are 62 games where the 11th seed has upset the sixth seed. This was the first game between the two seeds in the 2025 NCAA men’s basketball tournament.
BYU basketball now turns its attention to No. 3 Wisconsin, who beat No. 14 Montana 85-66 earlier in the afternoon. The winner goes to Newark, N.J. for the Sweet 16.
“I know they score a lot of points and all of that,” Young said. “I know, basically as a team, everybody can shoot it from three. So, we have to be dialed in on exactly how we want to guard those guys. My coaches have been hard at work to make sure that scout (report) is dialed and ready.”