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BYU
Road to the Final Four.............................................................................................
The rebuilding program is complete in Provo, Utah. Remember, this was a program that won just one -- yes, 1 -- game four seasons ago. Now, BYU is back in the NCAA Tournament after winning the Mountain West tournament. BYU shared the regular-season title with Utah and Wyoming, but beat the Cowboys in the semifinals and then held off New Mexico to return to the tournament for the first time since 1995. The Cougars enter the tournament winners of five straight and 11 of their last 13 with losses only to Utah and UNLV. Player to Watch While the Cougars' guards are explosive shooters, the steady Mekeli Wesley is the key to any success BYU will enjoy from now on. The 6-9, 230-pound forward averaged just under 17 points a game and 5.5 rebounds. A 51-percent shooter from the field, he also can shoot 3s (who doesn't on BYU?). With the Ball The switch to a more up-tempo style paid off this season, as the Cougars were among the most exciting teams (71 ppg) in an always wide-open MWC. Terrell Lyday (16.5 ppg) is fun to watch in the halfcourt or out on the break. If Trent Whiting can get hot from outside (he made 34.9 percent of 357 three-pointers), the Cougars will be a tough out in the first round.Defending the Ball The Cougars will switch it up between man and zone, looking to create offense off turnovers. BYU was the top defense in the MWC, holding teams to just 62 points a game. And teams shot just 41 percent against the Cougars. Seed Analysis Exceeding the Seed Playing to Expectations Falling Short BRACKETOLOGY SCORE: .909 (1,000 is playing exactly to a team's historical seeding) Bracketology Report 1985-2000: The Cougars have a mostly anonymous NCAA tournament history, particularly since the field expanded to 64 teams in 1985. There was the Danny Ainge coast-to-coast game-winner over Notre Dame in 1981, but that's about it for excitement in the modern era. Otherwise, Brigham Young plays to its seed or within one game of it and does not extend its stay beyond the opening weekend. Roster
 NCAA Basketball Championship Week It's March, which means the madness has started and invitations are being reserved throughout Championship Week.  Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories |  |
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