It feels like this March has featured much more mildness than madness.
Through two rounds of NCAA Tournament action, chalk has largely reigned supreme. Upsets have been scarce. Cinderellas have been slain. Heck, there’s only been one buzzer beater thus far — thank you, Derik Queen and Maryland.
The Sweet 16 begins Thursday and will feature a group of surviving squads unlike any other we’ve seen at this stage. Only four conferences — the SEC, Big Ten, Big 12 and ACC — will be represented, marking a record low. Every mid-major participant has fallen, and for the first time since 2007, there isn’t a single team seeded 11 or lower remaining in the dance.
One of the prime reasons why the NCAA Tournament stands out as arguably the most electrifying event in sports is how it gives the world a new, lovable and unlikely hero to root for each year. There’s always someone surprising who crashes the party and becomes a permanent part of March lore.
But with all the smaller schools having been sent packing, there will be no 2006 George Mason, 2018 Loyola Chicago or 2022 Saint Peters for America to fall in love with this year. Thirteen of the 16 teams left standing are top five seeds, and the lowest of the bunch, No. 10-seeded Arkansas, still hails from the big, bad SEC and has a Hall of Fame head coach on its bench.
With all of the blue bloods and juggernauts in the Sweet 16, it may feel as if Cinderella was kept out of this year’s dance. However, maybe 2025′s version just looks a bit different.
Enter the BYU Cougars.
It’s hard to really call BYU a true Cinderella when the Cougars come from a heralded league and are a No. 6 seed, but compared to their Sweet 16 counterparts, Kevin Young and company may very well have the most compelling case to become America’s tournament underdog darling.
BYU is one of just three remaining teams to have never reached a Final Four. The other two — the SEC’s Ole Miss and Tennessee — are coached by men who went that far in the past with other programs. Young, meanwhile, has brought the Cougars here in just his first season as a college head coach, and he may just be getting started.
The last time BYU reached the Elite Eight (1981), there were only 48 teams in the tournament and the 3-point line didn’t even exist in college basketball. With another win, the Cougars would reach the region final for just their second time ever. If you have a soft spot for making history, BYU is your kind of team.
The Cougars have a unique cast of characters able to steal the show. Richie Saunders has already emerged as a breakout star within the tournament, not only for his tater tot-inventing heritage, but for both his trademark hustle and for averaging 20.5 points on 40% deep shooting thus far in the dance.
Egor Demin is playing some of his best basketball of the season at the perfect time, splashing triples and making flashy passes as he continues to raise his first round-caliber NBA draft stock.
Established shot maker Dawson Baker contributed plenty on the hardwood last week in Denver, but his main headlines have come from both sharing tales of postgame jacuzzi time with pep band members as well as a viral clip from social media of him celebrating BYU’s win over Wisconsin in the locker room after being ejected earlier in the contest. Memorable off-the-court content? Check.
Mawot Mag is a lockdown defender, Trevin Knell a deadeye shooter, and BYU’s big man tandem of Fousseyni Traore and Keba Keita endlessly entertains as Traore boogies down in the low post and Keita slams alley-oops worthy of “SportsCenter” Top 10 recognition.
It helps that the Cougars are remarkably deep — the second unit within their 11-man rotation could contend for titles in a number of other leagues. But it’s worth noting that eight of BYU’s 11 leaders in minutes all began their careers in Provo, a true rarity in the age of NIL and the transfer portal.
Saunders, Traore, Knell, Dallin Hall and Trey Stewart all stuck around through both a conference transition and coaching change, having brought the Cougars from a mediocre mid-major two years ago to a dangerous tournament team today. Fans longing for the “good ol’ days” of college athletics can appreciate this BYU roster.
The Cougars play an exciting brand of basketball. They play fast, shoot a lot of 3s and have a knack for coming up clutch defensively. During the 91-89 upset win over Wisconsin in the Round of 32, I received texts from a number of friends across the country — none of whom having any connection to or real interest in BYU — expressing how much fun it was to watch Young’s offense. For a casual fan, the sweet-shooting, high-scoring affairs the Cougars often find themselves in are perfect March television.
Speaking of television, BYU’s broadcast times have been a tremendous benefit for its national appeal. Against Wisconsin, the Cougars played in primetime on CBS, and they’ll do so once again Thursday against Alabama. Should BYU knock off the Crimson Tide, a substantial audience will get to witness it, and maybe some of those people will want to keep tuning in to see the Cougars’ run.
Six weeks ago, BYU was barely on the tournament bubble, only for Young’s unit to rip off nine wins in a row to forcefully insert itself into the bracket as a No. 6 seed. With their season on the line, the Cougars clawed their way out of distress, now playing with the valuable weapon of house money and the feeling of having nothing to lose.
When BYU faced Wisconsin, all of the pressure was squarely on the Badgers, and perhaps the same will be true for No. 2 seed Alabama on Thursday. That kind of looseness almost always proves endearing.
If you can’t stand the SEC, dislike Duke or just want some sort of chaos in the NCAA Tournament, BYU offers the lovable underdog spirit that’s become synonymous with March Madness. Just because Cinderella herself didn’t make the ball doesn’t mean someone else can’t take her place.
Back in 1999, an unlikely Elite Eight run brought Gonzaga’s status from an obscure West Coast school to a basketball power and March mainstay over the past quarter century. With AJ Dybantsa on his way and other top prospects likely to follow, BYU could take a similar path beyond 2025 as a consistent tournament force after this year’s conclusion.
But for now, the Cougars can claim the role of David amongst this Goliath-filled Sweet 16. And who knows? If Young’s tenure in Provo continues its current trajectory, maybe this will be the last time BYU can fit the traditional underdog mold.
