BYU Cougars: A Deep Dive into NCAA Tournament History

For BYU fans, March Madness evokes a mix of excitement and trepidation. The dream of a deep tournament run battles with the memory of past disappointments. As the BYU Cougars embark on their journey in the NCAA Tournament, it's time to delve into the program's history, examining past successes, heartbreaking losses, and the overall narrative of BYU in March Madness.

A Long Time Coming

For 4,754 days, BYU had gone winless under the brightest lights of college basketball. BYU's Marches had been filled with much more sadness than madness, but after 13 long years, the Cougars had a chance to end their current stretch of NCAA Tournament futility.

The Last Victory: A Look Back to 2012

On March 13, 2012, BYU faced Iona in the First Four play-in round in Dayton, Ohio, as a 14 seed. After falling into a 25-point deficit, Dave Rose’s Cougars rallied back to stun the Gaels in a 78-72 classic, marking the largest comeback win in NCAA Tournament history - a record that’s still standing. Noah Hartsock led the charge with 23 points against Iona, Brandon Davies added another 18 points and 15 rebounds, Damarcus Harrison came off the bench to score 12 and Craig Cusick dished out eight assists.

A Snapshot of the World in March 2012

To truly grasp how long ago BYU's last tournament win was, let's take a trip down memory lane and revisit the world in March 2012:

Politics: Barack Obama was in his first term as President.
Television: Donald Trump hosted "The Celebrity Apprentice." Popular sitcoms like "The Office," "Parks and Recreation," "30 Rock," and "Community" dominated the airwaves. "American Idol" was in its 11th season.
Technology: The iPhone 4s was the latest model. Snapchat, Instagram, and Spotify were emerging as popular platforms.
Movies: "The Lorax" topped the box office. "Captain America: The First Avenger" was the most recent installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Music: Songs like "Stronger" by Kelly Clarkson, "Set Fire to the Rain" by Adele, and "Part of Me" by Katy Perry were chart-toppers. One Direction was a new sensation, while Van Halen had released their last album.
Sports: "TebowMania" and "Linsanity" captivated the sports world. Andy Reid was the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles. Jimmer Fredette was a rookie with the Sacramento Kings. LeBron James was still chasing his first championship.
BYU Campus: Only two of BYU’s 16 Heritage Halls buildings had been completed. The Marriott Center Annex did not exist. BYU had a Teriyaki Stix in its on-campus food court and was still more than five years away from selling caffeinated soda on campus.
BYU Football: In its first season of football independence, BYU started 3-2 before promoting backup quarterback Riley Nelson to the starting role. Taysom Hill had just arrived on campus.

Navigating March Expectations

During a time where the country is buzzing with the anticipation of basketball nirvana, BYU fans often feel cautious and not inclined to get their hopes up for the chance of a deep tournament run, but this year feels different somehow. In the Cougars' first season as a member of the Big 12, Mark Pope's squad has made a big splash in the toughest basketball conference in college hoops. It is important to get excited for this year's postseason. BYU finally has a team that is capable of beating the nation's best, and as a fan, there is optimism about the outlook of the team.

BYU's Tournament History: A Statistical Overview

To understand the program's trajectory, let's examine BYU's NCAA Tournament record:

Tournament Appearances: 29 (soon to be 30)
Elite Eight Appearances: 3
Sweet Sixteen Appearances: 7
Round of 32 Appearances: 9

Notable Tournament Runs

Two of BYU's three runs to the Elite Eight happened well before the modern tournament format of 64 teams existed. In fact, the tournament didn't even have 16 teams until the 1951 season, which was BYU's second appearance in the Elite Eight. In the 1981 season, however, most fans remember BYU's legendary run to the Elite Eight by a singular play by BYU's first-ever national player of the year, Danny Ainge. Ainge lifted the Cougars through the Sweet Sixteen with a coast-to-coast buzzer beater layup to beat the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. That was BYU's most recent appearance in the Elite Eight, over 40 years ago.

BYU's most notable recent run in the tournament was in 2011, when a BYU team led by another Player of the Year, Jimmer Fredette, took the nation by storm. With starting center, Brandon Davies, out of the lineup for honor code violations, BYU's potential was suddenly limited in postseason play, but the Cougar's tournament run drew the attention of the nation until it was unfortunately cut short in an overtime loss to 2-seed Florida.

The Broader Context of BYU Basketball

The BYU Cougars men's basketball team represents Brigham Young University in NCAA Division I basketball play. It currently competes in the Big 12 Conference. Established in 1902, the team has won 27 conference championships, 3 conference tournament championships and 2 NIT Tournaments (1951 and 1966), and competed in 32 NCAA tournaments. BYU appeared in the Elite 8 of the NCAA tournament in 1950, 1951, and 1981, its deepest runs at the tournament in program history. From 1999 to 2011, the team competed in the Mountain West Conference, followed by 12 seasons in the West Coast Conference.

BYU fielded its first basketball team in 1903. In 1906, the Cougars played their first game against Utah State University. In 1909, the team first played against the University of Utah. These two rivalries continue to this day. The Cougars made the first of their 29 NCAA tournament appearances in 1950 under head coach Stan Watts. That Cougars came within one point of reaching the national semifinals. BYU's 1951 team was even more successful, winning 28 games and once again qualifying for the NCAA tournament. In addition, the 1951 team won the first of two NIT championships for the school. The Cougars defeated AP No. 9 St. John's, AP #10 St. Louis and AP #13 Dayton to win the title. Notable players on that team include: Mel Hutchins, who was taken #2 in the 1951 NBA draft, was named the 1951-52 NBA co-rookie of the year and became a 5-time NBA All-Star with the Pistons and the Knicks; Roland Minson, who was drafted #16 overall in the 1951 NBA draft; and Loren C. Dunn, a future general authority in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Read also: Crafting Your NCAA Profile

Coaching Eras and Key Figures

The Cougars would go on to make five more appearances in the NCAA tournament under Watts, and win their second NIT championship in 1966, although by that time the overall prestige of the NIT had fallen considerably. BYU has the most NCAA appearances of any men's team not to make the Final Four, having made 32 NCAA tournaments. BYU, alongside Xavier, Saint Joseph's, Boston College, Arizona State, and Davidson are each tied for second most in Elite Eight appearances without a Final Four with three (Missouri has the most with five). college basketball program to include an international player on its roster, as Finland native Timo Lampen debuted in the 1958-59 season. Later, BYU's Krešimir Ćosić, born in Yugoslavia (modern-day Croatia), became the first international player to be named an All-American.

After Watts' retirement following the 1972 season, the program experienced five consecutive losing seasons from 1974 through 1978 before returning to the NCAA tournament in 1979 behind Danny Ainge and coach Frank Arnold. The Cougars reached the Elite Eight, one game short of the Final Four, in 1981, Ainge's senior season. Reid was fired in the middle of the 1996-97 season after a 1-6 start. Following the season, Steve Cleveland was hired as the new head coach and returned the Cougars to prominence. In 2001, the Cougars won the MWC regular season and tournament championships, making their first NCAA tournament appearance since 1995. BYU had success under Cleveland, winning multiple conference championships and the conference tournament, reaching the NCAA tournament three times. They also had two draft picks: Travis Hansen, drafted by the Atlanta Hawks, and Rafael Araujo, drafted by the Toronto Raptors.

Dave Rose, co-captain of the University of Houston's 1983 "Phi Slama Jama" college basketball team, began the first of six straight 20-win seasons in 2005-06. Rose and assistant Dave Rice continued BYU's successful recruiting with the addition of All-American Jimmer Fredette in 2007 and DeMarcus Harrison in 2011. In June 2009, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and returned to coaching later that year. In 2010, Rose coached BYU to their first NCAA tournament victory in 17 years in a double-overtime win against the University of Florida. The following year, BYU made further inroads as a #3 seed when they advanced to the Sweet 16.

Recent Challenges and Transitions

Following Tyler Haws' departure for an overseas professional career, Kyle Collinsworth became the Cougars' recognized leader, setting the NCAA record for career triple doubles and earning WCC Player of the Year honors as a senior. Since Collinsworth's departure, the Cougars have struggled, especially in the postseason. The program was dealt an additional blow when the NCAA announced penalties against the Cougars due to an alleged benefits scandal surrounding shooting guard Nick Emery. As part of those sanctions, BYU was ordered to vacate all victories where Nick Emery played over two seasons (a total of 47 wins). The BYU athletics department has appealed the decision.

On July 23, 2019, Nick Emery announced that he was retiring from college basketball. Pope led a turnaround for the program in his first two seasons, with his inaugural season led by a trio of seniors in Yoeli Childs, T.J. Haws (younger brother of Tyler), and Jake Toolson. The team finished that season 24-8 and was projected to be a lock for the NCAA tournament as a single-digit seed before all postseason play was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2020-21 season was projected to be a rebuilding year due to the loss of Childs, Haws, and Toolson to graduation, but Pope revamped the team in the offseason. Returning senior guard Alex Barcello was joined by graduate transfers Brandon Averette and Matt Haarms. The 2020-21 team finished the regular season 20-6 and made the NCAA tournament as a No.

The Road to the Big 12 and Beyond

After lackluster 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons, BYU was picked to finish 13th of 14 teams in the Big 12 prior to the 2023-24 season, their first competing in the conference. However, the Cougars posted a 10-8 conference record and went 22-9 during the regular season to finish fifth in the final conference standings. They defeated UCF in the second round of the Big 12 Conference tournament before losing to Texas Tech in the quarterfinals. BYU finished the 2024-25 regular season with a 23-8 record, 14-6 in Big 12 play. After starting conference play 2-4, the Cougars won 12 of their final 14 regular season games, including road wins over ranked Arizona and Iowa State teams and a 91-57 home win over #23 Kansas (BYU's largest-ever win over a ranked opponent, and tied for Kansas's worst loss of the Bill Self era). BYU finished tied for third in the final Big 12 standings, earning a double bye in the conference tournament. The Cougars defeated Iowa State in the quarterfinals before losing to Houston in the semifinals.

Program Records

Points scored, single game: 52, Jimmer Fredette, March 11, 2011 vs. New Mexico
Field goals made, single game: 22, Jimmer Fredette, March 11, 2011, vs. New Mexico
Three-point field goals made, single game: 10, Chase Fischer, November 25, 2014, vs. Chaminade; and Nick Emery, February 11, 2016, vs. Saint Mary's
Free throws made, single game: 23, Jimmer Fredette, March 11, 2010, vs. Florida
Rebounds, single game: 27, Scott Warner, December 18, 1969 vs. UTEP
Assists, single game: 16, Mike May, December 11, 1976, vs. Western Illinois
Steals, single game: 9, Mark Bigelow, November 28, 1998, vs. Chicago State
Blocked shots, single game: 14, Shawn Bradley, December 7, 1990 vs. Eastern Washington

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