After torching No. 23 Kansas by 34 points on Tuesday night, BYU practically locked itself into the NCAA Tournament field. Entering the game, both CBS Sports and ESPN had the Cougars on the right side of the bubble, although in different spots: Joe Lunardi had them as the 10 seed in the West region, while Jerry Palm sent them to Dayton to play in the First Four. Now, though, there should be little doubt BYU will come off the bubble and remain in the final field of 68.
The rest of the country is taking notice, too. Some pundits are already warning bracket enthusiasts to avoid picking against the Cougars after Selection Sunday.
"I wouldn't wanna be the 7-seed having to face a 10-seeded BYU (in the NCAA Tournament)"
— Church Ball: A BYU Hoops Pod (@churchballpod) February 19, 2025
"That's a sleeping giant out there in Provo big picture, because Kevin Young's got AJ Dybantsa coming. Did you see that crowd tonight?"
High praise from @John_Fanta on Field of 68 After… pic.twitter.com/kL1TUdDzfk
BYU adds one more dangerous Big 12 team to the NCAA Tournament mix
With Richie Saunders leading the way offensively and Egor Demin anchoring a ferocious frontcourt, the Cougars would seem to have all the ingredients necessary for a tournament run. The rest of the Big 12 Conference will seemingly have a 12.5 percent chance of winning the national championship, as eight teams total are projected to make the tournament field with two more considered on the bubble.
Kansas State (13-13), at the moment, is projected by Lunardi to be one of the "next four teams" outside the field with Cincinnati (15-10) also being considered. Houston, Iowa State, Texas Tech, Arizona and Kansas have been classified as tournament "locks" unless an unthinkable collapse happens. Baylor (16-10) is considered "likely" but may still need to prove some things down the stretch, as Scott Drew's team has missed opportunities for marquee wins against Arizona, Houston and Texas Tech over the last two weeks.
— Joe Lunardi (@ESPNLunardi) February 17, 2025
West Virginia (15-10) will be a wild card team to keep an eye on down the stretch. If there was any bubble team that was hurt the most by BYU's win over Kansas, it was the Mountaineers, who lost to BYU at home back on Feb. 11 and have dropped six of their past eight games.
The last half-dozen games of the regular season will be crucial, per usual, and then, of course, the Big 12 Tournament could knock out some real contenders and rocket those left for dead into the postseason. This is only February, and March promises to bring a ton of fireworks.