BYU Basketball: The Season's Not Over Yet!

I hope Brandon and the other seniors get a chance
to play in the MC at least one more time this year.

Needless to say, the BYU basketball season is definitely turning out to be a disappointment. Just like the 2012 BYU football team, there was so much potential with the players, but it just never got off the ground. But after having a few days to simmer, I'm over the pain, and I've reminded myself that it's not over yet! BYU will most likely get an invite to the NIT Tournament on Selection Sunday, which is coming up in just a few days. Yes, the NIT has some unfortunate nicknames (the "Not Invited" Tournament, the "Not In" Tournament, and the "No one's Interested" Tournament, to name a few), but I, for one, am glad BYU will get a chance to play (and hopefully win) a few more games this year.

After coming off a high during Jimmer's senior season, last year was kind of deemed a disappointment, too. Not quite as bad as this year, but a disappointment nonetheless. However, do you remember what happened in the end?

One year ago yesterday, BYU staged the biggest comeback in NCAA tourney history to overcome a 25-point deficit and beat Iona. I don't think I'll EVER forget that night. I watched the game with a group of ward friends, and the emotions were higher than I think they've ever been with that group of people-- the only exception being, maybe, when BYU football beat #3 Oklahoma in 2009.

The Iona basketball game ended a season, and the Oklahoma football game began a season, and while the emotions were similar, they were also very different. With the Oklahoma game, we were given a sense of hope that this was going to be a great season (and it did turn out to be pretty great-- we only lost 2 games that year and ended up ranked #12 nationally). And with Iona, it just gave us a great memory and proof that the players really did have a lot of fight in them. It almost didn't matter that the Cougs lost to Marquette in horrible fashion a few days later. What mattered is that they came out fighting and took down a team many people thought they could never beat after such a poor performance in the first half.

Will we have another Oklahoma or Iona-like win in basketball this year? Probably not. But I hope the 2012-2013 BYU basketball team can at least end the season on a high note.

Right now, the only thing I'm scared about is whether BYU will get the chance to host a home game in the NIT. I'd be really disappointed if their true last home game was that painful loss to Gonzaga a few weeks ago. Plus, I really want the chance to see the Cougar seniors play live again, even just one more time. Fingers crossed!

Come on, Cougars! Let's finish the season out strong and make the best of whatever we're handed on Selection Sunday. Bring on March Madness!