Name one player who plays for the BYU Cougars men’s basketball team. Do it. Got nothing? It’s okay, you’re just like everybody else.
You may not know anything about the underrated, overachieving, religious junkies from north central Utah. Neither does anyone else. But know this. The Cougars are ranked #14 in the AP Poll and are creeping up on the nation. ESPN ignores them. You won’t find them on TV. But while Tennessee was busy getting smoked at Georgia yesterday (Bulldogs ranked #73 in RPI), the Cougars were grinding out a tough win at San Diego State (Aztecs ranked #41 in RPI). That win pushed BYU to 20-1 on the season. They’re the first team in the country to achieve the 20-win milestone, and it’s still January.
The Cougars are outscoring opponents 83-62 on average and are shooting more than 50 percent for the season, including 42 percent from three-point range.
They have only three seniors on the team, none of whom are in the top three in scoring. They are led by Jimmer Fredette, a junior averaging 20 points per game. After that comes junior Jackson Emery and freshman Tyler Haws, each averaging 12. In fact, 11 of the 13 players have played in at least 19 games.
Sure, the Cougars haven’t had much in terms of a schedule, but they did beat Arizona and Arizona State out of conference, both of whom are tied for second place in the Pac 10. The one loss, at Utah State, is a loss to hide from, though the Aggies (15-6) do have a better RPI than Florida, Minnesota and Seton Hall.
The Mountain West has some tough teams (UNLV and New Mexico were ranked earlier this year, while Utah and San Diego State are also tournament bubble teams), but it’s not insane to think BYU could pull a Memphis and run the table. If so, head coach Dave Rose may, dare I say it, have his team as high as a #1 seed come March.
