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PROVO — As far as bracketing principles go, the NCAA men's basketball tournament selection committee has been known for handing out a few "snubs" every year.
BYU's first-world problems aren't anywhere near the mountain faced by the likes of Oklahoma, Pittsburgh, St. John's or Indiana State — all top-50 teams in the NET that found themselves on the outside of the field of 68 looking in Saturday night.
In particular, the Sycamores (28-6) were rated No. 45 in KenPom, No. 29 and No. 42 in strength of record and now hold the dubious distinction as the highest-rated team in the NET to not make the NCAA Tournament since the committee began using that metric in 2017.
So BYU's problems are fairly minor. But were the Cougars still snubbed?
To be fair, Mark Pope's squad is just happy to be back in the Big Dance for the first time since 2021. But the Cougars were the highest-rated No. 5 seed by the NCAA selection committee — and will open as a No. 6 seed against Duquesne in Omaha, Nebraska (10:40 a.m. MDT, TruTV) after dropping one spot to No. 21 in the latest Associated Press Top 25 released Monday.
The Dukes (24-11) finished seventh in the A-10 before catching fire and winning the conference tournament, giving the league a different autobid than at-large candidate Dayton (a No. 7-seed). That may even be high for Duquesne, says ESPN's Joe Lunardi, making the Dukes an overseeded team paired with BYU's potentially underseeded squad.
BYU has a top-25 team by the Associated Press panel of votes and the coaches, and computer metrics love the Cougars, including No. 12 in the NET, No. 16 in KenPom and No. 30 in KPI. Even the No. 310 nonconference strength of schedule was balanced by Big 12 play that shot BYU up to No. 40 in net SOS by the end of the season.
If there's a chip on the Cougars' shoulder, they aren't showing it.
"Being a high seed is always a blessing," BYU guard Jaxson Robinson said. "But I think I can speak for everybody in the program by saying we're just blessed to even be in this tournament. There aren't more than a few teams that make it in each year. We're just excited to play the first game. Every team is great, so we need to make sure we're prepared whether we're playing the Dukes or the No. 1 seed, UConn."
Then, of course, there's BYU's no-Sunday play policy due to its affiliation with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Because of the policy, the Cougars have only ever been eligible to compete in two of four regionals during March Madness, and it's also proven difficult in a number of other sports — the NCAA had to create a policy of schedule shifting after the BYU baseball team could not compete in the College World Series in 1958 and 1961 as a result of its religious observances.
"You can play that game and chase your tail forever," Pope told reporters via video conference Sunday, noting the team's No. 17 overall seed. "But every team you play in this tournament is going to be great. We're just excited to have a chance to go play.
Every 5-seed in the field either plays in a Friday-Sunday regional, or feeds into a Friday-Sunday second weekend. The selection committee didn't acknowledge BYU's no-Sunday play policy, but it's easy to see how it could have played a role.
"I don't know if we'll ever get an explanation on that," Pope added. "It seems like a significant bump. I think out of the top 36 or so teams, we're the only team not seeded correctly based on the NCAA's list of how they rank teams. But the only thing that matters to us is we're in this thing, we get a chance to play, we're playing a great team, and we're going to try to go play great."
The no-Sunday-play policy is often immediately pointed to by fans and alums of the university whenever they sense a slight in postseason play. But other bracketing principles likely came into play for the Cougars, as well.
BYU was thought to be under consideration for the No. 5 seed that would play in Salt Lake City. But when Kansas was tabbed as a No. 4 seed and facing former Olympus High guard Rylan Jones and Samford at Delta Center, then the Cougars couldn't be placed into that site because teams from the same conference aren't allowed to meet before at least the Sweet 16.
Instead, Gonzaga took the No. 5 seed in the Midwest and will open against 12th-seeded McNeese State on Thursday at 5:25 p.m. MDT.
"I was really excited about that, and I thought there would be a five seed in there and we were the No. 1 five according to the selection committee," Pope said. "Mostly, I'm just disappointed for our fan base. I think it would've been really special for Cougar Nation to be in that gym. We had hope that would be where we ended up, but it's so hard to get in this tournament, and there are a million different factors.
"The fact we have a chance to go play and compete is what really matters to us. That's where our hearts are right now."
Still, in disappointment breeds opportunity. The Cougars have to get by Duquesne, and the upstart A-10 champion's defense that earned its first tournament berth in 47 years. But then they'll face the winner of Illinois and Morehead State in Saturday's Omaha subregional final.
Some think that may be a good path for BYU. That includes ESPN's Sean Farnham, who likes that draw for the second-best 3-point shooting team in the country.
"They can shoot the ball better than anybody else in the country," Farnham said. "They average over 12 3-pointers per game. When they don't make their 3-pointers, they lose. But they're more than capable of (making 3s), and they're more physical than people give them credit. They're an older team, an experienced team … and Aly Khalifa is like a point-center. They play with two offenses with Fousseyni Traore and Khalifa. They could get hot from the outside, and they could advance to the Sweet 16."
Overseeded or underseeded, the next step is the same: BYU has to prove it belongs in the field of 68. They'll get a chance Thursday.
