The BYU Cougar hoopsters are in Hattiesburg, Miss., one win away from a trip father east, to New York City and the NIT semifinals.

40 minutes of play against Southern Miss are all that separate the Cougars and one of sport's grandest stages, underscoring the distance BYU has already traveled in closing a pervasive gap between potential and performance.

It was less than three weeks ago that the Cougars trudged off the floor at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, having lost in their West Coast Conference tournament opener — a third loss in four games and a fifth loss in eight games at the end of the season, to that point.

There was the feeling that BYU would get the chance to play again, and hopefully in the NIT, but on that Friday night in Vegas, nothing was certain, except that the Cougars would be idle for the succeeding week and a half, left to wonder how a season that once stood at 14-4 tailed off to a drowsy 21-11 finish, snapping BYU's six-year streak of NCAA tournament berths.

Without games to play or a destination in sight, head coach Dave Rose nevertheless led his team back to work, and back to practice. "A lot of practices," is how Rose put it, emphasizing his players' workload in preparation to play again. When the Cougars got their NIT marching orders, they were ready—and ready to put disappointing memories behind them. Rose says his players' effort during that preparatory period and in the ensuing two NIT games has answered an important question: "How do you respond to disappointment?"

"Are you going to kind of turn away and blame everybody else," asked Rose after his team's Monday night win over Mercer, "or are you going to come back together? I think that's a good part of what we can take forward, is that the guys who are returning realize that we were disappointed, but we came back, came together, and we put a couple good games together."

Great games, really. After going more than six weeks without getting to the 90-point plateau, the Cougars have scored 90 points in consecutive games, shooting 47 percent from the field, upping their seasonal three-point percentage, while hitting 83 percent of their free throws.

The Sports Beat:

What has been the key to BYU's run in the NIT?

What has been the key to BYU winnings its first two NIT matchups against Washington and Mercer?

BYU's "Big Three" of Tyler Haws, Brandon Davies and Matt Carlino have been huge, combining to average 73.5 points per game in the Cougars' two NIT contests. As a team, BYU has played Washington and Mercer to an average of almost 73 possessions per game, ahead of the Cougars season-long pace.

"The guys are having a lot of fun," says assistant coach Terry Nashif. "They're really confident, and this is how we like to play. We like to play up-tempo, fast-paced basketball, share the ball, and our guys are buying in--everybody's contributing and playing well and they're all kind of finding their roles. It's been really fun."

The fun factor will increase exponentially if BYU can manage to get past Southern Miss on Wednesday night, thus securing passage to Madison Square Garden. How long are the odds against BYU? The Golden Eagles last lost a non-conference home game in December of 2008; 30 consecutive non-league home wins have established a new school record.

"Southern Miss is a terrific team," said Rose in his postgame interview with KSL Radio on Monday night. "It will be another great atmosphere and good for our guys. Our guys get to play another game and we'll see if we can kind of keep the same thing going, and play hard enough, play well enough, play good enough that we can get another game."

Regardless of how many games remain to be played, the momentum gained at the season's end hints at the promise of the 2013-14 campaign. "There is a lot of work for us to do to prepare for next year," says Rose.

"I think that by the way these guys have responded over the last two games," Rose said, "it shows our staff the disappointment that they felt (in the 2013-13 season). The practices have been terrific and the guys have been great getting along with each other, in a tough time of year."

"We're looking forward to the chance to play again."

BYU fans can be particularly encouraged by the late-season play of point guard Matt Carlino, who has averaged 19 points, 9 assists and 6.5 rebounds in BYU's two NIT contests.

"Matty Carlino has just controlled (these) games," says Nashif. "He has had a great couple of games, and he's had some real bright spots throughout this year--he's been good for us. He's a sophomore and you forget that, (because) he has played so many minutes for us, and started so many games... and he's only a sophomore. The future is bright for Matty and we're just excited about him."

The brilliance of Tyler Haws cannot be overlooked or taken for granted, even as he prepares to pass Danny Ainge to become BYU's all-time leader in points scored through a sophomore season (he is four points away from breaking Ainge's record of 1,130 points). Haws' prolific reliability will power the BYU ship next season, but Carlino will provide the rudder.

Meantime, seniors Brandon Davies, Brock Zylstra and Craig Cusick are playing the final games of their Cougar careers, each of them with the ability to help determine just how much longer those careers will last. They and their teammates are operating on a special kind of adrenaline that will be required on a short turn-around with a lengthy travel day—the type of energy generated by the most tantalizing of second chances: an opportunity to end the season in the same big city the Cougars visited back in November. Then, BYU left Brooklyn with two dispiriting losses. Now, they have a chance to return, showing just how far they've come.

"I know our guys are excited to play," Rose says. "Hopefully we can get another one and get to the final four of this thing."

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BYU and Southern Miss play tonight at 6:00 p.m. MT; pregame coverage can be heard starting at 5:00 on KSL Newsraido 102.7 FM/1160 AM and BYU Radio (SiriusXM 143).

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Photo: Courtesy BYU Photo

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