It’s been awhile since BYU Basketball made an appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Will 2019 be the year the Cougars bend the drought?
Ever since arriving in the WCC, BYU Basketball has somewhat underperformed, ending the conference slate much closer to the middle of the pack rather than truly challenging for a regular season title. There wasn’t much hope from the fan’s perspective at the beginning of last season, thanks to the news that stating guard Nick Emery would take a hiatus from the school due to personal issues.
But there were points of optimism during the non-conference, including solid wins over teams such as Princeton and rival Utah thanks to stellar performances from stars Yoeli Childs and Elijah Bryant. The duo providing most of the scoring lift for the team and were First-Team all performers.
Unfortunately for BYU, there wasn’t much production from the supporting cast, particularly from the bench. It let the Cougars down several times, including to a few WCC opponents that they should regularly beat. Combine that with going 0-4 versus both Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s in the regular season, BYU lacked enough quality wins and were doomed to another trip to the NIT.
For this season, the expectations are somewhat tempered. BYU loses their leading scorer for the second season in a row early in Bryant but does get Emery back along with a couple of highly regarded players back from two-year Mormon missions. Will it be enough to make it back to the Big Dance?