The best event in sports is only weeks away. The question: Will BYU be a part of it?
Bracketologists have had BYU among the "last four in" to the NCAA Tournament field for the past few weeks and Saturday's setback to UNLV exacerbates the situation.
After another frustrating setback to the Rebels in Las Vegas, the Cougars head to Cox Arena, a place that's proven equally bad for BYU in recent seasons.
But San Diego State's Billy White is sidelined for this one and BYU can't let a key opportunity pass by. Win and the Cougars have a great shot to share the league crown and finish the regular season with a four-game winning streak. Do that and BYU winds up 24-6 overall and 12-4 in a tough MWC.
Not too shabby.
But Tuesday night is huge. BYU should beat Utah in Provo, get past Wyoming in Laramie and paste Air Force at home. That would give the Cougars wins in 9 of their last 10 outings entering the MWC tourney.
In actuality, taking the No. 2 seed in the tourney is ideal. Let Utah have the No. 1 spot and face UNLV in the semis. As the No. 2 seed, BYU likely gets TCU or Wyoming in Round 1. Easy win. Then it's San Diego State or New Mexico in the semis, rather than UNLV. Tough, but better than facing the Rebels, who likely beat Utah on the other side of the bracket.
We're likely looking at another BYU-UNLV tourney title tilt. But if BYU comes in 26-6, it should have a bid locked up.
We'll see how it plays out.
Let the madness begin.
