Monday Mar 17, 2025
Rocking Royal: BYU basketball a trendy pick in the Madness, but VCU won't make it easy
After a 24-8 regular season and 14-6 mark in the Big 12, BYU men's basketball turns its attention to finding its One Shining Moment.
The Cougars are back in the NCAA Tournament for the third time in five years, and will open Thursday at Ball Arena in Denver against 11th-seeded VCU (2:05 p.m. MDT, TNT). The winner of that East regional game will face the winner of Wisconsin and Big Sky champion Montana in Saturday's second round.
It's the 32nd all-time appearance for BYU (24-9), which is 15-34 in the program's NCAA Tournament history and 3-3 as a No. 6 seed.
Led by former Utah State coach Ryan Odom, the Rams (28-6) are A-10 champions after a 68-63 win over George Mason on Selection Sunday to earn the program's 20th NCAA Tournament appearance and 14th since 2004.
They're led by Utah State transfer Max Shulga, one of four double-figure scorers averaging 15.6 points per game en route to the No. 31 rating in the NET and No. 30 rating in KenPom.