Rocking Royal podcast: BYU to the Elite Eight? VCU won't make it easy

PROVO — 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.

But the Cougars have become trendy picks to make a run in the tournament, with talent like five-star freshman Egor Demin and Utah transfer Keba Keita joining a core that includes All-Big 12 first-team selection Richie Saunders, Dallin Hall, Trevin Knell and Fousseyni Traore in Kevin Young's first season on the bench.

"I actually think BYU has enough to get to the Elite Eight," proclaimed CBS broadcaster Seth Davis on Sunday's selection special.

Added Rob Dauster of the Field of 68: "If I'm Wisconsin, I'm like, what is going on? How did I end up with this bracket and with this draw, with these teams in this region and this location? I think Wisconsin gets picked off in the second round of the tournament; I like BYU to the Elite Eight."

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