Cougars receive at-large bid to 2014 NCAA Tournament

PROVO, Utah – BYU men’s basketball has received an at-large invitation to the 2014 NCAA Tournament and will play Oregon of the Pac-12 in the second round of the West Region on Thursday in Milwaukee, Wis., at the BMO Harris Bradley Center. BYU is the No. 10 seed in the West Region and Oregon is the No. 7 seed.

The 2014 NCAA Tournament will be televised on CBS, TNT, TBS and truTV. All games will also be available online at mmod.ncaa.com.

This is the ninth-straight season BYU has played in the postseason and the seventh time the Cougars have reached the NCAA Tournament under head coach Dave Rose. Last season, BYU advanced to the NIT Semifinals at Madison Square Garden. The Cougars defeated Washington 90-79, Mercer 90-71 and Southern Miss 79-62 to make it to New York. The Cougars fell to Baylor 76-70 in the semifinals.

Oregon received an at-large bid after finishing the regular season at 23-9 overall and 10-8 in the Pac-12. The Ducks are led by Joseph Young, who averages 18.6 points per game and shoots .475 from the field, .416 from three and .884 from the free throw line. Mike Moser averages 13.5 points per game and a team-best 8.0 rebounds while Jason Calliste is third on the team in scoring at 12.4 points per game.

BYU’s second round game will be a rematch as the Cougars and Ducks met earlier this season on Dec. 21, 2013, in Eugene, Ore., at Matthew Knight Arena. Oregon defeated the Cougars 100-96 in overtime.

This will be BYU’s 28th NCAA Tournament appearance and seventh in the past eight years (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2014). The Cougars have a 15-30 record in the NCAA tournament dating back to their first appearance in the tournament in 1950.

Rose has guided the Cougars to wins in their last three NCAA tournament appearances. In 2010, BYU won its first NCAA tournament game since 1993 in a 99-92 double-overtime thriller against Florida. The next season, led by National Player of the Year Jimmer Fredette, the Cougars reached the Sweet 16. In 2012, BYU defeated Iona in the First Four in Dayton, Ohio, as the Cougars overcame a 25-point deficit to record the biggest comeback in NCAA tournament history.

In 2013-14, BYU earned its highest finish in its three seasons in the West Coast Conference with a 23-11 overall record and 13-5 in conference. The Cougars finished second in the regular season and also the conference tournament behind Gonzaga, the No 8 seed in the West Region. WCC Player of the Year Tyler Haws led the WCC and is sixth in the nation in scoring with 24.3 points per game. Haws and Kyle Collinsworth earned All-WCC and WCC All-Tournament honors, while Matt Carlino was named All-WCC Honorable Mention. Collinsworth will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL he suffered in the WCC championship game against Gonzaga.

The winner of No. 10 seed BYU vs. No. 7 Oregon will face the winner of No. 2 Wisconsin and No. 15 American on Saturday, March 22, in Milwaukee.

Ticket Information

Ticket requests can be made at BYUtickets.com. Tickets are $94 (includes a $9 ticket fee) and will be assigned based on Cougar Club level and BYU affiliation. There is a limit of 12 tickets per customer. Customers will be notified Monday at 1 p.m. MT if they will be receiving tickets. For more information, visit BYUtickets.com.