Cougars receive at-large bid, to face Ole Miss in Dayton

PROVO, Utah – BYU men's basketball has received an at-large invitation to the 2015 NCAA Tournament and will play Ole Miss of the SEC in the first round on Tuesday in Dayton, Ohio, at UD Arena. Tuesday's game will be televised on TruTV at 9:10 p.m. EDT.

BYU and Ole Miss are both No. 11 seeds in the West Region and the winner will face No. 6 seed Xavier in Jacksonville, Florida, on Thursday.

Watch Coach and Players talk about their bid

This is the 10th-straight season BYU has played in the postseason and eighth time the Cougars have reached the NCAA tournament and second consecutive under head coach Dave Rose. Last season, BYU lost to Oregon in the second round 87-68. This is BYU’s second trip to Dayton. In 2011-12, the Cougars defeated Iona 78-72 as a No. 14 seed. BYU trailed by 25 before coming back, the biggest comeback in NCAA tournament history.

Ole Miss finished the season 20-12 overall and in a four-way tie for third in the SEC at 11-7. Stefan Moody leads the Rebels in scoring at 16.3 points per game while Jarvis Summers (12.4) and Ladarius Summer (11.2) also average double figures. Sebastian Saiz leads the way in rebounding at 5.4 boards per game.

This will be BYU's 29th NCAA tournament appearance and eighth in the past nine years (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2015). The Cougars have a 15-31 record in the NCAA tournament dating back to their first appearance in the tournament in 1950. Rose and the Cougars have gone 7-5 in the postseason over the past five postseasons. This season, BYU tied its best finish in the West Coast Conference going 25-9 overall and 13-5 in conference. The Cougars finished second behind Gonzaga and also lost to the Bulldogs in the WCC Championship.

Senior guard Tyler Haws is third in the nation in scoring at 21.9 points per game. Haws set the BYU career scoring record this season passing 2011 National Player of the Year Jimmer Fredette and is currently 23rd in NCAA history with 2,687 career points. Junior guard Kyle Collinsworth set the NCAA season record and tied the career record with six triple-doubles this season. Haws and Collinsworth were named USBWA All-District, to the All-WCC First Team and the WCC All-Tournament Team, while Anson Winder was also named All-WCC Honorable Mention.