Owen Chapman

For the third consecutive year, BYU is headed back to the NCAA Tournament. When the bracket was revealed on Selection Sunday, the Cougars learned they will enter the field as a No. 6 seed in the West Region after finishing the season 23–11 overall and 9–9 in Big 12 Conference play. If that seed sounds familiar, it should. BYU has now landed on the No. 6 line for the fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance dating back to 2021.

The Cincinnati Bearcats controlled a pseudo wire-to-wire win over BYU on Tuesday night, rolling to a 90–68 victory while trailing for just over two minutes of game time. The loss marks BYU’s eighth loss in its last 11 games, while the Bearcats (17-13, 9-8) have now won six of their last seven as they continue a late push toward the NCAA Tournament. As for how it unfolded, it was more of the same for BYU.

UCF didn’t take long to take control. Over the first seven minutes, the Knights went 10-of-13 from the field and 5-of-6 from three-point range, putting a sluggish BYU team in a deep hole almost immediately on the way to a 97–84 blowout win Tuesday night. Here are three takeaways from the loss. UCF hot, BYU’s defense much colder UCF made shots, but BYU’s defense made it easier than it should have been. Too many breakdowns led to clean looks for a team that already shoots the ball well.