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With the conference tournament really starting today, it merits a few moments to consider what BYU stands to lose, and in turn gain, in the tournament.

In short, I really don’t think the outcome of the tournament will have a tremendous impact on BYU in terms of the NCAA tournament. Of course losing to Air Force in the first round would not be a good thing, but how likely is that to happen. Beyond a first round loss there really is not much damage to be done. Losing to San Diego St. would not be a huge upset, nor would losing to UNLV in their home invitational. Losing in the championship to anyone else would not be terribly tragic either.

In terms of what good can come of it, I also feel it is limited. Lets just say that BYU beats AFA, then either San Diego St. or UNLV who are pretty comparable, and Utah in the championship. All that may do is move BYU up one seed, two at the most. So instead of being an 8-9 seed they are a 7-8. There really is not a huge difference in the long run.

The biggest thing BYU could gain from the tournament is getting on a roll. It is insane how good they are when they get hot. With a shooting team like BYU it cannot be overlooked how important getting on a run can be. When shooters get hot it is hard to stop them. Playing three quality games in a familiar, if not friendly, arena could do wonders for helping them go into the big dance with some momentum.

Either way, I am excited for the tournament to start and the madness that is march to commence.

If you told me at the beginning of the season that BYU would have a share of the MWC championship, I would have been very happy. Well, I actually am happy for BYU, but it seems to be a kind of empty happiness.

This is one of the oddest seasons I’ve experienced. Usually BYU has one killer marquee win that makes you feel like the team has potential to be really great. Of course, that major marquee win (or two) is almost always paired with some loss which should have never happened.

A quick look at the losses and you see that BYU Basketball basically won the games they should have won and lost the games they should have lost. The only exception was the loss to UNLV at home. However, I don’t think anyone is really all that surprised that UNLV could beat us at home. UNLV always seems to find something extra special when playing BYU and so the loss wasn’t a huge surprise. Disappointing, but not surprising.

I think the hollow feeling I have is related to two losses to UNLV (which makes me really sick since I work at UNLV) and a loss to the Yewts (this is never good). Add in the near marquee win becoming a 1 point loss to Arizona St on a change of call alongside a competitive game against Wake Forest until the last 5-10 minutes and I sit here wondering if this team is for real or not.

The question remains of whether this team can finally do the deed and win the Las Vegas Invitational and then a win in the NCAA tournament. They haven’t given me a reason not to believe, but they haven’t given me a reason to believe either.

My greatest hope lies in Jimmer. We’ve dreamed about having a player at BYU who can take it to the hoop. We finally have him and I believe he’ll be the difference in March.

It has been very nice of late to hear the names of Mountain West teams being mentioned on national sports shows. I have noticed that BYU is almost always mentioned as a quality win for Wake Forest.

Now I realize that being mentioned for losing a game is not exactly the best press you can have, but it says a lot about how far they have come as a program.

A huge part of that recognition is their dominance at home over the years. It is unfortunate that with their first quality opponent outside of the conference in years that they lost, but at least they put up a good fight. In some ways losing may actually have been good because they may be able to entice other quality schools into the Marriot Center and spring a few upsets.

In looking at early predictions for the NCAA tournament, I have also seen that writers are picking as many as 4 teams from the MWC. The four teams are BYU, Utah, UNLV, and San Diego St. It just goes to show that the conference as a whole is improving greatly, and that the balance of power across the country is being spread more evenly.

I also can’t help but think that the conference’s success in football has an impact on it. While having quality football teams does not directly impact your basketball team, it does lead to more attention for your school in general. The MWC is making a legitimate case for being included in the BCS and I can’t help but think that that is helping their case in basketball too.

So as much as it sucks having to go without a game this weekend, take heart in the fact that the conference is gaining respect, and that, more importantly, BYU is being noticed at a national level.