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PROVO, Utah (March 16, 2008) -- The No. 23 BYU men's basketball team has received an at-large invitation to the 2008 NCAA Tournament and will play Texas A&M of the Big 12 Conference in first-round action on Thursday in Anaheim, Calif., at the Honda Center. The game will begin at 4:25 p.m. PT (5:25 p.m. MT).
"We're very excited to be in the NCAA Tournament," said BYU head coach Dave Rose. "We're looking forward to the opportunity to play and compete, and we're excited to be able to stay close to home. We have a good fan base in Southern California so it will be a good opportunity for us."
The Cougars (27-7) are the No. 8 seed for the second straight year and are playing in the West Region. The Aggies (24-10) received a No. 9 seed. The winner of the BYU-Texas A&M game will advance to the second round to face the winner of No. 1 UCLA and No. 16 Mississippi Valley State on Saturday.
Texas A&M finished the season 24-10 and placed sixth in the Big XII with an 8-8 record. The Aggies advanced to the semifinals of the conference tournament before bowing out to top-seeded Kansas. Junior guard Josh Carter paces Texas A&M with 11.9 points per game followed by senior forward Joseph Jones with 10.4 ppg. BYU has a 1-0 record all-time against the Aggies with an 83-81 victory on Dec. 28, 1972 at the All-College Tournament.
BYU won the Mountain West Conference regular-season title this year with a 14-2 record, its second straight league crown. Third-year head coach Rose has led his team to three consecutive 20-win seasons and back-to-back national rankings. This year's 27-7 mark is tied for the best 34-game record in program history. The Cougars are led by NABC and USBWA All-District selections Lee Cummard and Trent Plaisted. Cummard, the 2008 MWC Co-Player of the Year, paces BYU with 15.8 ppg on 56.9 percent shooting from the field while Plaisted adds 15.6 ppg and a team-best 7.8 rebounds per contest.
This will be BYU's 23rd NCAA Tournament appearance and fifth in the last eight years (2001, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008). The Cougars were also a No. 8 seed last year, losing their first round game, 79-77, to Xavier in Lexington, Ky. The Cougars have an 11-25 record in the NCAA Tournament and a 1-3 mark as a No. 8 seed (1984, 1995, 2007).
ANAHEIM GAME SCHEDULES
Thursday, March 20 No. 6 Marquette vs. No. 11 Kentucky - 11:30 a.m No. 3 Stanford vs. No. 14 Cornell - 25 minutes following No. 8 Brigham Young vs. No. 9 Texas A&M - 4:25 p.m. No. 1 UCLA vs. No. 16 Mississippi Valley State - 25 minutes following
Saturday, March 22 Marquette/Kentucky winner vs. Stanford/Cornell winner - 3:45 or 6:15 p.m. UCLA/Mississippi Valley State winner vs. Brigham Young/Texas A&M winner - 3:45 or 6:15 p.m.
