PROVO — The BYU men's basketball team was not selected to play in the NCAA Tournament after the squad lost to Gonzaga in the WCC tournament semifinals.

While the snub was not unexpected, it was still a disappointing ending to an up and down season. Instead, the Cougars will play Alabama-Birmingham in the NIT, earning a No. 2 seed in the national "second option" tourney.

Here are three reasons BYU fans should still care about the Cougars, and support an NIT run.

One last chance to see the seniors play

This year's BYU squad was young, at least in terms of experience and eligibility. The team only has a trio of seniors, but all three had memorable careers at the Y.

The star of the senior class is point guard Kyle Collinsworth. It seems like Collinsworth has played at BYU forever. After committing to the Cougars early in his Provo High career, he was an important role player in his freshman year on the Jimmer Fredette-led BYU team that went to the Sweet 16.

Post-Fredette, Collinsworth has carved out an impressive collegiate tenure himself. He is the NCAA all-time leader in triple-doubles and was named the WCC Player of the Year this season. If for no other reason, Cougar fans should come out to the Marriott Center to see if he can pull off another triple-double.

The other two seniors will not go into the NCAA record books but did some great things during their careers. Chase Fischer stepped up his game this season, becoming a consistent scorer night in and night out and led the team in points per game. He played through injuries and his effort on the floor was never questioned.

Likewise, Nate Austin was an exemplary example of a team-first player who did whatever his team needed from him. BYU fans should care about the NIT because it'll be the last time they get to see this group of seniors.

The young players get more time to grow and develop

As already mentioned, the Cougars fielded a team without a lot of experience in the 2015-16 campaign. As the season progressed, younger players continued to improve and gain confidence in their abilities. The most notable young player is Nick Emery. Emery had a fantastic freshman year, finishing second behind Fischer in points per game, scoring 16.2 per contest. It might be too early to say this, but if the Cougars make a bit of a run in the NIT, Emery might well be on his way to setting a BYU record for most points scored in a career. Getting to see him play at least one more game as a freshman will be a treat for BYU faithful.

While Emery had arguably the most successful season of any Cougar underclassmen on this year's squad, there are other players who have a bright future that will benefit from the extra time to grow and develop. Zac Seljaas had a terrific freshman year for BYU. He shot a blistering 49.2 percent from beyond the arc, which is particularly impressive given that he shot 118 three-pointers.

Sophomore center Corbin Kaufusi also continues to improve with each game as he learns the nuances of the sport, while freshmen Jordan Chatman and Jakob Hartsock showed glimpses of big things to come. Playing in the NIT offers a preview of the future for Cougar fans and should get them excited about the program.

NIT-bound

Second-seeded BYU to host UAB in NIT first round

BYU's NCAA Tournament fate was sealed last week with a loss to Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference tournament semifinals. <br> But there will be postseason basketball in Provo. <br> The second-seeded Cougars will host No. 7 seed Alabama-Birmingham in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament at 8 p.m. MT Wednesday.

BYU has a realistic chance of going far in the tournament

To be clear, the Cougars did not go into this season expecting to play in the NIT at the end of the season. No team does. Coach Dave Rose has set making the NCAA Tournament every year the standard for the program. Playing in the NIT is disappointing for fans and players alike, obviously.

On the bright side, however, the Cougars have a realistic chance of making some noise in the NIT. If they had made the Big Dance, they would have likely received a lower seed in an unfavorable bracket and may not have won one game in the tourney.

The NIT is a different story. BYU gets at least one game at the Marriott Center, where it is 13-2 on the season. The Cougars will be heavily favored against UAB, and if they win they will play the second-round contest at home. There is a good chance BYU will win its first two matchups and it has a legitimate shot at winning the whole thing. While that would not be as meaningful as winning the NCAA Tournament, it will set the Cougars up to have a big year next season as they welcome back Eric Mika and talented newcomers in TJ Haws and Payton Dastrup.

Dylan Cannon is a regular KSL.com contributor and can be reached at DylanCannon86@gmail.com or via twitter @DylanCannon11.

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