If they were disappointed, the NCAA Tournament-bound basketball players of BYU sure did a good job of hiding it.

Crazy, huh? It came again with a No. 8 seed, as the 65-team bracket was announced Sunday.

The team bused home from Las Vegas on Sunday morning and pulled into campus to catch the hour-long CBS selection show at the Student Athlete Building. It wasn't until the last revealed quadrant, the West Regional, that the at-large Cougars were officially in.

"I feel a lot better right now than I did last night," BYU coach Dave Rose said, alluding to a loss at UNLV in the Mountain West Conference Tournament title game for the second consecutive year.

Of the 34 at-large bids, only six went to teams like BYU that did not come from the BCS conferences.

Something to be grateful for, yes. But it would've been easy for players -- especially on first instincts -- to bemoan the process.

The 24th-ranked team in the country with a win against Louisville, a regular-season outright MWC title and a stronger schedule overall than a year ago probably had a right to expect more.

Whispers went around BYU's staff, which was concerned at a line of questioning that most reporters tried on the team: What do you think about that seed? No one cried in front of the cameras and tape recorders.

Lee Cummard said he figured anywhere between Nos. 6-11, and Sam Burgess hoped to do better but quickly added, "an 8 is good. It'll be a good game."

There are some personal connections, but the teams have no common opponents from this season. A few BYU coaches said they've seen bits on TV of the No. 9-seeded Aggies, who finished 8-8 during Big 12 Conference play -- smack in the middle of the standings -- and 24-10 overall.

They endured the growing pains of losing All-American Acie Law IV, plus gaining new coach Mark Turgeon, who arrived from Wichita State. Turgeon is no stranger to the NCAA Tournament, however, having taken the Shockers to the Sweet 16 a couple of seasons ago (they lost to historical tournament darling George Mason).

Trent Plaisted's best friend stayed home for college and is a student at A&M. Meanwhile, he also once played with 6-foot-9 senior Joseph Jones. Cougar freshman Jimmer Fredette knows highly touted Aggie 7-foot freshman DeAndre Jordan from the AAU circuit.

What BYU probably lost in seeding, it appeared to get rewarded with location. The Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., could have more support for the Cougars -- if fans can get tickets from UCLA fans who will surely be in high numbers to see their top-seeded team.

The winner of BYU's 5:25 p.m. MT game would likely meet the Bruins in the second round Saturday, as a No. 1 seed has never lost in the opening round since the field expanded to 64 teams.

Don't dare ask Rose or players about that one. They've got enough work to do. Coaches were expected to stay up late into the night breaking down A&M footage, of which the team's video department on first reference had 18 games from this year and the last 10. The Aggies lost in the semifinals of the Big 12 Tournament to Kansas.

On one question about his thoughts, Rose used "excited" three times. He was one person who told the Daily Herald last week -- in the minority, however -- that he'd trade a higher seed for a better locale.

He got it. As the televised selection show kept revealing pieces of the three-week puzzle, coaches and players kept taking educated guesses at where they might get placed. Fellow MWC member UNLV came up first, as an 8 seed headed to Omaha, Neb., to face Kent State.

Seeing the Rebels, a few Cougars probably thought they were in store for higher respect. BYU lost two of three meetings to UNLV (both in Vegas) but had the edge in the regular-season standings.

No advantage or disadvantage, apparently. But now that months of speculation is done, opportunities must be taken advantage of. BYU lost last year's NCAA chance by two points to Xavier, and has lost five consecutive tries since 1993.

Bids are precious. Not even the defending finalists from last year, repeat champion Florida and Ohio State, could get in. An 8 seed is better than none, right?

"It's a huge deal, and I think we were able to get a better grasp on that last year," Plaisted said. "So I think we're a more experienced team, prepared to go in there and do some damage."

• Against the field: BYU went 2-5 against teams it faced that are also in the NCAA Tournament. That includes two road losses to UNLV, neutral-court losses to No. 1 seed North Carolina (Las Vegas) and Michigan State (5), plus a road loss in December to Boise State (13).

The Broncos, in the field for the first time in 14 years by virtue of winning the Western Athletic Conference title at New Mexico State (triple overtime), will play one of the teams BYU defeated -- Louisville.

The Cougars also ousted UNLV in Provo.

• Connections: While selection committee members cannot be in the room while their conference's teams are being discussed, BYU had two familiar faces in Indianapolis forming the brackets: Utah athletic director Chris Hill and UConn AD Jeff Hathaway, who used to be in that position at Colorado State. Also, former BYU assistant Walter Roese will be part of the Big Dance. San Diego, which won the West Coast Conference postseason tournament, is a No. 13 seed with a new coaching staff that will play UConn.

• Resignations of interest: TCU coach Neil Dougherty is out after six seasons, announced Sunday. ... Rodney Tention recently resigned at Loyola Marymount. His claim to fame? He was the last visiting coach to win on BYU's home floor, in 2005, in what was also Rose's first game as a head coach at the Division I level. Tention had three consecutive losing seasons, including 5-26 this year. BYU has since won 47 consecutive home games heading into next season.

• Close, but not quite: Funny moment from the CBS show. Greg Gumbel started out by saying the No. 4 seed Cougars, paused and finished ... of Washington State. BYU's players said they weren't fooled, but it would've been nice to get that status.