That feels like ages ago.

The Cougars floundered in the last month of the season, suffering through a four-game losing streak and finishing 5-6 after a 17-4 start. It would pretty much take a March miracle to get BYU into the NCAA Tournament.

As of Friday, Jerry Palm of CBS Sports had the Cougars in the tournament. Joe Lunardi of ESPN did not, so opinions are mixed.

After losing to San Francisco 75-63 in the West Coast Conference Tournament quarterfinals last Saturday, BYU coach Mark Pope said he was hopeful his team had done enough to merit an invite.

“We’re excited to keep playing,” Pope said. “This is a special group of guys that are really together. I think its guys that have really good basketball in front of them. It’s fun when people start breaking down the numbers see where we fit but this is a good team. Guys put their whole heart and soul into this thing played with great edge the past three weeks.

“They tried to resurrect themselves after taking some hits. When you invest that much, it’s hard to lose. Probably very few people know what that’s like to put their whole heart and soul into something, to be that vulnerable and fall short. There’s a reason guys are hurting. It’s because guys care so much and tried so hard.”

Pope was asked how his team can make a case for themselves to be included in the field of 68 that will be announced on Sunday.

“We played a top 30 toughest schedule in the country,” Pope responded. “I think there’s four teams ranked ahead of us with a tougher schedule in the non-conference. So that matters or it doesn’t. That also takes a toll on a team.

“Are we encouraging teams to play the hardest schedule they can in the non-conference or are we encouraging teams to go play a light non-conference schedule? That’s a question I would ask. So there’s 49 teams ranked ahead of us and only three have played a harder non-conference schedule. I think that’s a significant number.”

With the loss last Saturday, the Cougars have had more than a week to recover from a rigorous season, ponder their fate and try to prepare for whatever comes next.

“These guys battled from Day 1,” Pope said. “We took on every NCAA tournament team we could find and we took on every conference champion we could find. With that said we stumbled little bit, maybe the result of the hard schedule. But this is a good team. We have star players and young guys that are exciting. We had some really big, significant wins. So we’re hopeful.”

Junior guard Spencer Johnson said he and his teammates are ready to continue their season.

‘We’ve got some competitive guys,” Johnson said. “We’ll go play anybody. anytime or anywhere. Obviously we would love to go play in March Madness. We hope that happens and we’re going to be excited for it if it happens. If it doesn’t, I guess we’ll see. But we don’t back down from anybody.”

It appears the Cougars will be without swingman Seneca Knight for the duration of the season. Knight injured his thumb and has missed the past four games. Knight’s Twitter page indicated he had undergone surgery for the injury.

NCAA BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT

SELECTION SUNDAY

Men’s Selection Show: 4 p.m. on CBS

The Word: BYU (21-10) is a bubble team and is listed as one of the “Next Four Out” by ESPN Bracketology expert Joe Lunardi. WCC regular-season and tournament champion Gonzaga (26-3) is likely the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament. Runner-up Saint Mary’s (25-7) is listed as a No. 6 seed and San Francisco (24-9) is a No. 10 seed.

Women’s Selection Show: 6 p.m. on ESPN

The Word: BYU (26-3) is holding steady as a No. 5 seed playing in College Park, Maryland, according to ESPN Bracketology expert Charlie Creme. In that scenario, the Cougars would play the winner of the First Four game between No. 12 seeds Villanova and Dayton in the first round. Gonzaga (26-6), which beat BYU in the West Coast Conference Tournament final, is listed as a No. 11 seed playing No. 6 North Carolina in Ann Arbor, Mich.