LLOYD: Sweet 16 a moment to savor for BYU men’s basketball fans, wherever they are
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- BYU fans at a watch party at the Marriott Center in Provo watch the Cougar men’s basketball team play Alabama in the NCAA tournament on Thursday, March 27, 2025.
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- BYU fans at a watch party at the Marriott Center in Provo watch the Cougar men’s basketball team play Alabama in the NCAA tournament on Thursday, March 27, 2025.
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- BYU fans at a watch party at the Marriott Center in Provo watch the Cougar men’s basketball team play Alabama in the NCAA tournament on Thursday, March 27, 2025.
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- BYU fans at a watch party at the Marriott Center in Provo watch the Cougar men’s basketball team play Alabama in the NCAA tournament on Thursday, March 27, 2025.
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- BYU fans at a watch party at the Marriott Center in Provo watch the Cougar men’s basketball team play Alabama in the NCAA tournament on Thursday, March 27, 2025.
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- BYU fans at a watch party at the Marriott Center in Provo watch the Cougar men’s basketball team play Alabama in the NCAA tournament on Thursday, March 27, 2025.
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- BYU fans at a watch party at the Marriott Center in Provo watch the Cougar men’s basketball team play Alabama in the NCAA tournament on Thursday, March 27, 2025.
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- BYU fans at a watch party at the Marriott Center in Provo watch the Cougar men’s basketball team play Alabama in the NCAA tournament on Thursday, March 27, 2025.
If the BYU men’s basketball team had been playing at home on Thursday, I would definitely not have been where I was for the jump ball.
That’s because I was on the Marriott Center floor taking photos of the Sweet 16 watch party, right under where the west basket would be on game day.
It was almost surreal, standing where so many big moments have happened for the Cougars during the 2024-25 season.
I got to see first hundreds, then thousands of BYU supporters filter into the seats at the big arena. The facility staff expected around 3,000 people but had to open more sections as almost half of the lower bowl was filled at tipoff.
There were the cheers when BYU was mentioned on the CBS pre-game show — and of course the boos when Alabama was shown or referenced.
As the game started, every big play for the Cougars brought eruptions from the crowd, while there were groans for every miss or big shot by the Crimson Tide.
It wasn’t as many as the almost 19,000 fans that packed that building during the regular season but there were plenty to make a lot of noise.
Clearly many BYU supporters thought it was worth the sacrifice of making the trip and being in less comfortable seats to experience the moment with other Cougar fans. Most appeared to be BYU students but there were sizable contingents of families and seniors as well.
But I got thinking about how they were just a small representation of BYU nation.
Many back east made the trip to the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., to see the Cougars play live. Their cheers and chants clearly showed how many were in attendance.
I’m sure there were thousands watching at parties throughout Utah, across the country and beyond.
Some might be streaming by themselves on their digital devices if they weren’t able to get to televisions.
And I wouldn’t be surprised if many of the cars jammed up on Interstate-15 and other roads during rush hour had the game on the radio, cheering when Keba Keita through down a dunk and cringing with every made Alabama 3-pointer.
Even though BYU found itself on the short end of the scoreboard for much of the game, I got thinking that I hope every single Cougar fan — wherever they were — took time to savor the moment.
Because it just hasn’t come around very often for BYU.
Think about it … the Cougars were playing NCAA tournament basketball on March 27, something only 15 other teams were doing.
That’s special.
Win or lose, buzzer-beater or blowout, the fundamental reality is that regardless of the outcome a team has to earn the opportunity.
And after 14 years, BYU finally did it.
There is every reason to hope that this is just a sign of things to come. I think every Cougar fan I saw in the Marriott Center should be optimistic that it won’t take 14 years for it to happen again.
But no one can guarantee that.
Which BYU players will leave and which will return?
Yes, everyone is excited about phenom AJ Dybantsa coming to Provo next season but will he stay healthy? Will he be as good at the college level as most think?
Cougar head coach Kevin Young did a great job in 2024-25 in his first year but will he sustain it? Will at some point he decide to go back to the NBA?
Success in college basketball comes down to a combination of factors and you can’t know which will go your way and which won’t.
So hope for the best, BYU fans. Believe the Cougars are capable of greatness in the future.
But I also hope you appreciated what you had while you had it.
