Denver • Kevin Young is no stranger to Ball Arena. Back when he was an assistant on the Phoenix Suns, BYU’s head coach used to wage Western Conference Playoff battles with the Nuggets.
“I think the year we made the Finals we swept them in the playoffs. That’s always been my fondest memory of playing here,” Young said. “I also have nightmares trying to guard the Murray, Jokic two-man game, which is, I stand by, one of the hardest teams to guard in all of basketball.”
Young won’t have to deal with that this time in Denver.
But the NCAA Tournament and VCU still present some problems.
“It’s not like the NBA Playoffs. It’s more like the NBA Finals. That’s just what it feels like where everything is amped up. There’s more media,” Young said of his first taste of the NCAA Tournament.
Young spent the majority of the week picking his players' brains on their tournament runs. Trevin Knell, Richie Saunders and Dallin Hall were all big pieces of the tournament team last year.
“See some of the things they learned, trying to get ahead of some things that they felt like, on a team and individual level, were mistakes from last year,” Young said.
But on Thursday it will come down to Young’s game plan that will determine BYU’s fate. It’s a mantle he’s been waiting for.
“As a kid I was a huge fan of this tournament. Every year in the NBA, every March would roll around, you’re watching this stuff from afar, and always like, ‘Man, I bet it’s just so fun to coach in March Madness,” Young said.
Now he’s here.
How to watch
BYU vs. VCU
When: Thursday, March 20
Time: 2:05 p.m. MT
Where: Ball Arena in Denver
TV channel: TNT
The Big Thing
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Brigham Young Cougars forward Richie Saunders (15) drives inside, in Big 12 basketball action between the Brigham Young Cougars and the Kansas Jayhawks, at the Marriott Center, in Provo, on Tuesday, Feb 18, 2025.
The challenge in front of Young is VCU. Led by former Utah State coach Ryan Odom, VCU threatens BYU’s biggest weakness on paper.
The Rams want to pressure the ball and have a top 30 defense, according to KenPom. BYU struggled against Houston’s physicality and VCU promises to bring a similar style.
“They want to pick you up. They want to get after you. They want to turn you over. They want to offensive rebound,” Young said. “They’ve got multiple guys that hit the glass. For me, they have a clear style of play and for us, ironically, it’s a lot of things that we’ve talked about against some of the better teams in our league, in the Big 12, that have a lot of similarities.”
VCU will match BYU’s length in the backcourt, too. Point guard Max Shulga is 6-foot-5 and the reigning Atlantic 10 player of the year.
BYU lost to Houston by double digits. Will VCU bring out the same performance?
“I feel like every Big 12 team is pressure heavy. We played Houston, Cincinnati, all teams that were pressure heavy,” Knell said. “They rebound really well. I think VCU hangs their hat on the offensive rebounding side of the ball. I feel like we’re battle tested and we have resumes, we got statement wins that can help us challenge VCU in a different way.”
VCU doesn’t have the quality wins against high major teams that BYU does. Its best opponent was New Mexico from the Mountain West, where it lost 78-71.
Fourth down
(Eli Lucero | The Herald Journal via AP) Utah State head coach Ryan Odom, center, celebrates with players in the locker room after defeating Nevada in an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Feb. 18, 2023, in Logan, Utah.
Odom is a former USU man. He left Logan in 2023 to go back to the east coast where he grew up. But now he’s up for another job, Virginia, at the end of this season. He hasn’t addressed the coaching rumors with his team before playing BYU.
“My total focus right now is on this team, this university and doing our best here in the tournament,” he said. “We don’t worry about any of that other stuff.
2. Mile high
Much has been made of the altitude in Colorado. BYU is used to playing at elevation; VCU is not. Neither is Wisconsin, BYU’s potential matchup in the Round of 32. Is that unfair?
“Knock on wood. I think the elevation is huge,” Knell said. “I think we’re really excited. It’s closer to home. We’re hoping to get a lot of Cougar fans out there. But yeah, I think it was huge for us.”
VCU experienced some elevation going to New Mexico. At the time, it didn’t think it was a big deal. But this trip, players have been drinking more water in preparation. They’ve also had several days in Denver to acclimate unlike a normal road trip.
“I feel like it’s definitely a little different. New Mexico felt different the first day there,” VCU guard Zeb Jackson said. “It feels good being able to get adjusted a couple days before.”
3. A loss a year ago
BYU was a six-seed last year and bounced by Duquesne before lunch. That loss is on the mind of Saunders and Knell as they face another 11-seed.
“It was our first time with this opportunity, and we got freaking smacked,” Saunders said. “We take a few key things [from] that. We’ve got to come out and be the aggressor.”
4. Tater Tots
Saunders became the king of Tater Tots in March Madness. Here’s the backstory of how it happened.
