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OMAHA, Neb. — BYU basketball's season came to an end with a 71-67 loss to Duquesne in Thursday's NCAA Tournament first round, the Cougars' third straight first-round loss in the tournament and one of three 11-6 upsets on the opening day (shoutout to Oregon and South Carolina).
Through the Cougars' first Big 12 campaign, the team returned to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2021 only to be bounced by an upstart A-10 champion making its first appearance in 47 years with a retiring coach (and earning its first win since 1969).
But does the early postseason exit mar BYU's season, including the Cougars' first season in the Big 12?
"Obviously, our goals were not met this year," BYU point guard Dallin Hall said bluntly, after calling it a "season of resilience" earlier. "It's time to re-evaluate and set bigger goals, to learn from this and get better. Whether we won today or we lost today, Kobe Bryant would always say, it's the same thing the next day: You get up and go back to work. That's what it is for us."
That recalibration includes an offseason of recruiting, when former Idaho star Isaac Davis and returned missionary Collin Chandler are expected to join the squad. It may also — or will likely also, based on today's college basketball landscape — include a look to the transfer portal to replace departing seniors like top rebounder Spencer Johnson, walk-on Tredyn Christensen and anyone else who may join the departures in the offseason.
"It's been an absolute dream to be able to play here for four years," said Johnson, an American Fork High grad who initially went to Weber State, Utah Valley and Salt Lake Community College before signing with BYU. "To see the growth that we've taken as a program, as individuals, it's been incredible."
Whether that includes Jaxson Robinson, a senior with a year of eligibility left due to the COVID-19 pandemic but has early NBA interest, or Noah Waterman, who received a waiver for an extra season of eligibility last week, remains to be seen.
But a look back on head coach Mark Pope's fifth season in Provo is a reminder of what the Cougars accomplished.
Picked to finish 13th by the coaches, BYU's run included a fifth-place finish in their inaugural Big 12 season after finishing fifth in their final season in the West Coast Conference.
That's largely due to a handful of upsets, including home victories of top-25 programs Baylor and Iowa State and a thrilling road win at Kansas that snapped the Jayhawks' then-19 game home winning streak.
Robinson led the way with 14.2 points per game, doing his work almost exclusively off the bench en route to Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year honors. The senior could return for another year of college basketball after graduating in April with a degree in communications.
But the two-time transfer from Texas A&M and Arkansas could also opt for a pro career in the NBA, G League or abroad.
Either way, the Robinson-led Cougars have experienced a wild ride that no one — save the most blue-goggled supporters of the program, but not even many of them — would have expected when the team took a preseason trip to Italy and Croatia last summer.
Yet the thrilling wins, close losses and exciting moments aren't what Pope will remember the most.
"It's been really magical. But what's the best part is watching our guys grow and become something more," Pope said prior to the NCAA Tournament. "I could take you guy by guy, but just think about Jaxson Robinson's trajectory and how much he's grown every single day at BYU. I think of a guy like Dallin Hall, who had the whole world on his shoulder without a lot of help at the point and how he's been able to respond in so many epic moments.
"Our veteran guys like Spencer Johnson and Trevin Knell, Noah Waterman's growth, Aly Khalifa's magic and what he's brought here; that's all the best part is watching these guys grow as individuals and as men."
If Robinson returns, the Cougars could have another veteran team capable of helping the Big 12 earn its reputation once again of the best basketball conference in the country.
But the Cougars also have another problem, one shared by conference mates Texas Tech after Thursday's upsets: making it past the first round.
For all that it accomplished during the regular season, BYU still hasn't won a game in the NCAA Tournament since 2012, when a group led by Brandon Davies, Noah Hartsock and Matt Carlino overturned a 15-point halftime deficit to beat Iona 78-72 in the First Four.
Could the Cougars snap that streak next season? In the current age of college basketball, where continuity is fleeting even as BYU took a stab at it this year, that will be as tricky as ever.
"We understand what a multi-year process it is," Pope said. "From year one last year to year two was epic growth and progression. I think our program is hungry to continue getting better. We've made massive strides in that area. And at some point, you know we'll be progressing in this tournament. Jaxson and Spencer will be a big part of that because they opened the door for this first season in the Big 12."
