BYU Coach Kevin Young Says March Madness is 'Even Cooler' Than NBA Finals

Two years ago, BYU made a splash when they hired Phoenix Suns lead assistant Kevin Young as its new head coach. Young, who was in the middle of a run to the NBA Finals with the Suns, was a lead candidate for NBA head coaching openings.

Young arrived at BYU and, in his first year as the head coach, led the Cougars to their first Sweet 16 appearance since 2011. It was only the third Sweet 16 appearance in program history. In last year's NCAA Tournament, BYU handled VCU in the first round. Then, the Cougars upset 3-seed Wisconsin 91-89 in an instant classic to advance to the Sweet 16.

In his second year, Coach Young is hoping to lead his team to another run in the tournament. He told his team that the NCAA Tournament is "even cooler" than the NBA Finals.

"This is something I told our guys a couple weeks ago. And I learned this last year," Young said. "I was fortunate in the NBA to be on some really good teams. We were, you know, two wins away from winning an NBA championship. And what I shared with the guys was that was cool, but there's absolutely nothing like playing in March Madness...even cooler, for me, than the NBA Finals."

Even two weeks ago, BYU did not look like a team that was capable of making any noise in the NCAA Tournament. The Cougars were struggling on the defensive end, and they appeared to really be missing the toughness and leadership of Richie Saunders.

Then, Kevin Young decided to simplify the defense and, instead, rely on his guys to defend one-on-one.

That defensive adjustment might have been the lever that changed BYU's season. The Cougars wrapped up the regular season with a key win over no. 10 Texas Tech. BYU defended with much better effort and intensity in that game.

That effort and intensity sustained into the Big 12 tournament. The Cougars cruised in the first two rounds past Kansas State and West Virginia. Against the Mountaineers, BYU held WVU to just 48 points.

In the quarterfinals against Houston, BYU played well enough on the defensive end to win the game. It was the offensive end where the Cougars came up short. Shots stopped falling in the final 10 minutes, probably driven by fatigue. BYU was playing its third game in three days. Still, it was a one possession game with 90 seconds to go in that game.

That team defense, paired with the best scorer in the country in AJ Dybantsa, gives BYU to make noise once again in the NCAA Tournament.

BYU's first round opponent will be revealed on Sunday.