Deacons hurt and help BYU's cause

Even though the Cougars lost to Wake Forest two weeks ago in a final-minute fold, I’ve repeatedly said that the Cougars proved in that game that they are a very good team. To be tied 89-89 through 39 minutes to a team as loaded as the Demon Deacons is no small deal. Unfortunately, the poll voters thought so and dropped the Cougars even farther from the Top 25 when the way they competed against Wake Forest should have gained BYU more respect.
Since then Wake Forest has proven to be even better than experts thought. With Sunday’s win over once top-ranked North Carolina, the Deacons are showing that they are among the nation’s elite teams, and very deserving of their No. 4 ranking or higher. This team has a good chance at reaching the Final Four and even playing for a National Championship. And, even though the game was at the Marriott Center, the Cougars played the Deacons tougher than North Carolina did on Sunday night. Remember, some predicted this Tarheel team would not lose a game this season. That should be a good indication of where BYU compares with the nation’s best. Even the TV announcers for Sunday’s game repeatedly called Wake’s victory in Provo a “benchmark win.” I think we can also call it a benchmark loss for BYU, because it proved that the Cougars are very close to being as good as any team in the country. Every opposing coach who has faced BYU this season has even said so. Wake coach Dino Gaudio said BYU could compete very well in the ACC, the nation’s toughest basketball conference. What bigger praise can BYU get?
On another note, however, the statement by Gaudio that “there ain’t gonna be no rematch” could be damaging to BYU’s efforts to attract more opponents like the Deacons to the Marriott Center. Cougar officials are having a very difficult time in getting teams to agree to a home-and-home deal because they don’t want to play in Provo. That challenge might be even tougher now.