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BYU meets Xavier in critical 8-9 matchup

Mar 15, 2007 - 2:12 PM Xavier (24-8) at BYU (25-8) 9:40 pm EDT

LEXINGTON, Kentucky (Ticker) -- Brigham Young has not been seeded this high in the NCAA Tournament in a long time.

With disappointing efforts in their past four trips to the tournament, the eighth-seeded Cougars hope to finally break through when they face ninth seed Xavier in the first round of the South Region on Thursday.

BYU is making its 22nd tournament appearance but has made four straight first-round exits - with the last victory coming in 1993 over SMU.

Cougars coach Dave Rose has guided BYU to consecutive 20-win seasons and became the first coach in school history to earn back-to-back Mountain West Coach of the Year honors. He also helped BYU capture its first regular-season conference title since 1987-88.

Keena Young became the seventh player in school history to be named conference Player of the Year, averaging 17.5 points and 5.5 rebounds for BYU, which finished 13-3 in league play.

In the Mountain West tournament final loss to UNLV, Young scored a career-high 34 points.

Xavier received an at-large bid for its sixth NCAA appearance in seven years despite losing in the Atlantic 10 Conference semifinals.

The Musketeers have 11 wins in their last 17 trips to the "Big Dance," with their best finish coming during the 2004 season, a 66-63 loss to Duke in the regional final.

Coach Sean Miller is making his second trip with Xavier, which is led by Justin Cage and Justin Doellman, who were key members of the 2004 squad as freshmen.

The Musketeers also feature a talented backcourt with Stanley Burrell and Drew Lavender, a 5-7 transfer from Oklahoma.