Greatest Comeback in NCAA Tournament History

   4:34 1st Half: Brigham Young 31, Iona 55
          Halftime: Brigham Young 40, Iona 55
10:00 2nd Half: Brigham Young 57, Iona 62
  4:00 2nd Half: Brigham Young 66, Iona 70
  2:28 2nd Half: Brigham Young 71, Iona 70
                Final: Brigham Young 78, Iona 72

14 seed Brigham Young was down 24 points to 14 seed Iona with 4:34 to play in the first half of a First Four match up of the NCAA Tournament in Dayton. The Cougars never lead the game until the 2:28 mark in the second half. They led from then on and that is what matters. Until this game the largest comeback in NCAA tournament history was Duke's comeback from 22 points down to Maryland in the 2001 national semifinals. Now the Cougars of BYU own the record, 25 points over Iona in the first four play in game in 2012. While the record is 25 points, the game ended as a 30 point turnaround as the Cougars poured in 5 extra points to solidify their lead.


The game was a close contest for the first 4 or so minutes. Then Iona, the nation's best offense, took over. The Gaels rank first in points per game, assists per game and field goal percentage. Led by the best distributor in the game, Scott Machado who averages 9.9 assists per game, the Gaels ran up a 24 point lead in what looked to be a game that was over before the second half even began. Iona went on a 10-0 run to take a 28-10 lead with 12 minutes to play in the half. The Cougars then went on their own run, 10-2 over 2:03 to bring it within 10 but the Gaels high powered offense didn't let up. From that point, the 9:43 mark in the first half, the Gaels scored 25 points compared to the Cougars' 12 before the 4 minute mark.

The last 4 minutes of the half were all BYU, though it didn't seem like much at the time. Iona scored no points while BYU scored 10 to close out the half. Still, the Gaels' lead was 15 at the break. It took the Gaels over 11 minutes to score only 7 points. During which time BYU cut the lead to 1 with 8:42 remaining. The Gaels would hold the lead until the Noah Hartsock hit only his 10th 3 pointer of the year. That three for the big man couldn't have come at a better time. BYU took a 71-70 lead, their first of the game. The lead would not change hands again.

A true tale of two halfs. Did BYU make a strong comeback or did Iona suffer a terrible meltdown? I don't care, the Cougars advance to the second round (it's totally the first round but the NCAA doesn't call it that) of the NCAA tournament. They travel from Dayton, Ohio a little ways south to Louisville, Kentucky to play 3 seed Marquette on Thursday.

Noah Hartsock, Brandon Davies and reserve Craig Cusick (despite scoring 0 points, he had 8 assists) stole the show as the Cougars set NCAA history. They now have 2 days to decompress and prepare for their battle with the 2nd place team from the Big East. The WCC is 1-0 in the NCAA tournament with this result. Keep in mind Gonzaga and Saint Mary's have yet to play. Thanks for joining us, Cougars, keep it up!