No. 8 BYU (27-7) vs. No. 9 Texas A&M (24-10)

The Brigham Young Cougars haven't won an NCAA Tournament game since 1993 despite five appearances. BYU could be poised for a breakthrough if it can shake off a double-digit loss to UNLV in the Mountain West Conference tournament finals.

Texas A&M provides the opposition for the Cougars in the opening round of the West Region on Thursday in Anaheim. Some say the Aggies are one of the most inconsistent teams in the country..

Texas A&M, picked third in the Big 12 preseason poll, started 16-1 with only a road loss to Arizona in early December. Then the Aggies fell apart, losing three straight home games to Kansas State, Texas Tech and Baylor. A&M's last two regular season games provide a perfect example of how its season went. The Aggies beat Baylor 71-57 in Waco, then lost by 17 at home to Kansas.

It's easy to see why the Cougars captured the regular season Mountain West Conference crown. They led the MWC in scoring offense, field-goal percentage defense, rebounding margin and assists.

BYU is awfully tough to beat when Lee Cummard, Trent Plaisted and Jonathan Tarvernari are on their game.

Cummard leads the team in scoring and is second in rebounds and assists. He is also one of the most efficient perimeter players in the nation, shooting 55 percent from the field, 44 percent from three-point range and 84 percent from the charity stripe.

Plaisted is one of the country's most athletic big men. He had 21 points and 12 rebounds when BYU upset Louisville and outplayed Player of the Year front-runner Tyler Hansbrough with 24 points and 17 rebounds in a loss to North Carolina.

The Cougars held the opposition to 38.6 percent from the floor (ninth in the country) and 29.5 percent from three-point land (fifth in the country).

The Aggies are a tough rebounding, tough defensive team that didn't do enough of either late in the year.

A&M has two excellent inside players in beefy 6-foot-9 senior Jason Jones and 7-foot freshman DeAndre Jordan and a serviceable backcourt. However, the Aggies don't have the floor leader it needs to advance deep into the tournament as they did last year when reaching the Sweet 16.

Coach Mark Turgeon has the biggest team in school history with six players at least 6-foot-9. Their best bet at defeating the Cougars may be with a power game, riding the talent and fast developing skills of Jordan. A&M does have balance with six players averaging between 8.2 and 11.9 points per game.

BYU's Achilles heel in their last few postseason appearances has been opposing point guards who dominated play at crucial times. Fortunately for the Cougars, the Aggies lack a top notch point man.

Both teams struggle at the line. A&M is the worst free-throw shooting team in the Big 12 with 63 percent accuracy and BYU converted just 65.8 percent from the charity stripe.

Texas A&M has thrived in March getting the money in 13 of its last 17 trips to the post. The Aggies have also 'covered' 11 of their last 13 on neutral courts. In addition, they are 29-15 ATS versus teams with a winning record after 15 or more games.

BYU is just 34-69 ATS on the road against winning teams and 45-71 as dogs. However, the Cougars have cashed 10 straight versus poor defensive teams, forcing less than 14 turnovers after 15-plus games.

Most offshore books opened the Aggies as a 1-point favorite with the 'total' set at 129 1/2.

Temple has not appeared in the NCAA Tournament since 2001 when it lost to Michigan State in the Elite Eight.

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