10 Memorable BYU Basketball Moments In Conference Tournaments

PROVO, Utah – In the storied history of BYU basketball, conference tournaments have caused mixed results. There’s been a lot of heartbreak, but there have also been some memorable moments that BYU fans will never forget.

BYU has been a regular participant in conference tournaments since 1984 when the WAC first introduced its postseason format.

As BYU gets ready for another conference tournament, let’s take a trip down memory lane and look back at BYU’s ten greatest moments in conference tournaments.

10. First round win over TCU in BYU’s last WAC Tournament (1999)

When Steve Cleveland accepted the BYU basketball head coach position, the Cougars were the nation’s worst team after a 1-25 season in 1997. It was a massive rebuild project he was taking on, but in year two, a win in BYU’s final WAC Tournament appearance was a signature moment that the dark days of BYU hoops wouldn’t last for long.

The 1999 WAC Tournament took place during the crazy 16-team WAC days. So to even qualify for the tournament, BYU had to be in the top-12 of the standings. BYU did that in the first year under Coach Cleve in 1998 and again in year two.

BYU won a game taking down TCU led by former NBA player Lee Nailon. BYU’s freshman sensation Mark Bigelow led the Cougars to the upset.

9. Spencer Johnson’s OT steal sends BYU to WCC Title Game (2021)

Last season, current BYU basketball forward Spencer Johnson gave the Cougars a memorable win over Pepperdine in the semifinals of the 2021 Tournament.

Spencer Johnson with the play of the night!

Steal and a save.#BYU #GoCougs #BYUHoops

📸: @BYUphoto pic.twitter.com/8vXKxt5rX5

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) March 9, 2021

With only 18 seconds remaining, BYU was up by two. Johnson jumped in front of a Pepperdine pass. After tipping the ball, Johnson hooked the ball back to his teammate Connor Harding to secure the win for BYU and give the Cougars a chance at playing Gonzaga in the WCC Tournament Championship Game.

“That was a really fun game,” said Johnson of last year’s win over Pepperdine. “It went into overtime, they were playing really well and they were shooting the lights out. We kept clawing and hanging in there and kept fighting back. I just remember they set that down screen –I think it was Colbey Ross and Kessler Edwards– and I called for a switch, just because we had to; then they threw it in, and I was like, ‘I know If I can slide around him and get that ball, then the game is going to be over.’ So I went for it, I got it. And it was a really good memory.”

8. BYU takes down Hawaii on a buzzer-beater in Laramie (1991)

Senior guard Scott Moon grabbed an offensive rebound from a missed three-pointer by Mark Heslop. He put up an off-balanced shot and knocked it down to give BYU a 73-71 victory over Riley Wallace’s Hawaii Rainbow Warriors.

The win sent BYU to the WAC Championship Game to face rival Utah. We’ll get to that a little bit later. Moon’s buzzer-beater gave BYU their 20th win of the season and it came in front of a crowd of 10,000-plus fans at Wyoming’s Arena-Auditorium. It was a pro-Hawaii crowd as Pokes fans never quite forgot former BYU coach Frank Arnold calling them a “despicable” fan base.

7. Blowout against Utah in the Delta Center (1994)

There was a time when Vivint Arena (then the Delta Center) played host to WAC Tournaments. The 1994 WAC Tournament was one of those examples, and it featured a quarterfinal matchup between in-state rivals BYU and Utah.

What was expected to be a close contest was a 96-65 BYU rout over the Utes. The loss for Utah was their worst in nearly 30 years.

Former BYU star Russell Larson scored 28 points as BYU shot 63% from the field in the win.

6. WCC Semifinal upset of Saint Mary’s (2018)

BYU entered the 2018 WCC Tournament semifinals matchup against Saint Mary’s on a five-game losing streak against the Gaels. But, no matter what BYU did, the Cougars could not get past Randy Bennett’s Gael squad led by Jock Landale, Emmett Naar, and the “BYU killer” Calvin Hermanson.

Highlights from the #BYUHoops win over Saint Mary's in the semifinalsof the WCC Championship on March 5, 2018. @GregWrubell with the call. #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/FgHdULlreY

— BYU Cougars Video (@BYU_Video) March 6, 2018

That changed in Vegas, where BYU pulled off its biggest WCC Tournament win since joining the league by taking down 28-4 Saint Mary’s in the semis. BYU defeated the Gaels 85-72. Despite being a 28-win team, the loss sent Saint Mary’s to the NIT.

It was a breakout performance for sophomore forward Yoeli Childs, who poured in 33 points. Elijah Bryant dropped another 25 points as BYU advanced to face Gonzaga in the WCC championship.

5. Losing streak against Utah ends in first MWC Tournament (2000)

Steve Cleveland just kept taking steps forwards with the BYU basketball program. In his early years as head coach, the most significant breakthrough was taking down rival Utah in the semifinals of the inaugural Mountain West Tournament in Las Vegas in 2000.

Utah was just two years removed from a National Championship appearance and had a 12-game winning streak over BYU.

That streak ended as No. 6 seed BYU took down No. 2 Utah, 58-54. The player of the game for BYU was sophomore high-flyer Eric Nielsen who delivered a career-high 17-points and pulled down nine rebounds against a Utah team that still had Hanno Mottola and Alex Jensen.

4. MWC Tournament Championship Run in 2001

Did you know the last time BYU basketball won a conference tournament title was in 2001? That’s right; the 2001 Mountain West Tournament was BYU’s last time cutting down the nets in a postseason tournament in March.

Four years removed from inheriting a 1-25 program, BYU coach Steve Cleveland coached the Cougars to their first conference tournament title since 1992 by defeating New Mexico, 69-65.

The star of BYU’s run towards punching an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament was forward Mekeli Wesley. Wesley saw the evolution of BYU hoops from one-win to MWC champs. His finest performance was against the Lobos in that MWC title at the Thomas & Mack. The MWC Player of the Year scored 30 points, including a stretch where he scored 15 straight on his own for BYU in a late-night ESPN tilt with Bob Carpenter and Jimmy Dykes on the call.

Sharpshooter Terrell Lyday scored 11 points and explosive point guard Trent Whiting dropped 15 to send BYU back to March Madness.

3. BYU defeats Utah for first-ever conference tournament title (1991)

The 1991 WAC Tournament was BYU’s first appearance in a conference tournament championship game. So it was only fitting that the first trip to the title game was against rival Utah.

Utah came into the game No. 8 in the AP Top 25 poll with a 28-2 record overall. Like BYU, Utah was also experiencing their first trip to a conference tournament title game.

But it wasn’t the high-ranked Utes who took home the title. Instead, it was BYU led by center Shawn Bradley. BYU took down the Utes in overtime, 51-49.

There was controversy at the end of the overtime session as Utah’s Craig Rydalch appeared to tip-in a missed shot from teammate Tyrone Tate, but the horn had gone off before Rydalch’s shot fell through the hoop.

2. Jimmer Fredette scores career-high 52 points against UNM (2011)

The 2010-11 college basketball season shall be known as the year of Jimmermania. BYU star Jimmer Fredette was so good he compelled casual sports fans to try and find channels like Versus and The mtn to watch him play.

There wasn’t anything Fredette hadn’t already done in his career at BYU entering the 2011 Mountain West Tournament, but he still had another historical performance up his sleeve.

In front of a sold-out Thomas & Mack crowd at the semifinals of the MWC Tourney against New Mexico, Fredette scored a career-high 52 points to take down the Lobos. The 52-point performance is the most scored by one player in a BYU basketball game.

New Mexico was a thorn in BYU’s side that year, handing Jimmer’s crew two of their three losses in the regular season. However, Jimmer wouldn’t let the Lobos get a third win, even with Brandon Davies out of the lineup.

Fredette scored his 52 points on 37 field goal attempts, and he knocked down 22 of those attempts. From three-point range, Jimmer was 7-of-14. The craziest stat from that box score was that Fredette scored 52 on one free throw attempt.

1. Kevin Nixon’s 54-foot buzzer-beater to win the WAC title (1992)

If you see a montage of conference tournament highlights from ESPN during “Championship Week,” you’re probably going to see a clip of Kevin Nixon’s 54-foot miracle to give BYU the 1992 WAC Tournament Championship.

BYU defeated UTEP, 73-71 in the 1992 WAC title courtesy of Nixon’s memorable shot.

The sharp-shooting forward checked back into the WAC title game with 2.4 seconds remaining.

“I just knew that I didn’t have a lot of time,” Nixon said to KSL Sports on the 20th anniversary of the shot in 2012. “I figured I had enough time for one or two dribbles. So, my plan was to get on balance, get a couple of dribbles in, and hope and pray for the best.”

The prayers worked as Nixon’s 54-foot heave was nothing but net. Nixon’s shot delivered back-to-back WAC Tournament titles for BYU and punched an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament that season.

Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for KSLsports.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.

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