BYU Basketball Arrives In Omaha For 2024 NCAA Tournament
Mar 19, 2024, 6:59 PM
OMAHA, Neb. – BYU basketball has arrived for the 2024 NCAA Tournament in Omaha, Nebraska.
The Cougars landed somewhere in Middle America on Tuesday evening.
📍 Omaha, Nebraska#BYUHoops #GoCougs #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/YPCyhaAOIe
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) March 20, 2024
BYU is gearing up to face the Duquesne Dukes at the CHI Health Center, the home of the Creighton Bluejays, on Thursday morning.
Before BYU left for Omaha from Provo Airport, Cougar fans gave their team a send-off.
BYU Basketball fans gave the team an NCAA Tournament Send-Off
“[We have] one of the best fan bases. That’s super rare to find at a different school,” said BYU forward Fousseyni Traore to KSL on Tuesday. “We’re super grateful for Cougar Nation to be on this ride.”
BYU is entering its first NCAA Tournament since 2021. However, that appearance three ago didn’t involve interaction with fans due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
That season, the entire NCAA Tournament took place in Indianapolis, in what was called a “Bubble.”
touchdown🛬 pic.twitter.com/g9bOWLB6eZ
— BYU Men's Basketball (@BYUMBB) March 20, 2024
BYU hasn’t been in an NCAA Tournament that wasn’t impacted by the pandemic since 2015.
“It means a lot [to be in the NCAA Tournament],” said Traore. “This is our first time in March Madness, so I’m super excited. We want to go and make some noise.”
BYU is one of eight teams that arrived in Omaha on Tuesday. The other seven teams include BYU’s first-round opponent, Duquesne, along with their quadrant pairings in Illinois and Morehead State.
On Tuesday evening, the No. 3 seed Fighting Illini settled into their setup at the Omaha Marriott across from the CHI Health Center.
Other teams competing in Omaha include Big 12 Tournament Champion Iowa State, South Dakota State, Washington State, and Drake.
BYU vs. Duquesne
2024 NCAA Tournament – First Round
Location: Omaha, Nebraska
Arena: CHI Health Center
Tip-Off: 10:40 a.m. (MT)/11:40 a.m. (CT)
TV: TruTV
Radio: KSL NewsRadio (102.7 FM, 1160 AM in Utah)
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for KSLsports.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on X: @Mitch_Harper.
