The beginning of March may being the end of BYU’s chances in the NCAA tournament. Not only did they lose their best interior player in Brandon Davies, but last night they lost at home to New Mexico 82 – 64.

When the month of February closed BYU was living the Cinderella story. They were a mid-major school, dominating the headlines. ESPN and sports fans alike could not get enough of Jimmer Fredette, the leading candidate for the national player of the year candidate. It was fun watching him take over games, averaging over 27 points a game, shooting with virtually unlimited range against multiple defenders. They were coming off a huge win on the road against San Diego State, the team who was leading their conference, and had been ranked fourth in the nation. After the game, BYU was pegged as a number one seed in the NCAA tournament, with a great chance at winning the whole thing for the first time in school history.

However, when March rolled around, it brought along some terrible news. Brandon Davies, their main interior presence, averaging 11 pts and 6 rebounds a game, was kicked off the team for breaking the team’s honor code. Those numbers may not seem like a huge loss, but he was their third leading scorer, and for a team who runs an up-tempo offense, Davies played a huge role on the inside on both ends of the floor. He helped spread the floor for guys like Fredette, and their other outside shooters. In addition, BYU as a team has very little depth with their big men, and the effects showed up last night.

Coming into the game last night, it was unknown how BYU would react to losing their teammate. Nobody expected them to lose by 18 at home. Despite their best player Fredette scoring 33 points, he did not shoot efficiently, and the other players no longer had the open looks they usually had with Davies on the floor. The replacements for Davies did not perform well at all, combining for seven points and four rebounds.

The losses of Davies and last night’s game will have a prolonged effect on the potential of this BYU team. Instead of making a prolonged run into late March, it now looks like they may not win more than one game. What could have been a great storyline, now looks like a disappointing one. Here’s hoping they can turn it around.