‘They’re clearly competing for the top prize’: Texas head coach Sean Miller praises BYU’s program ahead of NCAA Tournament matchup with Cougars
Texas head coach Sean Miller speaks during a press conference the day before a first-round college basketball game against BYU in the NCAA Tournament held at the Moda Center in Portland, Ore. , on Wednesday, March 18, 2026. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News PORTLAND — Sean Miller has plenty of history with BYU.
Nearly two decades ago, he led Xavier to a first round NCAA Tournament win over the Cougars. While at Arizona, he was on the receiving end of Jimmer Fredette’s famed 49-point outburst at McKale Center in 2009. Now at the helm of the Texas Longhorns, Miller will match up with BYU once again in Thursday’s round of 64 action, but the Cougars’ Big 12 program has come a long way from its Mountain West Conference days that Miller last encountered.
“BYU has always been a basketball-centric place when it comes to sports,” Miller told reporters Wednesday. “When you think about sports, you have a lot of respect for their basketball program, their history, and Danny Ainge and those guys. They’re clearly competing for the top prize.
“We have great respect for the Big 12 Conference. Arizona, I’m very familiar with. You look at the top teams in that league, Iowa State, Houston, Kansas, and (BYU is) one of the top teams.
No doubt we’re playing against a quality opponent that’s investing in their program, you feel that. I think they’re going to be in this tournament in a prominent role for years to come. ” It’s been a chaotic past 24 hours for Miller and his Longhorns, stunning NC State at the buzzer in Tuesday night’s First Four round out in Dayton, Ohio before hustling to the airport and flying out to the west coast, where Texas arrived in Portland at 6:30 a.