For me certainly a top 5. To borrow from a poster on KSL:
“Not sure if this is the best win in BYU men’s BB history, but it ranks somewhere in the Top 5 along with Ainge’s Sweet Sixteen win over Notre Dame (I was too young, but have seen the highlights), Mika’s 2017 win over 29-0 Gonzaga, Child’s, Haw’s, and Toolson’s 2020 win over #2 Gonzaga (sure would have liked to see how far that team would have gone in the NCAA), and Jimmer’s signature win over # 4 SDSU and Kawhi.”
I would also add Jimmer’s win at Az where all Sean Miller could do was clap for Jimmer’s barrage.
This may have been a too 1 or 2 “team” road victory. It was a team effort. Ainge against that Notre Dame team was epic. He had a couple others as well. We have to remember that one and done players wasn’t happening much. There was Wilt but that’s about it.
I am an old guy who has been following BYU since I was in 5th grade in the very early sixties. This Kansas win was one of the best for sure. BYU winning the 1951 NIT was before my time obviously, but that was a huge one. I think they beat Dayton. In 1951 the NIT was bigger than the NCAA. The 1966 NIT was huge as well. Although the NCAA had surpassed the NIT by that time the NIT was still huge. BYU beat Army in the semi final and Army was coached by a rookie coach named Bob Knight. In the final they beat NYU in Madison Square Garden in what amounted to a home game for NYU at a time when NYU was a basketball power.
The Ainge win over Notre Dame was huge and the game before that BYU torched a top ten UCLA team something like 79-53 and Ainge scored about 37.
The Jimmer wins you mentioned for sure and the Jimmer win in 2010 over Florida in OT when he put up 37 and Michael Lloyd came off the bench and scored around 20. The Gonzaga wins you mentioned and Jimmer over SDSU twice in 2011 and the blowout over Gonzaga in the 2011 NCAA.
Pretty much there with you aro. I have to go with great tournament games ahead of season games because, well, it’s in the tournament on a national stage. Ainge ND #1 - just a classic. Almost a Miracle on Ice moment. They still show during March Madness every year. Ainge UCLA #2. Blew them out. Go next with Jimmer vs Fl. Then the Gonzaga win at Gonzaga, then the KU game. Or can reverse those two.
Here’s the thing, the Gonzaga seasonal games look huge (and were so), and were very great, but remember we only had basically one shot a year to pull that kind of upset. Now in the Big12, we’ll have 3-4 times a year to have that opportunity. And we will get some here and there. As we get one a year (hopefully) the Gonzaga seasonal wins will be less impressive and be grouped in significance with the every-once-in-awhile, huge upsets we’ll have playing in the Big. 12
Coug on Coug for the B12 tournament champtionship would be a bunch of fun. but not likely unless Baylor funks out of the third seed and BYU does unexpectedly well in the next three games.
Completely agree, too much presentism.
However, if you list just the top five since Kosic left.
Ainge’s UCLA and Notre Dame wins…will forever remember the guys in the hospital ward at Madigan being completely shocked at how good Ainge was…the rest of the team had plenty of future pros too.
Jimmer over Gonzaga and Florida would be my next two.
Then for regular season, Mika’s 2017 win over 29-0 Gonzaga.
just restricting to regular season since Kosic.
Mika’s 2017 win over 29-0 Gonzaga
Child’s, Haw’s, and Toolson’s 2020 win over #2 Gonzaga
Jimmer’s signature win over # 4 SDSU and Kawhi.
I am drawing a blank on a couple of huge games Chatman, and Smith had with LaDell Anderson coaching.
There was a game I think in 1979 or 1980 that Ainge had to make two free throws with no time on the clock to beat SDSU and win the league to go to the NCAAs. Anyone remember that? I believe the game was played in San Diego and was televised. Ainge had injured his knee the week before and was doubtful if he’d play.
I remember that game because Tony Gwynn was the SDSU point guard and he is one who fouled Ainge.
Ironic that both of these great athletes excelled at both baseball and basketball. Ainge played in the majors but couldn’t hit much and of course had a great NBA career. Gwynn was a hall of fame baseball player and a starting point guard on a division 1 college team.
That was an exciting game. My neighbor at Wymount Terrace wasn’t a sports fan. He hated football. He saw no point in it. But, he watched that basketball game and was all into it. Especially the ending. First game he ever watched.
I was at spring training with my son when Jimmer went OFF vs SDSU in the MWC tournament. Maybe not the greatest game ever but wow…just wow…watching him play was something else.
It was a tragedy that the coach who really wanted Jimmer drafted him but was shortly thereafter forced out by none other than DaMarcus Cousins (who didn’t leave much of a legacy of greatness other than in his own mind), and replaced by a coach who IMHO 1) was a racist, and 2) turned out statistically to be one of the worst coaches in NBA history with a 93-170 career record. I still believe Jimmer would have had a good NBA career if the Maloof brothers (who owned the team) actually cared about the team. All they cared about was trying to get the Kings to Vegas to make money for their casinos and when they failed they just offloaded the team–they literally sold the team the NEXT YEAR after letting Cousins “fire” the head coach. So Jimmer gets drafted by a guy who 1000% believed in him, winds up on a team being “run” by an immature 21 year old power forward, playing for a HC who has a personal problem with his race, on a team owned by maybe the worst franchise owners in NBA history. Messy.
Jerry was brilliant. He had 2 Masters and was working on his law degree. On top of that, he was a legit concert pianist. He would hear a song for the first time and play it better than the person who just played it.