Las Vegas » While putting together their best regular season of basketball in school history, the Cougars (28-4) have displayed more mental toughness and overall depth than any BYU team before them, evidenced by a brilliant road record and ability to win despite setbacks due to illness and injury.

Now is a good time to show that prowess to not only the rest of the Mountain West Conference, but the nation as a whole, the Cougars believe.

Notwithstanding the fact that they didn't win at least a piece of the conference championship for the first time in four years, it is a confident group that descends on the Thomas & Mack Center this week for the MWC tourney, coach Dave Rose said.

"We like where we're at," Rose said. "The situation is good. I think our guys are in a great frame of mind and we have played two really good games with a lot of help from a lot of people, so I think our confidence level is good."

The No. 14 Cougars begin their run for what they hope is their first tournament title since 2001 tonight against TCU, the team they walloped 107-77 last Saturday. The quarterfinal game tips off at 7 p.m. and will be televised live by The Mtn.

But history is stacked against them.

Simply put, BYU has underachieved in past MWC tourneys.

Having been the No. 1 seed each of the past three years, the Cougars are the No. 2 seed this year, and junior guard Jackson Emery said it is a welcome change.

"It is a change for us, and we are excited," Emery said. "It is another opportunity for us to go in there and win the tournament. We have never done that [in Rose's tenure]. It is going to be tough. ... We have some great teams to go through."

First, there's TCU to get through. The Frogs (13-18) gave the Cougars a wake-up call of sorts last weekend.

"That will be a real challenge," Rose said. "I think that the first 10 minutes of the game will be a real emphasis for us, because of how they kind of manhandled us to start that game.

"They run their stuff very well, they are a very disciplined team, a team that is hard to guard. So that is what we will concentrate on."

No team in 10 Mountain West Conference men's basketball tournaments has lost more to lower-seeded teams than the Cougars. BYU has been upset seven times, Utah six.

That is a byproduct of high seeding, obviously, but also cause for concern for the Cougars' coaching staff.

Why hasn't BYU fared better?

Rose said he can't put a finger on it, other than the fact that the Cougars are 0-3 against UNLV in the tournament that is played on the Rebels' home floor. He said BYU takes the tournament as seriously as any other program.

"As you continue to win games [in the regular season], the conference tournament becomes really more important because it can really help you in your seeding if you have an opportunity to play in the NCAA Tournament," Rose said. "And that's why it is a great time of year."

Las Vegas oddsmakers are calling BYU slight favorites to win the tournament over New Mexico and No. 3 seed UNLV. On paper, the Cougars appear capable, having set league records for scoring offense (83.1 ppg.) and scoring margin (+18.7) in racking up a school-record 28 wins.

"We accomplished 28 wins, which was very impressive," Emery said "But now we have another goal of winning the tournament. We look at it as being 0-0 again. ... We have to win the tournament."

drew@sltrib.com