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Provo • Coach Dave Rose's BYU basketball team should be accustomed to this by now, shouldn't it?

Not really, the Cougars said Sunday night after another nailbiting 45 minutes or so of watching the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Selection Show, waiting to see if their name would be called for an at-large bid to the Big Dance.

Finally, as the last bracket was presented, the Cougars saw what they were waiting for. Having received an 11 seed, they will play Ole Miss (20-12) on Tuesday in a First Four game in Dayton, Ohio.

Tipoff is at approximately 7:10 p.m. MDT and the game will be televised by TruTV.

"It was terrible," said star guard Tyler Haws of the wait as other bubble teams filled up the brackets and the Cougars watched in agony at the BYU Broadcast Building. "The tension was pretty high in that room. We thought we were [in]. We were confident going into today, and then when you see all those other teams getting their name called before you, it can be nerve-wracking. But we are just really happy our name got called, and we are just excited to play."

Tuesday's winner will move on to Jacksonville, Fla. and play No. 6 seed Xavier on Thursday.

Playing in a First Four game won't be new to BYU (25-9), which went to Dayton in 2012 and beat Iona 78-72 as a No. 14 seed before falling to Marquette in Louisville two days later.

"It comes quickly," said BYU coach Dave Rose, who has his team dancing for the eighth time in his 10 years, and second-straight year. "The real challenge is to get our guys a good night's rest and a convenient travel schedule … Hopefully our guys will feel their best, mentally and physically, when they get to the tip."

Senior guard Skyler Halford, who suffered a lower leg nerve contusion in the final seconds of Tuesday's 95-79 loss to Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference championship game, said he is "good to go" and has fully practiced the last few days. However, Rose said senior guard Anson Winder, who missed the final two WCC tournament games with knee pain, is still day-to-day and will likely need surgery when the season is over, whether he plays this week or not.

All eight of Rose's NCAA Tournament teams have gone the at-large route, but this is the first BYU team ever to get an 11 seed. Haws, Kyle Collinsworth, Halford and Chase Fischer all said they aren't disappointed about having to play on Tuesday.

"Any spot in the tournament is a good spot, and we are excited to play this game and get to Dayton," Haws said. "A few of the guys [Josh Sharp, Winder and the injured Nate Austin] have been there before. We are going to get our minds right and be ready to go."

Having won eight of their last nine games, the Cougars say they are playing their best basketball of the season, despite the 16-point loss to No. 7 Gonzaga, which got a No. 2 seed on Sunday.

"I think that the last month of this season has been probably as fun as any team I have ever coached," Rose said. "These guys have been determined and I just am happy that the results today turned out good for them. This is a good basketball team. And so now we will get a chance to prove it, see how we do."

The Cougars said they don't know much about Ole Miss, except that the Rebels like to run and play fast, as they do, and almost beat undefeated Kentucky.

"If they are at Kentucky and they took them to overtime, I think they will get our guys' attention," Rose said. "They are a pretty good team."

Twitter: @drewjay —

Cougars vs. Rebels

P At Dayton, Ohio

WHO: BYU vs. Mississippi in a First Four game

WHEN: approximately 7:10 p.m. MDT Tuesday

TV: TruTV (Ch. 246 on DirecTV, Ch. 149 on DISH)

Inside

O Monson: After waiting until the last moment of the bracket reveal, BYU has more to prove. > B3