BYU's thrill-ride 2007-08 season ended, appropriately enough, just down the road from Disneyland.

The Cougars couldn't shake their postseason hex, losing their second straight Mountain West championship game and their sixth straight first-round NCAA Tournament contest. But before anyone slaps a "disappointment" label on a 27-win season, they should recall that this program was 9-21 just three years ago.

Since taking over before the 2005-06 season, head coach Dave Rose has led Brigham Young to three straight 20-win seasons and back-to-back outright regular-season league titles and back-to-back NCAA tourneys. The Cougars are 72-26 under Rose, including a 39-9 record in Mountain West play and a 47-1 record at the Marriott Center.

Highlights from 2007-08 included a school-record 25 regular-season wins and an upset of then-No. 6 Louisville, the Cougars' highest-ranked victim since a win against No. 2 St. Joseph's on Dec. 21, 1965. They led the Mountain West in field-goal defense, 3-point defense, rebounding margin and assists and set a school record for 3-pointers made.

Rose said he reminded his dejected players about their achievements following a 67-62 loss to Texas A&M in the first round of the NCAA West Regional in Anaheim, Calif.

"We won a lot of games, won back-to-back Mountain West Conference regular-season championships," he said. "We beat a team ranked in the Top 10 for the first time in a long while. We've got a nice homecourt winning streak going. There's a lot of good things that are going on with BYU basketball."

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