Brigham Young survives, advances and collects a check: Breaking down the matchup and the money

Let’s all step away from watching March Madness and take a brief moment to welcome Brigham Young University to the round of 32.

Yep, the Cougars survived and advanced.

That might seem like an innocuous achievement, but the 80-71 victory over VCU on Thursday marked the first time the Cougars have won a first-round game since 2011, when they competed in the Mountain West and were led by Jimmer Fredette.

They had lost five tournament games in a row, often to double-digit seeds.