PROVO, Utah (AP) As BYU enters its first season in one of nation's premier college basketball conferences, the Cougars say they have the type of team that can easily beat low expectations and make a run at the NCAA Tournament.

The Cougars were picked 13th in the Big 12 Conference preseason media poll ahead of only UCF. BYU finished fifth in its final West Coast Conference season, and then added some high-scoring transfers in the offseason to try to make the tournament.

“That’s the goal, obviously, to surprise the world and make it,” Charlotte transfer Aly Khalifa said. “Obviously from the Big 12, I feel like it’s a little easier because there’s more teams that go to the Dance.”