To answer the (self-posed) question as simply as possible: Yes.

In fact, it may be difficult for them to get anything but a top seed in this year’s Big Dance.

While national — and local — fans have spent a great deal of their college basketball-focused time checking BYU’s box scores to see how many points Jimmer Fredette can score on a given night, what has been overlooked is just how solid of a NCAA Tournament resume is being built out in Provo, Utah.

 Sure, it’s no secret that BYU is having a good year as a team, as evidence by the squad’s No. 8 billing in this week’s ESPN/USA Today poll.

(Note — as we go forward, a ranking written like “No. X” will refer to such team’s rank in the ESPN/USA Today poll; RPI rankings will always be directly referenced.)

But when we look at the math and statistics behind BYU’s season, the Cougars’ campaign gets even more impressive. Granted, BYU cannot afford to drop more than one more game in the regular season and they need to win their conference tournament to have a shot at a top seed, but consider the following …

• BYU is the current owner of the NCAA’s top RPI. 
• The Cougars are credited with having the nation’s ninth toughest schedule — and that ranking is bound to improve (more on this later). 
• Jimmer and the Fredettes — shout out to The Saratogian’s Matt Donato for the moniker —  already own five wins against top-30 RPI teams, with a chance to garner at least one more such win in the regular season. For comparison’s sake, the Kansas Jayhawks own two such wins; undefeated Ohio State owns four such victories; and, Texas has notched three wins against top-30 competition. Meanwhile, Duke has not beaten a single top-30 team.

So, BYU already has a pretty nice resume, especially when compared with other top teams in the country. More importantly, for Jimmer-maniacs, BYU stands to get an added bump in its RPI ranking thanks to some early-season opponents mounting stronger than expected campaigns …

Utah State — BYU defeated Utah State on Nov. 17, 78-72

The Aggies are rolling. The WAC-leader is sitting at 22-2 (11-0 conference) and haven't seen an opponent come withing single digits of them yet in 2011. Utah State is up to No. 17 (RPI: 25) in the poll and will likely keep climbing as nobody in the WAC looks likely to be able to beat them. Every Utah State win helps out BYU's resume.

Vermont — BYU defeated Vermont (at the Civic Center in Glens Falls) on Dec. 8, 86-58

In what was supposed to be a rebuilding year for the America East power, the Catamounts are sitting pretty at 19-5. While you won't see Vermont anywhere near the Top 25, the Catamounts look poised to finish with an RPI in the top 100. BYU played Vermont simply so Fredette could have his homecoming game, but that game has actually been a huge help to the Cougars' resume.

Arizona — BYU defeated Arizona on Dec. 11, 87-65.

While the Wildcats are a known national commodity, Arizona has not really been a player on the national scene in a few years and nothing much was expected from them this season, either. But, instead, the Wildcats (20-4, 9-2 Pac-10) are in first place in their conference and have pushed themselves up to No. 16 in the country (same as their RPI ranking).  

While BYU has certainly been helped by it's conference's strength — rival San Diego State is No. 6 nationally and has the fourth best RPI — these three above wins are the gifts that keep on giving for BYU. Arizona, Utah State and Vermont figure to keep winning and give BYU the chance to have wins over three potential conference champions.

Now, the final piece of BYU's top-seed puzzle: Geography.

There are essentially three teams — BYU, Kansas and Texas — currently fighting for the top seeds in the tournament's Southwest and West regions. As it stands, ESPN's Joe Lunardi is projecting Kansas to head West (Anaheim) as the top seed and Texas to grab top billing in the Southwest (San Antonio).

But Kansas and Texas are Big 12 conference mates; only one of them can win their conference tournament. It would be tough for me to see the NCAA's selection committee saying a Kansas or Texas squad coming off a conference tournament loss is more worthy of a top seed than a conference-champion BYU squad with a higher RPI, to boot.

Bottom line: If BYU does its part — lose no more than one game and win its conference tournament — Jimmer's bunch will be headlining March Madness as a top seed.

“The Jimmer” went viral after scoring 43 points to lead No. 9 BYU past No. 4 San Diego State on Wednesday night, 71-58. Fredette did an interview on ESPN’s SportsCenter after his game, saw his name trend on Twitter that night and then had his game (and pro potential) analyzed in countless articles on Thursday.

In advance of BYU’s televised game on Saturday (1/29) (at New Mexico, 4 p.m., VERSUS), here’s a recap of the carnage in the aftermath of Fredette’s big night …

The Numbers

Before going into everyone’s reaction, let’s take a look at what caused such a stir …

•  Fredette scored 43 points, or 61 percent of his team’s points; the second highest scorer on BYU was Brandon Davies with 14 points.
• Fredette shot 14-of-24 from the floor, 5-of-8 from deep, and 10-of-11 from the foul line. He was the only BYU player to make a 3-pointer and made more free throws by himself than San Diego State. 
• In a stretch of time from 9:08 left in the first half to 18:45 left in the second half, Fredette was the only Cougar to score. During the stretch, Fredette scored 17 points and made 7-of-9 shots from the floor (2-of-2 from deep; 1-of-2 from the line). His streak ended when Davies made a two-point basket.

The Tweets

Here’s a sampling of some of the best tweets after Fredette’s performance, with any typos unchanged. Fredette trended on Twitter throughout the night after his breakout performance. The tweets came from a wide spectrum and touched on his performance, his unique name, race and NBA draft stock.

Kyle Buetler (theBeutlerdidit) wrote: Jimmer Fredette probably wouldn't be near as popular if it weren't for the fact his name is fun to say. #Jimmer

Joe Peters (J_Peters12) wrote: Come on SDSU!... Its like you forgot that Jimmer Fredette plays on the other team... #whatsthematterwithyou

Jason Smith (howaboutafresca) wrote: Watching Jimmer Fredette play is like watching Michael J Fox when he plays basketball as a werewolf in Teen Wolf. More tonight on ESPN Radio*

Nick Blake (fictionalninja) wrote: "Jimmer Fredette" is a cool name, but it's no "Fredder Jimmette." #betterlucknexttime

Steve Flynn (steveflynnlfc) wrote: I think Jimmer Fredette just scored on me.

Bobby Roberts (sweetbob) wrote: Jimmer Fredette was scheduled to be a 2nd round pick if he went pro last year. This year...He's a lottery pick, right?

Ian O’Connor (Ian_OConnor) wrote: Just watched Jimmer Fredette put on quite a show. But sorry, I still don't think his game will translate in the NBA.**

 Thomas Walker (TWEsq) wrote: Guess no one bothered to tell Jimmer Fredette that Woody Harrelson is not a good role model. #greatwhitehype

Adrian Wojnarowski (WojYahooNBA) wrote: Texted with a couple NBA execs at BYU tonight. Says one of Jimmer: "Normal questions about size and athleticism, but he's a special scorer." Later, Wojnarowski tweeted: Another NBA exec at BYU tonight: "Easier to teach 'D' than to drop 25 foot bombs in people's faces. Steph (Curry) didn't defend at Davidson either."***

Issac Boutte (thinicesports) wrote: I've seen the second coming of Larry Bird...and his name is Jimmer Fredette

*Jason Smith is the host of a show on ESPN Radio, “AllNight.”

**Ian O’Connor is a columnist for ESPNNewYork.com

***Adrian Wojnarowski is an NBA writer for Yahoo! Sports.

The Articles

More than a few articles were written about Fredette in the aftermath of his big night. Here’s a collection of a few of them …

Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski's take.

Wojnarowski went over how scouts looked at Fredette after last season, how close the Glens Falls product came to being a New Jersey Net and how he is faring battling the stereotypes that tend to plague American-born, white basketball players.

My Note: For those wondering, Fredette is a virtual first-round lock this season by all accounts, the question is just how high he goes. My bet is somewhere in the 10-24 range; the Utah Jazz own two first-round draft picks this season that both should in that range and it’s tough to imagine them not gobbling up a BYU star. If not them, don’t expect Danny Ainge – the Boston Celtics’ president of operation and BYU alum – to pass on Fredette in the late 20s.

AOL Fanhouse’s Terence Moore's take

This one will really resonate with readers who A) only vaguely know was Twitter is and B) had no clue what it mean to "trend" on Twitter. Moore compared Fredette to a couple of other prolific college scorers from yesteryear in the form of “Pistol” Pete Maravich and Austin Carr.

Rivals.com’s Jeff Eisenberg's take

If you liked reading the tweets above, this article is for you. Eisenberg goes over the national reaction to Fredette’s performance and how it seems the dead-eye shooter has developed a kind of cult-hero status.

Time' s Sean Gregory's take

Very similar to the article above, Gregory makes the argument that Fredette’s star-status is a product of the Twitter-age.

ESPN's Andy Katz's take 

The long-time ESPN college basketball writer makes the Player of the Year case for Fredette.