PROVO, Utah – BYU head coach Mark Pope likes to start a lot of his sentences with the word, “this.” For example, “This Dalton Nixon, come on now, he’s extraordinary.” Well, after No. 23 BYU defeated No. 2 Gonzaga on Saturday night, one can only say, “This Mark Pope is extraordinary.”

A man of his word. FREE CUBBY’S FOR THE ROC 🙌 @CoachMarkPope pic.twitter.com/RTQRgpxOzg — The ROC (@byuROC) February 23, 2020

After handing the Zags their first loss in Provo in six years, Pope worked up an appetite. Pope and his family left the Marriott Center late Saturday night and then headed over to Cubby’s on Cougar Blvd. in Provo to get some food.

Coach Pope just walked into Cubby’s, slapped his card on the register and said @byuROC eats on me. Unreal human being — Joe Wheat (@joewheat27) February 23, 2020

Joining Pope and his wife LeeAnne at Cubby’s were around 200 BYU students from The ROC. BYU’s student section had camped out for days and helped create one of the best atmospheres the Marriott Center has ever seen.

#BYU head coach Mark Pope celebrated with his kids, BYU fans, and wife LeeAnne after the historic win over No. 2 Gonzaga.#BYUhoops #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/htdZVXpGT1 — KSL Sports (@kslsports) February 23, 2020

According to one of the BYU students at the restaurant, Joe Wheat, Pope walked into Cubby’s, put his card on the register and told the employees that the BYU ROC eats on Pope. The tab on Pope’s card had run up to $1,600 according to Wheat.

[UPDATE: The total ended up at $1,800.]

Students were eating well after the big win courtesy of this Mark Pope.

Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for KSLsports.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12-3 pm) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.