SALT LAKE CITY — The longest basketball series in the state will continue with the University of Utah and BYU agreeing to a four-game extension. The first game of the extension will take place at BYU on Dec. 12 at the Marriott Center in Provo.
The Utes and Cougars will play at the Huntsman Center in 2021, in Provo in 2022 and in Salt Lake City in 2023, the Utah sports information office announced Friday.
Later, BYU also announced the news, including a statement from coach Mark Pope.
“BYU vs. Utah is one of the greatest rivalries in college basketball,” Pope said. “We love playing the in-state games. They are a hallmark for college basketball and are so special for our players and fans. We can’t wait to get back on the court to get ready for next season.”
The two rivals have played 260 times over the past 110 years with BYU holding a 131-129 series edge following the Utes’ 102-95 overtime victory this past season in Salt Lake. Since Larry Krystkowiak became coach in 2011, the series has been 4-4.
The first game between the two schools was in 1909 and except for two years, they’ve played every year since, as many as five times per season. There was no game in 1944 during World War II and none in 2016 when Utah chose to take a year’s hiatus in the aftermath of the 2015 game when BYU’s Nick Emery slugged Utah’s Brandon Taylor.
Utah will have two fewer nonconference games this year because the Pac-12 will be playing a 20-game schedule this season. The Utes also have a road game at Missouri scheduled for Nov. 13 and will also play in the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas Nov. 25-27 with teams such as Duke, Ohio State, West Virginia and Memphis. Two scheduled home games will be Nov. 10 against Utah Valley and Nov. 20 against Cal State Fullerton.
In addition to playing Utah at home in 2020, the Cougars, who finished 24-8 last season in Pope’s first season at the helm, will play in the 2020 Junkanoo Jam on the island of Bimini in the Bahamas Nov. 17-21. BYU faces Boston College, George Mason and Tulsa in a round-robin tournament. The rest of the nonconference schedule for 2020-21 will be announced at a later date.