It’s not often that an upcoming BYU-Utah rivalry matchup is overshadowed by other news.
But that’s the case right now as the 23rd-ranked Cougars prepare to host the Runnin’ Utes Saturday night (8 p.m. MST, ESPNU) for the second time this season in the regular season finale for both sides.
The Cougars come in on a seven-game winning streak — with three wins over ranked opponents, including an 88-85 double-overtime thriller at No. 10 Iowa State Tuesday — and are one of the nation’s hottest teams as the regular season comes to an end.
The Utes, meanwhile, are coming off a tough two-point loss to West Virginia in their home finale Tuesday. More of the buzz surrounding Utah, though, is that the university has found its new men’s basketball coach, as Runnin’ Utes legend Alex Jensen is taking over for Craig Smith, who was fired less than two weeks ago.
That almost makes Saturday’s matchup fly under the radar a bit, even for a BYU-Utah game.
Utah interim coach Josh Eilert said the Utes used Wednesday as a day off for the players to rest up ahead of the season finale and recover from an emotional loss on Senior Night when six senior Utes were honored.
Following the rivalry game, the Utes and Cougars will be headed to the Big 12 tournament in Kansas City.
“It was a decent practice, but we try to avoid contact. I’m trying to save as much legs as possible and go into Saturday (with) fresh minds and fresh legs and knowing that we’re going to turn around and travel on Sunday as well and be competing early next week in Kansas City,” Eilert said Friday.
“For a coach, it’s kind of a balancing act this time of year, how much you can possibly get done going five-on-five. They’ve had a great attitude through the whole process, and we’re excited to get after it today and be ready to go tomorrow.”
Things have changed for both programs since their first meeting this year early in the Big 12 conference schedule, when Utah beat BYU 73-72 in overtime back in January.
“They’re on the rise. They’re playing as good as anybody in the country. I think some of that’s just everything’s been steady for them. We’ve gone through some rocky times here in the last few weeks, what we’re dealing with.”
— Utah interim coach Josh Eilert, on the game against BYU
The Cougars are on their aforementioned seven-game winning streak and have sorted out some earlier issues under first-year head coach Kevin Young.
The Utes have secured wins over teams like Kansas and Kansas State and were on a five-game winning streak at home before Tuesday’s loss, though their biggest struggles this season have come on the road — they’re a combined 1-10 in road/neutral games.
That has BYU trending toward a solid seed in the NCAA tournament, while Utah is trying to finish a trying season on a positive note.
“They’re on the rise. They’re playing as good as anybody in the country,” Eilert said of BYU. “I think some of that’s just everything’s been steady for them. We’ve gone through some rocky times here in the last few weeks, what we’re dealing with.”
In that first matchup, Utah was a slight favorite over BYU in national metrics like ESPN Analytics, KenPom and Haslametrics, while Bart Torvik had BYU as the slight favorite.
This go-round, the Cougars are the overwhelming favorite on their home court.
“But that doesn’t mean that we’re not coming out with 100% discipline and what we’re trying to do, and an effort,” Eilert said of Saturday’s game. “(We’re) excited for another matchup with a rival just down the road.”
Utah, despite being the underdog, is taking a two-game win streak in the series into its latest matchup with BYU.
In addition to the win over the Cougars this year, the Utes beat then-No. 13 BYU last season at the Huntsman Center in another nail-biter.
Utah senior center Lawson Lovering, who’s in his second season with the Utes after transferring from Colorado, has never lost to BYU, with two wins over the Cougars at the Huntsman Center.
This will be his first experience playing at the Marriott Center. Lovering said he is excited for the rivalry matchup because “you get a ton of adrenaline from those games” with all the energy in the building.
“I hear a lot of things about how hostile they are down there. We want to see firsthand and see how it is, and I’m excited to put on my shoes and go play and see how that atmosphere really stacks up,” Lovering said. “I love rivalry games and this one, this will be a lot of fun.”
It will be the first time that Utah fifth-year guard Hunter Erickson plays at the Marriott Center since he started his career at BYU, playing for the Cougars for a pair of seasons from 2020-22.
“Especially with how they’ve been playing recently and everything, they always have an incredible game experience down there and it’s going to be super fun to be down there as an opponent for the first time,” Erickson said.
“It’s just a great atmosphere that they always have. I think it just adds energy to the game for both teams, and I think that’s going to be something we can feed on. We’ve got guys that love stepping up to the plate, so it’ll be good.”
It’s also the first time that BYU and Utah will play two games in a season since 2011, when the Cougars and Utes were last in a conference together in the Mountain West.
Erickson, who is a Utah native and starred at Timpview High not far from BYU’s campus, is embracing the chance for the Utes and Cougars to play twice again in a season, with the schools now together in the Big 12 Conference.
“I think it’s fantastic. I just think it’s great for the games and this conference,” he said. “I think rivalries and the fan bases getting behind games are really what makes college basketball college basketball, and just being able to do it twice in a year at home just adds to it.”
