3 takeaways from No. 9 BYU’s win over rival Utah

BYU’s 12th consecutive win may have been its sweetest to date.

The Cougars defeated rival Utah 89-84 Saturday night in Salt Lake City, earning their first victory at the Huntsman Center since 2021.

Kevin Young’s squad is now 15-1 on the season and 3-0 in Big 12 play.

3 takeaways

The Cougars made life difficult for themselves. Seemingly every BYU-Utah matchup at the Huntsman Center ends up being rather chaotic, but the Cougars were definitely to blame for some of the drama Saturday.

BYU allowed the Runnin’ Utes to open the night on a 7-0 run, then let a 12-point second half lead to dwindle down to just a single point in less than seven minutes.

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The Cougars shot just 6 of 26 from 3-point range, missed 10 free throws — including six in the second half — and gave up the most points of the season to an opponent not named UConn.

While free throws were a struggle throughout the night, Richie Saunders knocked down two crucial ones in the final seconds to ice the victory.

It may have been ugly for BYU at times, but a win is a win, especially against a heated rival and in a venue that has too often been a haunted house for the Cougars in their history.

The “Brig 3″ was exceptional once again. Of BYU’s 89 points against Utah, 67 came from the superstar trio of Saunders, AJ Dybantsa and Rob Wright III.

The Salt Lake County native Saunders scored a team-high 24 points on 9 of 16 shooting, notching a double-double by grabbing 14 rebounds — eight coming on the offensive glass.

Dybantsa posted yet another 20-point outing — his ninth in a row — with six rebounds and four assists in what will be his last time playing in Salt Lake City until he suits up for or against the Utah Jazz a year from now.

Wright added 23 points with six assists, scoring 15 points in the first half to keep the Cougars’ offense afloat early and scoring another six points in the final minutes of crunch time when some of his teammates had gone cold.

Additionally, Keba Keita scored 11 points with seven boards against his former team, adding a thunderous spiked block for good measure, and fifth starter Kennard Davis Jr. ended with eight points and two made 3-pointers.

BYU made history on the Hill. Prior to Saturday, not only had the Cougars failed to win at the Huntsman Center since 2021, but they’d only managed two total wins there since Jimmer Fredette graduated.

For as frustrating as Saturday’s action may have been at times for Cougar Nation, no one should complain about a road victory against Utah. They don’t grow on trees.

The win also marks BYU’s 12th in a row and secures the first-ever 3-0 Big 12 start for the Cougars as well.

BYU shot 50% from the field against Utah and dished out 16 team assists. The Cougars, who led for more than 31 minutes of play, also won the battle down low with 46 paint points and a 41-33 rebounding margin.