Have BYU and Utah basketball ever played games this close together?

When Utah and BYU play at the Marriott Center on Saturday, it will have been just two weeks since the two men’s basketball rivals last faced each other.

In that matchup at the Huntsman Center back on Jan. 10, the Runnin’ Utes battled tough before falling to then-No. 9 BYU 84-79.

“I’ve told our guys all year long, it’s fine to lose, but hopefully it’s not because we beat ourselves,” first-year Utah coach Alex Jensen said about what he recalls from that first game.

“Give credit to BYU, not to take anything away from them, but that’s been my message to them, ‘You’re better than you think you are.’ We’re capable of winning some of these games. I think it was encouraging. Rivalry games are fun. It was great to see the Huntsman Center full.”

The two-week span between games is uncommon in a historic rivalry wherein BYU has a slim 136-131 series record over the Runnin’ Utes — never in the modern era of college basketball, since the mid-1980s, have the two teams played two regular-season games this close together.

Back in the 1920s and 1930s, and even stretching some into the 1940s and 1950s, it was common for BYU and Utah to play each other on back-to-back days. The majority of the time, those games would be played at one venue, then switch to the other school’s arena for the next set of back-to-back games.

In the modern era, BYU and Utah have faced each other less than two weeks apart between meetings, but all four times (1991, 1992, 1994, 2004) the second contest was part of a conference tournament.

This year, the No. 13 Cougars (16-2, 4-1 Big 12) and Utes (9-10, Big 12) are getting the rivalry matchups out of the way before the calendar flips to February.

This time, a raucous Marriott Center crowd is expected when BYU hosts Utah on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. MST. The game will be televised on Fox.

Both Jensen and BYU coach Kevin Young, with their NBA backgrounds, are more familiar with facing opponents multiple times in a short period of time.

“It doesn’t happen a lot (in college), and Kevin’s a good coach. It’ll be interesting, because I think we’ll both try to make adjustments, and (we’ve) gotta be prepared if those don’t work, to have another one,” Jensen said.

In their first matchup, Utah junior guard Terrence Brown scored a game-high 25 points and added five assists, three rebounds and two blocked shots.

His guard mate, Don McHenry, had 21 points, two assists, two rebounds and a steal.

“I’ve been around so many people that live out here. They just take this rivalry so serious,” Brown said.

“Whether you’re from out here or not, it’s either you’re with Utah or you’re with BYU, so I definitely hear how much everybody takes it seriously, but at the same time I approach every game in the Big 12 the same. Every night’s a gauntlet.”

Even though Utah got out to a 7-0 lead in the first matchup then rallied from 13 down in the second half to make it a one-possession game on several occasions, BYU’s experience and talent won out with a group led by AJ Dybantsa, Rob Wright III and Richie Saunders.

Dybantsa had 20 points, six rebounds and four assists, Saunders put up 24 points and grabbed 14 rebounds (six offensive), while Wright added 23 points and six assists.

“AJ is who he is, but I think Richie is still underrated. His offensive rebounds at the end of the game were a big difference,” Jensen said.

“You got to (defend them) collectively. They’re going to score. We’re not going to hold them scoreless, but we got to do our best to determine where and when they get those shots.”

On Utah’s side, nearly everyone — outside of Jensen and junior forward Keanu Dawes — was new to the rivalry when they faced two weeks ago, and playing at the Marriott Center will again be a fresh experience.

The Utes are going into the contest as heavy underdogs — KenPom favors BYU by 19 points.

“I heard it’s pretty loud. The fans are pretty great down there,” Brown said, “so definitely I look forward to being down there. I heard how much their fans (support) their hometown team.”

Being a part of the Big 12 has given Utah experience already in high-pressure road situations. While they weren’t rivalry games, the Utes competed in hostile environments at Kansas State and Texas Tech over the past two weeks.

Brown, the Fairleigh Dickinson transfer who’s grown into a leadership role for the Utes, understands his job in helping Utah stay composed when it faces a rowdy road atmosphere.

“Just keeping my composure coming into the game, trying to settle down, not get too riled up. Obviously playing to the crowd, but not getting too into the crowd where I’m feeling sped up,” Brown said of handling the adversity.

“And just listen to what coach has for us for the game plan, and make sure I execute it, being a point guard, and make sure all of my teammates are composed.”

Utah has settled into an eight-man rotation, though it’s still waiting for the returns of Jacob Patrick and Lucas Langarita. Patrick hasn’t played since Dec. 6 due to an unspecified injury, and Langarita, a midyear addition from Spain, was hurt in the first game against BYU and played just four minutes.

They won’t be back for Saturday’s matchup — both are already listed as “out” on the Big 12 availability report — but Jensen said “they’re getting better” without defining any sort of timetable.

For the Utes, the focus is controlling the things they can control as they face BYU again, and avoid damaging lulls.

“We had a great start (last time). We’ve had bad starts and good starts. We’ve got to start the game off well, especially against a team like BYU,” Jensen said.

“But those lulls, we have those too many two, three minute lulls where we just lose our mind and we turn one mistake into two and three and then it’s an 8-2 run or a 10-4 run.

“It’s hard to get back against a team like BYU with that, so just limiting those (and) don’t turn one mistake into two or three.”

Source link