Red vs. Blue: More at stake than just bragging rights on Saturday

Courtesy BYU Photo
BYU's Richie Saunders goes in for a layup during a men's college basketball game against Utah at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023.Heading into the 265th meeting between BYU and Utah in men’s basketball, neither team has the luxury of making Saturday’s game at the Huntsman Center just about the rivalry.
For the first time since 2011, the Cougars and Utes are playing in the same conference, fighting for a spot in the post-season in the Big 12. Sure, a victory gives the winning team bragging rights in a series that has been remarkably close over the years, with BYU currently holding a 134-130 advantage. But the winner also moves up in the conference standings and can pick up a valuable Quad 1 victory for its resume.
Both teams are coming off of wins. The Utes, which started Big 12 play 0-3, have won two in a row and did something the Cougars could not do: Beat TCU in Forth Worth.
BYU had a roller coaster performance on Tuesday against Oklahoma State in the Marriott Center, leading by as many as 27 points in the first half and seeing that lead evaporate to just three in the second before winning by 16.
The connections between the two schools just 48 miles apart are many and varied. BYU starting forward Keba Keita actually scored ten points against the Cougars just last year while playing at Utah. He transferred to the enemy last spring. Fifth-year senior Hunter Erickson was at BYU for two seasons (2020-2022) as was forward Caleb Lohner, who originally committed to the Utes but played two years at BYU (2020-2022) before leaving for Baylor. Lohner returned to Salt Lake City this spring and actually played football for Utah this fall.
There’s more. Utah sophomore forward Jake Wahlin prepped at Timpview High School and originally committed to the Cougars. Junior forward Keanu Dawes, who considered BYU after leaving Rice for the transfer portal last spring, is the nephew of former Cougar player Derek Dawes.
BYU assistant coach Chris Burgess has perhaps the most interesting ties with the rivalry. As the No. 1 prep basketball player in the country in 1997, he famously spurned BYU for Duke, which prompted former Cougar coach Roger Reid to utter the “you’re disappointing nine million Mormons” quote. Burgess actually finished out his college career at Utah and played professionally overseas for ten years. He then coached under Mark Pope at Utah Valley and BYU (2015-2022) before leaving for his alma mater (2022-2024), only to return to the Cougars this spring when Kevin Young took over the program.
As Young quipped on his BYUtv coach’s show this week, “For as much bad blood as the two school have, there are a lot of traitors going on.”
Young and most of the rest of his coaching staff have very few ties to the BYU-Utah rivalry. Young said he remembers watching the Cougars and Utes play the third game on ESPN’s “Big Monday” in his family’s basement when he was a youngster growing up in Georgia.
“I was never a huge BYU guy,” Young admitted, “but I was always staying up late and watching the old BYU teams play. Obviously, I’m very familiar with how much this game means. As a professional coach, I had several guys who played at the U, so I know what it’s about. I personally don’t make a whole lot out of those types of things. Having Keba, like the ultimate traitor going from Utah to BYU, I’m sure he’ll have an earful up there, and Burgess as well. So it’ll be fun.”
Cougar senior guard Trevin Knell is 2-2 in his career against the Utes, with wins in 2020 and 2021 and losses in 2019 and 2023. Knell missed the 2022 season because of a shoulder injury and didn’t play in a 75-66 BYU victory at the Marriott Center.
“We’re super fortunate to be able to play in a rivalry like this,” Knell said. “I think it means even that much more with the fact that they’re now in the Big 12 Conference. I was just telling the team, ‘Guys, get ready,’ because their stadium might not be as full, but this game is gonna be rocking. We’ve got to come out ready to go. They’re really well coached. They beat OSU pretty good and they’ve hung with a lot of really good teams. So it’s gonna be a fun little matchup. These games always go down the wire, so I’m really pumped to play in this rivalry again. It’s going to be awesome.”
SCOUTING REPORT
The Utes opened Big 12 play with losses on the road to a pair of ranked teams (No. 25 Baylor and No. 3 Iowa State) sandwiched around a blowout loss to Texas Tech at home (93-65). But Utah has rebounded with win against Oklahoma State (83-62) and at TCU (73-65).
Graduate guard Gabe Madsen averaged better than 20 points per game during non-conference play but his scoring has dipped in the Big 12 to 16.2. He’s still a streaky shooter who had 17 points in last year’s Utah 73-69 win in Salt Lake City against BYU. The Utes led 45-31 at halftime and held off a late charge by the Cougars, who had the ball with 41 seconds left down two points but turned the ball over.
East Carolina transfer Ezra Ausar (10.4 ppg) and 7-foot-1 Lawson Lovering (10.3) give Utah a strong inside presence and the 6-9 Dawes, who averages 7.8 points per game, has scored a season-high 16 points in both of his past two games.
The Utes are good at sharing the ball and lead the conference during Big 12 play in assists (18.2 per game), led by Baylor transfer Miro Little (4.3 per game) and San Francisco transfer Mike Sharavjamts (3.2). Utah is also second in blocked shots (5.4 per game).
Men’s College Basketball
BYU (11-5, 2-3 Big 12) at Utah (10-6, 2-3 Big 12)
Saturday, 7 p.m. MT
Huntsman Center, Salt Lake City
TV/Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: KSL 102.7 FM/1160 AM, BYU Radio
Live stats: byucougars.com
The Word: This is the 265th meeting between BYU and Utah on the basketball floor. … The Cougars lead the series 134-130. … The Utes won last year’s meeting in Salt Lake City 73-69. … The two teams will play twice this season, the first time that’s happened since they were Mountain West Conference foes in 2011.