Provo • Two years and two weeks after Utah downed BYU 83-75 at the Huntsman Center to extend its winning streak in the rivalry to three games, the Utes and Cougars will meet again on Saturday BYU’s Marriott Center.
Neither team is threatening to crack the national rankings or challenge for a conference title, although the Pac-12 certainly looks winnable for Utah with few elite teams in the league this season. Both clubs are enjoying winning seasons — BYU is 8-2 and Utah is 7-2 — but the game never needs any extra hype, BYU coach Dave Rose said Saturday night after the Cougars held off Weber State 74-68 in the Beehive Classic.
“We are looking forward to it. I think it will have a lot of unnecessary hype, because of the things we have gone through,” Rose said, alluding to how Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak backed out of contracted game in Provo in 2016, citing safety issues. “I think it is two teams that are improving and are getting ready for conference and it should be a really highly contested game. I look forward to it.”
Utah at BYU<br>When • Saturday, 9 p.m.<br>TV • ESPN2
Both teams will be rested and ready, because neither has a game between now and Saturday. The Cougars need a break, Rose said, because they have played six of their 10 games away from home and made two trips to the East Coast since their opener a month ago.
“We will have our guys ready. And I am sure they will be ready for us,” Rose said.
Moments after they took down the shorthanded Wildcats, the Cougars were peppered with questions about Utah’s first trip to the Marriott Center since Dec. 10, 2014, when the No. 13 Utes got a 65-61 win.
“It is a big deal, yeah,” said guard McKay Cannon, the Weber State transfer from Shelley, Idaho. “I know a lot of BYU fans from home, so I grew up with that tradition over there as well. I have learned more about the rivalry since [arriving] at BYU, so I am excited this week.”
Sophomore guard TJ Haws watched his brother, Tyler, go 3-2 against the Utes.
“I am super excited for it,” TJ Haws said. “I have been watching it since I was a little kid. I am really excited to be a part of it this time.”
Home away from home
With their Beehive Classic win over the Wildcats, the Cougars are now 17-4 overall at the Utah Jazz’s arena, including 13-1 under Rose. They have won 12 straight games at what is now called Vivint Smart Home Arena.
“It was a blast,” Haws said of the latest venture to Salt Lake City. “It is very fun to play in an NBA arena, especially with all the instate teams here, so hopefully [the Beehive Classic] will keep going and it comes back again.”
BYU will play Utah next year, while Utah State will take on Weber State. In 2019, BYU and Utah State will face off before or after Utah meets Weber State.
“There are a couple other teams that are pretty good teams we could probably include in it,” Rose said, throwing in a plug, presumably, for Southern Utah and Utah Valley. “I thought it was a good day of basketball. It is not the funnest thing to do, to play instate games, but it is what college basketball needs in the state of Utah.”
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