Provo • Gavin Petersen didn’t have to be reminded about the importance of this game.
Coming off a much-needed win over No. 22 West Virginia this week, Utah and its head coach were in search of a second straight victory in the Big 12 to deepen its NCAA Tournament resume and climb up the conference standings.
The Utes just so happened to be facing their in-state rival BYU on the road, and they walked into Provo and lost to the Cougars 77-65 on Saturday afternoon.
After the Utes led by 10 points before halftime, BYU stormed back in the fourth quarter to take the game after Utah’s offense went stagnant in the second half, shooting 8 of 30 from the field and 2 of 14 from range.
“Our second half woes finally caught up to us,” Petersen said after the loss. “We’ve got to figure out how to start our third quarters a little bit better. Our coaching staff will get after that to make sure we do that, so that doesn’t keep reoccurring for us. Whether it’s at home on the road — it doesn’t matter —the opponents in our conference are way too good to be spotting them points early on in that third period."
The Utes are now 15-7 on the season and 6-4 in conference play. The Cougars improved to 16-6 and 5-5 in the Big 12.
“Tremendous game, just fun to be a part,” BYU coach Lee Cummard said. “There’s an emotion and energy that’s different than other games. And we came out flat. First half wasn’t great, not very connected and it was completely different in the second half. We had connectivity on both sides of the ball.
“The competitive spirit that they showed in the second half was way, way better than the first half.”
Ute senior guard Lani White had a team-high 20 points.
BYU’s comeback efforts were led by sophomore guard/forward Brinley Cannon, who finished with 21 points. The Shelley, Idaho, native had 15 points in the second half.
“I think they did a tremendous job of putting people in the pick and roll to have to either switch or help off of certain people,” Petersen said. “We were missing our assignments. We’ve talked about it over and over again — whether it was at practice or in between timeout — We’ve just got to do a better job of when the lights are on and the clock is running. We’ve got to be dialed in and not let those mistakes hurt us.”
After the first quarter, the Utes held a 18-14 lead over BYU, led in part by a team-high six points from White. The Utes extended their lead to a 35-25 margin by halftime, holding the Cougars to 10 of 29 mark from the field at the break.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) BYU players celebrate the win over Utah, NCAA basketball in Provo on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026.
The Cougars shrunk the Utes’ lead to four points by the end of the third period. Utah went cold from the field, shooting 4 for 15 overall and 1 of 6 from three-point range in the third quarter.
Petersen said BYU’s defensive pressure on ball screens resulted in Utah going cold offensively. The Utes had 16 of their 22 overall turnovers in the third and fourth quarters on Saturday.
“I think, for sure, it was an effort thing,” Cannon said. “I think coming out of halftime, we had more intensity defensively, and that kind of just led to more turnovers and then fueled our offense.”
BYU took its first lead of the game with 8:45 left in the contest off a bucket from Cannon beyond the arc, putting the U. down 54-52. BYU ended the game on a 9-0 run, icing the game in its favor with a 12-point win.
Next the Utes travel to take on UCF at 5 p.m. MST on Wednesday, Feb. 5, in Orlando, Florida. BYU too will also hit the road to take on Kansas at 5:30 p.m. MST in Lawrence, Kansas.
“We’ve got to bounce back and not let one loss become two,” Petersen said. “That’s when it can become dangerous, when you show up on Monday, and you have that loser’s limp and everybody’s kind of in their feelings.
“It’s turn the page, tip your hat and move on.”
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