What will ‘last blast’ outside the same conference hold for Cougars, Runnin’ Utes?
For BYU and Utah, Saturday marks the end of an era — again.
When the No. 14 Cougars (8-0) and Runnin’ Utes (6-2) tip off at the Hunstman Center (5 p.m., Pac-12 Network) it will mark the final battle outside of the same conference since BYU beat Utah 61-42 in Salt Lake City in 2011.
Cougars, Utes on the air
No. 14 BYU (8-0)
at Utah (6-2)
Saturday, 5 p.m. MST
Jon M. Huntsman Center
Salt Lake City, Utah
TV: Pac-12 Networks
BYU radio: 102.7 FM/1160 AM
Utah radio: 700 AM
The following summer, on July 1, both programs left the Mountain West Conference. BYU joined the WCC and Utah signed up for the Pac-12. On July 1, 2023, 12 years later, BYU officially joined the Big 12. Utah, after the Pac-12 collapsed when heavyweights Oregon and Washington chose to follow USC and UCLA into the Big Ten, also accepted an invitation to join the Big 12.
No matter the crooked roads it took to get here, starting next year, the Cougars and Utes will be together again in the same conference, just like they were between 1922 and 2010. They are also likely to return to a home-and-home series during the regular season with potential for a third meeting in the conference tournament.
This is how it should be.
Staging six games between birthright rivals over the last 13 years is not enough. Even as the basketball rivalry pales in comparison to how everybody feels about football, playing the game as conference members still carries weight for bragging rights, recruiting and in the standings. Plus, it’s fun!
Making games happen outside of a conference is conditional on the relationships between administrators and coaches, the quality of the teams and even the venues. When BYU joined the Big 12, the longstanding rivalry with Utah State went out the door. The Smith Spectrum in Logan is a tough place to play and with the Cougars’ admittance into arguably the toughest basketball conference in America, going to Utah State no longer made sense.
Utah did the same thing when they joined the Pac-12. The Utes haven’t been to Logan since 2010 after the Aggies beat them 79-62. Fortunately, for the BYU-Utah series, the Utes were still willing to play, but on their terms.
The Marriott Center is difficult for any opponent, and it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Utah has only played in Provo three times since 2014.
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Conference affiliation wipes all the gamesmanship out. No one gets to big time anybody else by defining the terms. The teams play when and where the Big 12 directs. Considering commissioner Brett Yormark’s affection for rivalries, the BYU-Utah series will not only be protected, but promoted.
Saturday’s last blast as Pac-12 vs. Big 12 foes will be the 264th overall meeting between the two teams. The Cougars lead the series against Utah 134-129, including victories in 12 of the last 16 games. Adding to the intrigue is the fact that BYU is No. 1 in the NET rankings for the first time in program history, including the years when RPI was used to determine NCAA Tournament teams.
Player turnover may create new combatants, but it doesn’t change a thing for the fans. Only Branden Carlson remains on the Utah roster that played in the 75-64 defeat to BYU at the Huntsman Center in 2021 and the 7-footer is questionable for Saturday with an undisclosed injury.
Spencer Johnson, Trevin Knell and Fousseyni Traore are the only remaining Cougars to know what it’s like to compete against the Utes. They each saw action in 2021 and like Carlson, Traore, BYU’s star center, is also dealing with health issues and is doubtful for Saturday’s game.
Everybody else is brand new to this clash that will mark the end to an era of conference separation and make way for a restoration for one of college basketball’s greatest rivalries — a rivalry game that hasn’t been played nearly enough since 2011 after both programs went their separate ways.
Dave McCann is a contributor to the Deseret News and is a play-by-play announcer and show host for BYUtv/ESPN+. He co-hosts “Y’s Guys” at ysguys.com and is the author of the children’s book “C is for Cougar” available at deseretbook.com.
Correction: The original version of this article stated that Utah hasn’t been to BYU’s Marriott Center since 2014. The Utes played there last year, and also in 2020 (COVID year).
