There has been a trend in the Mountain West Conference this season of the home team actually having an advantage in its building. Utah will try to continue that theme tonight as it hosts archrival BYU.
Utah is coming off of a loss on the road to UNLV, returning home with a 3-2 conference record but also the chance to be in contention for first place with a win.
“We started out the conference protecting our home floor,” said center Luke Nevill. “So this is a huge game for us. Whoever comes on our home court, we want to beat them, especially BYU.”
Out of 48 games within the MWC this season, only six of those have resulted in road wins, with no team winning more than once away from home. Utah has been one of those teams to pick up a road win8212;it came a couple of weeks ago against Air Force. Utah’s big wins, however, have been at home this season.
“It’s huge in our conference in general just to defend our home court,” Shaun Green said. “We got two big home games, but the BYU game’s first and I know everybody will be here watching it.”
The Mountain West has developed into a competitive conference from top to bottom. UNLV and TCU top the standings with a 4-2 record, and four teams are within half a game of that mark. Midway through the season, it looks as if three of the six teams with two losses could make it to March Madness. With a rivalry game between two 3-2 teams, this early season matchup between BYU and Utah holds a lot of weight.
“The neat thing about our league right now is that every game is a huge game,” said head coach Jim Boylen. “And then you throw a rivalry on top of it8212;it’s why we all grew up playing. This is what it’s all about.”
Boylen is no stranger to rivalry games. In the pros, it was the Houston Rockets vs. the San Antonio Spurs. As an assistant in the Midwest, it was Michigan State vs. Wisconsin. He understands what this rivalry means to the U and it’s a game he’s looked forward to this season.
“It’s as big as it gets,” Boylen said. “It encompasses the state and people follow it, people are excited about it. It’s great, and it’s why I wanted to come here.”
Some still don’t see it as a must-win situation yet.
“I don’t think it’s (a must-win game), it’s just one of those games you want to win,” said Carlon Brown. “It’s like a Utah Jazz-Los Angeles Lakers game8212;just something you want to be proud of for the fans to enjoy.”
Year in and year out, Utah can expect the same style of play from the Cougars. Boylen got a sample of it last year8212;great shooting around the perimeter and toughness all around. The Cougars are shooting 50 percent from the field this season and outrebounding their opponents 37-32 per game. But as always, most statistical analyses go out the window when these polar opposites go at it.
Lennie MahlerComing of a road loss at UNLV, Luke Nevill and the Utes hope to protect their home floor against archrival BYU tonight at the Huntsman Center at 8 p.m.