The University of Utah men’s basketball team suffered their third loss of the season on Saturday, falling to the BYU Cougars on the road in Provo. It was an off night for the Utes from the beginning, who struggled to shoot the ball and couldn’t match BYU’s energy from the opening tip.

BYU’s Fousseyni Traore got off to a fast start for the Cougars, scoring the first 10 points of the game for the guys in blue. Traore is a big, athletic forward who made life tough on Branden Carlson on a couple possessions in the first few minutes, prompting a call for Keba Keita off the bench in the early going. 

Keita stayed in the game when Carlson came back in a few minutes later. Coach Craig Smith had talked about wanting to run a double-big frontcourt a lot last season, but didn’t get a chance due to injuries. They have not deployed this lineup often, but Smith went to it just five minutes into the game in Provo. 

BYU was clearly making it a point to get Traore touches in the post. He started off very hot, but the Utes adjusted and made it tougher for him to get to his spots as the first half went along. The rest of the Cougars started to get hot from three, including back to back shots from Rudi Williams to put BYU up 26-22. 

It was a strong close to the first half from BYU, keeping the Utes at arm’s length. Utah had a couple sloppy turnovers and a few missed passes, but they hung in the game despite some issues. Halftime brought a score of 31-35, with the Cougars in front. Carlson led the Utes with 12 points, with Traore and Williams each scoring 12 for BYU.

The second half started tough for the Utes as BYU pushed the lead to nine points just four minutes in. Utah was forcing the ball to Carlson and settling for tough jumpers, which weren’t going in. The Cougars got good looks inside during that stretch, and capitalized on Utah’s poor defense.

As is typical with rivalry games, this one evolved into a slugfest down the stretch. Both teams tightened up their defense, but the Utes’ offensive shot selection made it easy for BYU to get stops. They stopped passing and settled for contested jumpers that weren’t going in. A big swing play happened when Lazar Stefanovic missed an easy layup, leading to Jaxson Robinson leaking out and scoring on the other end to push the lead to 10 points with eight to play.

From the 14 minute mark until around five minutes left, Utah scored exactly two points. That is not a recipe to win a basketball game, but that didn’t stop the Utes from trying. Over the next two minutes, they suddenly started to look like a basketball team again, cutting the lead to just six and prompting a timeout from BYU coach Mark Pope.

Utah cut the BYU lead as low as three, but the Cougars promptly went on a 5-0 run to snap right back in front by eight points. Gideon George missed a three pointer, Traore grabbed the rebound and got the ball to Dallin Hall, who drained a triple. With time running low for the Utes, they couldn’t quite complete the comeback, falling to BYU 75-66 following a lot of late free throws.

“It should hurt. If losing doesn’t hurt, then we’ve got the wrong group of guys in the locker room,” said Smith. “This was a big game for both programs, and we’re not going to shy away from that, and yeah, it stings.”

Utah will face Texas Christian University at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Dec. 21. It’s a good opportunity for a bounce back win after a disappointing loss.

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