There are times when the occurences in and the outcome of a single game lie about the overall condition and direction of the teams involved. And there are times when that single game captures and summarizes conditions and directions accurately, speaking truth.<\/p>\n
With only a bit of fibbing, the latter was the case on Saturday night at the Huntsman Center, when and where BYU beat Utah by the count of 89-84. It may have been difficult for the Utes to absorb a rivalry loss, but they repped themselves well. No condescension intended. They took defeat because they had no choice. They\u2019re not as talented as the Cougars, and everybody knows that. The Utes got out-rebounded by 10, and that hurt them, as well. They fouled a lot because they had to. But no matter how near the top of their game they collectively played, outside of a wild upset, they were going to fall short. A skill disparity had that written in the stars.<\/p>\n
Still, that illustration at floor level, all the way down on Utah\u2019s home court, was faint, not bright.<\/p>\n
There have been occasions this season when the 15-1 Cougars, 3-0 in Big 12 play, have been slow to the gate before getting past lesser foes later, and that\u2019s pretty much what happened against the 8-8 Utes, who are now 0-3 in league games. Facing a hostile crowd that was made less so by a substantial invasion of blue, BYU gagged here and there before taking the lead and holding it down the stretch, even as the Utes made a valiant run.<\/p>\n
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Utes forward Keanu Dawes (8) makes the dunk over BYU Cougars center Abdullah Ahmed (34) as Utah hosts BYU, NCAA basketball in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026.<\/p>\n
Utah jumped out to a 7-zip lead, BYU fought back. This thing was a one-point game five minutes in. A two-point game 10 minutes in. Through the first half, it was the Cougars who looked a bit more shook, turning the ball over at a 7-2 disadvantage. On the other hand, the Utes struggled more in their shooting. The margin was two, favoring BYU, at the half.<\/p>\n
Via strong defense and mostly efficient offense, BYU opened its throttle early in the second half, going up, 57-45. The Cougars sustained just enough from there.<\/p>\n
The primary sustainers predictably were BYU\u2019s big three \u2014 freshman AJ Dybantsa, senior Richie Saunders and sophomore Rob Wright III. All of those guys came to or stayed at BYU to be coached by Kevin Young, on account of their desire to one day play in the NBA. That\u2019s not much of a question with Dybantsa, who likely will be either the top choice or one of the top choices in the coming NBA draft. The other two are scrambling to prove themselves.<\/p>\n
Against the Utes, Dybantsa scored 20 points, Wright got 23 and Saunders went for 24. All of them played per the norm on this night, point guard Wright cracking open Utah\u2019s defense, creating his own shots and setting up others. Saunders\u2019 quick release splashed jumpers and finished drives, and his greatest contribution emerged out of his important work on the boards, collecting 14 rebounds, six of them at the offensive end. And Dybantsa, who drew double-coverage for much of the game, sped and spun to get his looks, stopped, hopped and popped to make them, and regularly collapsed Ute defenders as they attempted to knock him off his game. When they knocked him too enthusiastically, he went to the line to hurt them with eight points from there. He also missed four free throws.<\/p>\n
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Utes forward Kendyl Sanders (13) pressures BYU Cougars forward AJ Dybantsa (3) as Utah hosts BYU, NCAA basketball in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s say it the way it is here: Dybantsa is unlike any player BYU has ever had. The Cougars have played ball for more than a century and they\u2019ve never had a dude like this. At 6-foot-9, he moves with both grace and intent, able to get to his spots and flush from wherever he chooses to find them. He could draw double-digit fouls whenever he pleases because it takes multiple guys to guard him and they often arrive with too much contact.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s vulnerable, at times, when his shot from distance betrays him, but, under the watch of Young, he\u2019s gotten more aggressive as the season has burrowed into the Big 12 schedule. He likes to share the ball, which is admirable, even if he\u2019s usually BYU\u2019s best option. But, as noted, he\u2019s got help, too.<\/p>\n
As for the Utes, they have their own hill to climb, but there were encouraging moments on display against the Cougars. First-year coach Alex Jensen, the longtime NBA assistant who\u2019s returned home to breathe life into a program that needs it, is trying and will attempt to follow Young\u2019s model of drawing in talented, ambitious players with designs on eventually going pro and needing refinement en route.<\/p>\n
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) BYU Cougars center Keba Keita (13) knocks down a shot attempt by Utah Utes guard Terrence Brown (2) as Utah hosts BYU, NCAA basketball in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026.<\/p>\n
Terrence Brown, a nice player, scored 25 points here, Don McHenry got 21. Jensen has those guys, as well as the knowledge and experience to help others. Still, his group of players isn\u2019t yet at the level where they can consistently take advantage of what Jensen has to offer. If he ever gets enough ballers, if he has the NIL resources to lure them in, perhaps he will mirror what Young is doing at BYU.<\/p>\n
The reflection, the comparison, in this game was an admirably close measure, as mentioned, a bit closer than the actual disparity in overall ability. Doesn\u2019t mean it will always be like that; things can change. But for the time being, that\u2019s just the way it is. No lie. At present, that\u2019s the truth, an open highway to lofty expectations for BYU and some miles of road work ahead for Utah. All of it showcased in clear view, in honorable competition, in a single game at the Huntsman Center on Saturday night.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There are times when the occurences in and the outcome of a single game lie about the overall…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":529560,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3724],"tags":[7,1955,15557],"class_list":["post-529559","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-basketball","tag-basketball","tag-university-of-utah","tag-utes"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/115876819399971396","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/529559","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=529559"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/529559\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/529560"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=529559"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=529559"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=529559"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}