first team out in ESPN\u2019s latest bracketology<\/a>, with Big 12 foes Colorado and Arizona State just ahead of it in the bubble.<\/p>\nThen came the 86-74 loss to the rival Cougars at the Huntsman Center.<\/p>\n
The Utes\u2019 second loss of the year to the Cougars undoubtedly damaged their March Madness hopes.<\/p>\n
But it apparently hasn\u2019t diminished head coach Gavin Petersen\u2019s belief.<\/p>\n
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) BYU Cougars guard Delaney Gibb (11) as Utah hosts BYU, NCAA basketball in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think nothing changes from our program\u2019s perspective,\u201d Petersen said of the NCAA Tournament. \u201cI told the team after the game, I expect nothing but their best and their focus. They\u2019ve shown it all season long. They\u2019re a resilient group, and we\u2019re going to just get back after it and try to get a win in Boulder.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not going to deter from that. We\u2019re going to try to go 1-0 and come back here for senior night.\u201d<\/p>\n
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) BYU Cougars guard Delaney Gibb (11) as Utah hosts BYU, NCAA basketball in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026.<\/p>\n
Utah still has a chance to extend its streak of four straight tournament appearances, though.<\/p>\n
The program still has two big wins against No. 12 TCU and No. 19 West Virginia on its resume.<\/p>\n
Utah is now 17-11 and sits ninth in the conference standings.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo be honest. I think the coaching and the teams in this conference, it\u2019s no joke,\u201d Petersen said. \u201cI think it\u2019s one of the best conferences in the country, hands down, from top to bottom. I mean, just look at all those records. We\u2019re beating up on each other, and it\u2019s just a log jam. <\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t penalize the Big 12 for that. The Big 12 is a great conference, and any team \u2014 including ourselves \u2014 that can get into the NCAA Tournament, they\u2019re going to be somebody to have to contend with.”<\/p>\n
The Utes will still need more to keep themselves in the March Madness conversation.<\/p>\n
First, the Utes will have to beat Colorado (a quadrant-one opportunity) on the road on Feb. 24, then return home on Feb. 28 to do the same against Arizona, which is currently second-to-last in the Big 12 standings. <\/p>\n
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) The MUSS, Utah fans as Utah hosts BYU, NCAA basketball in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026.<\/p>\n
A loss to either could be the final nail in the coffin to Utes\u2019 NCAA Tournament hopes. Petersen and Utah\u2019s business doesn\u2019t end there, though. They\u2019ll need to win a game or two (maybe even three) to solidify their spot in the 64-team field.<\/p>\n
Utah\u2019s chances at earning a fifth consecutive NCAA Tournament bid remain in jeopardy in the meantime. <\/p>\n
For over 150 years, The Salt Lake Tribune has been Utah\u2019s independent news source. Our reporters work tirelessly to uncover the stories that matter most to Utahns, from unraveling the complexities of court rulings to allowing tax payers to see where and how their hard earned dollars are being spent. This critical work wouldn\u2019t be possible without people like you\u2014individuals who understand the importance of local, independent journalism.\u00a0 As a nonprofit newsroom, every subscription and every donation fuels our mission, supporting the in-depth reporting that shines a light on the is sues shaping Utah today.<\/p>\n
You can help power this work.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Utah has made the NCAA Tournament for four straight seasons since 2021. (Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":617910,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3723],"tags":[7,217,231,772,1544,1955,15557],"class_list":["post-617909","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ncaa-basketball","tag-basketball","tag-college-basketball","tag-ncaa","tag-ncaa-basketball","tag-ncaab","tag-university-of-utah","tag-utes"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116114777926414170","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/617909","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=617909"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/617909\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/617910"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=617909"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=617909"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=617909"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}