PROVO — One local college basketball team is preparing for a midweek in-state rivalry game after back-to-back losses that followed a strong start to the season.

And it isn’t just the one that lost 114-101 to Utah Valley University Saturday.

Like BYU (4-2), Utah State (3-2) opened the regular season with four straight wins as well as an exhibition victory over unaccredited Bristol in a fourth before dropping back-to-back games in the Cancun Challenge to Texas Tech and No. 17 Purdue last week.

Both teams will try to get back on track when they tip off Wednesday at 7 p.m. MT at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City, with BYU’s back-to-back losses coming to Valparaiso in Las Vegas and the Wolverines at home.

“They’re in the same situation as we are,” BYU coach Dave Rose said. “They had a good start, then let a couple of games get away from them. This will be a really interesting matchup to see how it affects confidence going in and execution. You add the in-state rivalry to it, and I’m obviously excited to play.”

But Aggie head coach Tim Duryea didn’t expect the Cougars to be coming into this matchup off back-to-back losses either.

“I’m surprised anytime, anybody, from anywhere goes into the Marriott Center and wins. That just doesn’t happen very often, especially going in there and putting 114 points on the board,” Duryea said. “That was a phenomenal showing. Utah Valley had one of those shooting nights that is probably going to be the highlight of the year in how they’ve played offensively. And if it isn’t, then you’ve got one heck of a basketball team on your hands.”

BYU will try to rebound with the 232nd meeting with the Aggies, a streak that represents Utah State’s longest basketball series in program history. The Cougars are 140-92 all-time against the Aggies, including 11-1 in the Rose era and 2-0 in Salt Lake City.

They’ve never had to enter the matchup coming off a stinging loss to crosstown rival Utah Valley, though.

“I like how we handled what’s been going on,” BYU center Eric Mika said after Tuesday’s practice. “I think that it’s a bummer, and no one likes losing — at all. Guys are down for a bit, but I think we really rallied around each other and stuck together. We’ve been getting after it and getting ready for tomorrow.”

Utah State represents a new challenge for BYU. The Aggies are led by senior swingman Jalen Moore, who moved to the wing full time this year and is averaging 18.2 points per game. The presence of the former Sky View High standout gives Utah State a go-to veteran presence many teams lack, but they’ve also got a pair of high-scoring guards in Shane Rector and Koby McEwen of Wasatch Academy, who average 11.0 and 10.2 points, respectively.

“They’re really quick, aggressive and talented guards,” Rose said. “These three guards can get you in the mixer.”

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Isaac Neilson scored a career-high 26 points including a pair of 3-pointers, and Brandon Randolph supplied 21 points, 14 assists and nine rebounds to lead Utah Valley to its first-ever win at BYU, 114-101 in the Marriott Center.

Both teams are high-scoring offenses that admit to significant defensive breakdowns in their previous games against UVU and Texas Tech. That will be a focus for both Rose and Duryea entering Wednesday’s matchup halfway between the two institutions.

But expect the Jazz’s home arena scoreboard to light up as well.

“I’m not sure how much you can slow them down,” Duryea said of BYU. “You have to try and control the tempo. That doesn’t always mean play slow all the time, but run when we want to run and when the opportunity is there to run. And then play good, solid half-court basketball as well.”

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