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SALT LAKE CITY — Everything BYU did well during its 8-0 start came apart in the Cougars' first (and only) true road test of nonconference play Saturday night at rival Utah.
Jaxson Robinson had 17 points, and Spencer Johnson added 10 points and a career-high 11 rebounds, but BYU shot just 37% from the field and 23% from 3-point range in the 14th-ranked Cougars' 73-69 loss to the Runnin' Utes.
Richie Saunders added 13 points and six rebounds for BYU (8-1), which trailed by as much as 16 in the second half but shot just 10-of-18 from the free-throw line — and 7-of-13 in the second half — in the loss.
"There were stretches where we really felt like us as a team, where the ball was popping around and we felt really good," said Johnson, whose team assisted on 13-of-26 made field goals. "And there were stretches where the ball got sticky, or we just didn't feel like us offensively."
The Cougars shot just 20% from 3-point range in the first half, a far cry from the team that ranks 26th nationally in 3-point percentage and leads the nation with 12.9 triples per game.
Credit goes to Utah (7-2), which seemingly rattled the Cougars early with an array of first-half dunks en route to a 45-31 halftime advantage. But there were plenty of takes to be had by the visitors in the Huntsman Center's first sellout since 2017.
BYU (8-1) attempted 30 triples, made seven, and missed several that featured little resistance, like back-to-back misses by Noah Waterman to start the second half.
JAXSON ROBINSON.
— BYU Men's Basketball (@BYUMBB) December 10, 2023
not giving up. pic.twitter.com/wvnWBLHX6N
Only Robinson, who shot 7-of-13 from the field and 3-of-8 from downtown, had multiple 3-point makes before Saunders' second triple with 39 seconds left that pulled BYU all the way back within two, 71-69.
"I think it was more us," BYU coach Mark Pope said. "Normally, when we pull off, we're going to make plays for our teammates — and we just … everyone wanted to save us, which is understandable. These guys are where they are, they're ranked and everything, and playing an in-state game that they want to win. It just wasn't the decision-making that we want to make in those situations. We had too many of them tonight."
Dallin Hall added 11 points, two rebounds and two assists; and Trevin Knell scored 10 points on 3-of-8 shooting, including 0-for-4 from three.
Utah, meanwhile, shot 8-of-26 from 3-point range that included a blistering 5-of-9 for 17 points from one-time Cincinnati transfer Gabe Madsen.
But it was the return of Branden Carlson, who had 15 points on 6-of-13 shooting with eight rebounds and two assists, that propelled the hosts to their 130th win in 264 meetings of the rivalry series and first win over a ranked BYU since 1993.
The 7-footer from Bingham High who grew up a BYU fan did not play in Tuesday's 2-point win over Southern Utah, but returned from an undisclosed injury to lead Utah on the boards.
Pope won't accept moral victories — nor should he — but the fact that it was even a one-possession game in the final moments was something of a shock, when Robinson pulled the Cougars within 59-56 on a layup with 5:23 remaining or Saunders converted from well beyond the top of the key with 39 seconds that cut the deficit to 71-69.
In the Big 12 — rated easily the toughest college basketball conference in America in 2023-24 — the Cougars will have plenty more games just like the one that played out Saturday night on the Hill, where around 40% of the curtain-less crowd was wearing blue and both teams wore their traditional crimson and royal uniforms in a game that will be played out-of-conference for the final time once Utah joins the Big 12 next year.
But in a conference that features seven of the top-20 teams in the most recent NET ratings and 12 teams in the top 100, there are no nights off.
BYU, which dropped two spots in KenPom to No. 8 immediately following the loss, couldn't take one Saturday night; the same will be the case against Houston, Kansas, Baylor and Iowa State.
"The really nice thing for us is we're going to be in this environment 20 times the rest of the season," Pope said. "I'm proud of the guys for the way they responded. We just came up a little short, and we weren't quite good enough at being us the whole night."
BYU returns home Wednesday to face Denver at the Marriott Center, the first of five straight home games leading into Big 12 play. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. MST on ESPN+.
