MBB: Utah vs. BYU Live Thread: Utah Falls 82-64 to BYU
A basketball series dating back to 1909, Utah will face hated rival BYU on Saturday afternoon down in Provo at the Marriot Center. It's a huge game for the teams as both of them are looking for a marquee non-conference victory, with this serving as one of their best options.
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PREGAME
*With no fans in attendance, the Utah-BYU game doesn't have its typical flair. But rest assured, this is a huge game for both squads
STARTING LINEUPS...
Utah vs. BYU — Starting Lineups
*BYU leads the overall series 131-129
*Timmy Allen dropped 27 points last season while Rylan Jones added 25 points in Utah's 102-95 OT victory...
FIRST HALF
*BYU wins the tip and we are off...
*Jones knocks down his first three-pointer of the game... exactly what you want to see if your Utah
*Jantunen with his own three-pointer ad the Utes come out firing early on... BYU keeping pace though with its size...
Utah 8 - BYU 9
15:58 left 1H
Defense not a high priority on this one as both teams are getting after it early on
*Utah looks good, getting off to a much faster start in this one compared to its past two games. Will be interesting to see how the Utes deal with BYU’s size and if they try to tire the big men out by getting up and down the floor
*Caleb Lohner, who originally signed his national letter of intent to play for Utah, just checked into the game for BYU. He wanted out, Utah obliged and BYU landed the 4-star recruit...
*Jantunen arguably the most improved player for the Utes. Already with two three-pointers and then a steal and a bucket, leads the game with 8p
*Utah getting after in both ends of the court. Playing very tough defensively, very active with their hands. On offense, team isn't in a rush and just finding the open man
*Barcello is a very heady player, and somebody Utah needs to contain. The Utes cannot let him get into the lane to constantly find the open man…
*Allen will have some trouble tonight against BYU's height and physicality down low. This is the game where he must showcase his outside shooting ability, otherwise BYU will just wait for him to drive into them
Utah 14 - BYU 14
11:34 left 1H
Fun game thus far as both teams are getting up and down the court and officials are letting them play a bit
*BYU not letting Plummer get any easy looks, essentially having a man follow him the whole time and never leave his side
*Utah needs to do a better job of finding BYU in transition as the Cougars love those pull-up three-pointers when out on the run
*Plummer’s first three-pointer is deep, and just off. Also, Jones has missed his last two from beyond the arc. Utes 3-of-9 from deep and 3-of-10 otherwise…
*For the first time all season, Larsson looks uncomfortable and rushed on the court. BYU doing a good job of getting into him and make it difficult.
Utah 16 - BYU 24
6:52 left 1H
Utah struggling now as BYU on an 10-0 run (15-2 larger run) as the Utes trail by 6 midway first quarter
*Utah needs to just settle down on offense. 5 turnovers has led to 7 BYU points. Utes just not playing smart and BYU looks way more energized for this game…
*Allen misses his mid-range jumper, but Utes get another chance after the ball goes out of bounds off BYU. And Plummer knocks down a huge three
*Plummer is going to keep on shooting, it's what he does. You live with the long range ones because if he gets hot, he has the power to win a game completely on his own
*BYU is all over Utah here in the first half. Cougars are too big and have too many shooters to surround that size down low. Utes struggling with defensive adjustments
*Utah's offense is very stagnant and a lot of one-on-one dribbling with very little ball movement. Utes must find some sort of spark on offense because right now the Cougars are man-handling the Utes
*Utah being outplayed on both ends of the court. The big men are either a step slow or not physical enough, while BYU is getting whatever it wants on the offensive end
Utah 22 - BYU 34
3:34 left 1H
Utes shooting just 29.2% from the floor while having no answer for BYU in the paint
*Lohner is a problem right now as his hustle and athleticism causing issues for the Utes… Utah in danger if getting run out of the building
*Plummer with his second three-pointer of the game, now with 8 points. Should be noted that Jones and Jantunen have two fouls each
Utah 27 - BYU 40
HALFTIME
Ugly and awful first half finally comes to an end for the Utes as they’re outplayed in every facet of the game…
Utah vs. BYU — Halftime Stats
HALFTIME
*Utah lucky to be down JUST 13 after ONLY hitting 9 shots in the first half. Utes look rushed and a little soft on the court right now. A lot has to change, simple as that…
*Plummer is going to launch from everywhere in the second half, especially with almost everyone else being ineffective
*Allen's lack of an outside game is really on display today as he can't go inside against BYU's height... really struggling on offense that half
*Utah gave up 18 points in the paint, with 16 also coming off the bench. Utes lack of depth on display early on as Larsson is finally playing like a freshman...
*A positive is that it's not as if Utah wasn't getting good looks. They got plenty of good looks on offense but just couldn't knock them down... must change in the second half...
*We are about to find out what sort of team Utah is made up of early in the season. Do the Utes roll over or do they fight back to make it a game? Going to be telling one way or another...
SECOND HALF
*Awful start for the Utes, BYU gets the ball and the gives up a three-point play. All while Jantunen picked up his third foul... Utah then turns it over on its first possession
*While Allen just scored his first bucket of the game, Jantunen and Jones have each picked up their third foul early in the half
*Utah showing a little bit of life and has the deficit down to 10 after trailing by as many as 16 early in the half. This is what you want to see from the Utes…
*Utah will not win many games with Jones shooting 1-of-6 from the floor, just 1-of-4 from deep…
*The Utes are getting out-hustled on the offensive boards…Cougars just want it more down low and it shows. Plus, Utah isn’t have its guards try to help out rebounding either…
Utah 41 - BYU 49
14:47 left 2H
Plummer catching fire, now with 14 pts (3-of-5 from deep) to keep Utah in the game...
*OUCH!!! BYU’s Harward grabbed the offensive rebound and just clocked Jantunen with a brutal left elbow trying to clear space… officials reviewing the play...
*Officials say play on with no foul anywhere, calling it a basketball play. Krystkowiak is not happy with that decision at all, and for good reason.
*I’m torn on the decision. I don’t think it was malicious in anyway but I think some sort of foul has to be called. Jantunen wasn’t right in Harward’s face and those arms were away from his body…
*Utah continues to be its own worst enemy rebounding, as back-to-back offensive rebounds gives BYU some huge points and negates Utah's offense
Utah 48 - BYU 56
12:00 left 2H
Utes hanging around and slowly chipping away, but they must keep BYU off the offensive glass
*Utah finding its stroke from deep here in the 2H, knocking down 3-of-4, but they need to get defensive stops and keep the Cougars off the offensive glass, Do that, and they’ll be there at the end…
*Harward is problem for the Utes as he’s dominating inside for BYU. Utah has no answer for him so far…
*Not sure what Utah is doing when it comes to rebounds. Guards attacking the offensive glass (unsuccessfully), which leads to open three’s for the Cougars. Guards not helping out on defensive
*Utah has gone cold again as the offense just looks... well disgusting to be hones.t Very little movement and a lot of 1-on-1 play that's been widely unsuccessful...
*Utah all of a sudden being massively outplayed as BYU on a 10-0 run. Utes showing little fight and trust in one another by trying to do everything themselves…
Utah 50 - BYU 66
7:51 left 2H
The game is quickly getting out of hand for the Utes, as they've given up 32 points in the paint and being out rebounded by 11
*Utah not doing a very good job defending the three-point line as the Cougars are getting whatever look they want from beyond the arc...
*Utes have gone cold again, hitting just one of their last eight shots...
Utah 53 - BYU 71
3:32 left 2H
Utes just looking for a strong finish to make the final score respectable...
*Utah won’t win many games when it gets a combined 16 points on 5-of-20 shooting from Allen and Jones…
*Utah not going away without a fight, but little too late. Had it down to 13 before Allen is whistled for a foul, essentially ending any hope of a comeback…
*Not a good performance from Jones. 7 points and 2 assists and 2-of-10 from the field (1-of-5 from deep) and has no fouled out with 2 minutes to play
Utah 64 - BYU 82
FINAL
*Utes outplayed in every facet of the game and suffer their first loss of the season
Utah vs. BYU — Final Stats
POSTGAME
*Utah wont win many games with Allen and Jones really struggling all the way around
*Utes got abused in the paint, giving up 36 points in the paint. Also, BYU outscored Utah 41-16 in points off the bench
*What's even crazier is that Barcello, BYU's best player, scored just 5 points and the Utes couldn't capitalize
*Plummer finished with 19 points while Battin added 14 for Utah — they combined to shoot 6-of-14 from beyond the arc. The rest of the team went 3-for-14 from deep
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