Utah Mens Basketball 2020-21 Schedule Coming Into Focus

With the Bad Boy Mowers Classic happening, as well as the 20-game conference schedule, Utah is beginning to fill out its 2020-21 basketball season — and BYU will still be on the docket

When Utah got the okay from the Pac-12 to begin the college basketball season on Nov. 25, head coach Larry Krystkowiak and athletic director Mark Harlan immediately went to work trying to figure out the out-of-conference portion of the schedule.

Now with the 2020-21 season just under a month from getting underway, that portion of Utah's schedule is becoming much clearer.

“It’s a big day for our basketball program, fans and league as a whole. Our team has been working tirelessly at home during this whole pandemic and I couldn’t be more proud of the hard work they’ve put in. It’s been great having them back on campus together and getting them connected for the upcoming season,” Krystkowiak said. “There hasn’t been a lot of good news since this whole thing started back in March, so this is definitely a win for everyone involved. I know the staff and our players are thrilled and eager to hit the court full swing and get ready for the upcoming season. There is still a lot of work to be done until then, but we’re just happy as everyone else in our conference to know we’ll be playing some basketball come Nov. 25.”

Larry Krystkowiak, Utah head coach

The Utes will begin the season with three games at the Bad Boy Mowers Classic in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. 

The tournament, which was originally supposed to be the Battle 4 Atlantis before it was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, has moved to the Sanford Pentagon. It will feature many of the original teams; Creighton, Wichita State, Texas A&M, West Virginia, Ohio State, Memphis and Dayton (who's replacing Duke).

“That’s been one of the partial reasons for the delay [in announcing the event], is the security and safety,” Krystkowiak said. “MTEs are a little bit more complicated than a four-team tournament or obviously a home-and-home. You’ve got eight teams here and a lot of logistics and things to work out, but I think they’re well-prepared to handle it and it seems all systems are go, so we’re excited.”

Then speaking with local media on Wednesday following Utah's first practice of the season, Krystkowiak said two things of importance: 1.) The Pac-12 will be going with a 20-game conference schedule 2.) Their annual rivalry game with BYU is still a go.

Back in April, news broke that Utah and BYU agreed to continue the 'Holy War' on the basketball court for the next four years, beginning in 2020.

The rivalry was initially canceled for the 2016 season but both teams agreed to a new three-year deal that expired this past season.

The new agreement was planned to start Dec. 12 for the upcoming season, with Utah traveling 45-minutes south to Provo to play in the Marriott Center. The Utes will then host the Cougars in 2021 and 2023 — while also traveling back down to Provo in 2022.

But the COVID-19 pandemic originally scrapped that plan. Now according to Krystkowiak, it's back on.

“BYU, as far as I know, we’re moving forward with that game and there will be three other games to come up with,” Krystkowiak said.

The Utes and Cougars have met 260 times since debuting together in 1909. BYU holds the slightest of advantages overall, 131-129, but the teams have split the last eight games.

Utah got a game back in the series after a thrilling 102-95 victory in overtime last December. Timmy Allen finished with 27 points while Rylan Jones added 25, including a game-tying three-pointer to send the game into overtime. It was the Utes' first victory over the Cougars since 2015.

Courtesy of Utah Athletics

With only enough room for seven out-of-conference games on the schedule, Utah has now filled out over half of that with the matchups against Creighton and two other at the Bad Boy Mowers Classic and BYU. 

Reports have also begun to surface that Utah is nearing an agreement to play Utah Valley University in December as well.

If UVU gets done, that would be five OOC contests for Utah as part of a schedule that can include up to seven.

Orem to Salt Lake City is a 45-minute ride. No plane, no hotels.

— Josh Newman (@Joshua_Newman) October 15, 2020

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