The approximate 45-minute drive from the University of Utah campus up on the hill in Salt Lake City to the BYU campus in Provo felt much longer to the Cougars last season.
BYU lost on the court of its fierce rival 73-72 in overtime, and it included solid shooter Trevin Knell missing the front end of a 1-and-1 with 6.2 seconds remaining and the Cougars down one.
Not surprisingly, BYU returning players have been pointing to the Big 12 matchup on Saturday night when the No. 9 Cougars visit the Utes while looking to run their winning streak to 12 games.
BYU delivered some payback with an 85-74 victory in Provo later last season, but it is the loss in Salt Lake City that is creating motivation.
The Cougars (14-1, 2-0 Big 12), who hold a 135-131 all-time lead in the rivalry, are craving win No. 136.
“Playing there is tough. I am excited to go and get a win for my senior year there,” BYU standout Richie Saunders said after Wednesday’s 104-76 home rout of Arizona State. “But yeah, they turn up the jets. Everything is a lot more crazy than any other game. Those are the games that you live for.”
Cougars coach Kevin Young also still is trying to get the bitter taste out of his mouth. That contest was his first as BYU coach against the Utes.
“I am still ticked that we lost that one,” Young said. “I know Trevin Knell is somewhere mad that he missed those free throws. We just want to go up there and get a win, bottom line. … I never really grew up a super huge BYU fan. I always respected the program and what it stood for and things like that. But I didn’t grow up with the hate (for Utah), right?
“Now that I’ve been here and kind of experienced it, I just want to go up there and beat those guys.”
Saunders scored a career-best 31 points against Arizona State and also had eight rebounds. He also tied his career high of six 3-pointers.
Rob Wright III also turned in a career-best point total with 27, while star AJ Dybantsa had 23 points for his 10th outing of at least 20 this season.
Dybantsa (23.1), Saunders (19.1) and Wright (17.0) combine for nearly 60 points per game. BYU averages 88.2 as a team.
The Utes (8-7, 0-2) have dropped three straight games, including Big 12 losses to visiting Arizona (97-78) and host Colorado (85-73).
Utah led just briefly during the contest against the Buffaloes on Wednesday and made just 39.4% of its shots.
First-year coach Alex Jensen said he is trying to get the players to buy into a defensive approach, especially when too many shots are errant.
“You’re not going to hit your shots every game but the one thing you can do every game, regardless, is play defense or block out or get a hand up on a shot,” Jensen said after the Colorado contest. “I think it’s on the maturity of our team making defense a priority.”
Don McHenry scored 24 points for his sixth 20-point effort of the season. He has made a team-high 40 3-point baskets and is averaging 18.5 points, second behind Terrence Brown (21.4).
Brown scored 16 against Colorado but was just 5 of 17 from the field. McHenry hit 9 of 22 shots but said there were times he could have been more unselfish.
“They were pretty aggressive, more so in the second half,” McHenry said of Colorado. “There were times I could have played with a pass more, that would have helped us.”
