Round one of this year's inaugural Big 12 basketball battle between BYU and Utah went the way of the Runnin' Utes.

Both BYU and Utah have some "traitors" on their rosters, as Cougars coach Kevin Young said. That will only make Saturday's rivalry game that much more interesting.

On Tuesday, the BYU basketball bounced back from a three-game losing streak by beating Oklahoma State at home. With the win, the Cougars improved to 2-3 in conf

After enigmatic coach Rick Majerus was hired by Utah in April of 1989, the Utes climbed back into the national picture, while BYU stayed fairly relevant under Roger Reid and then bottomed out in the 1996-97 season, going 1-25 with Reid being fired after seven games.

The rivalry between BYU and Utah added another chapter to its storied history Saturday night in Salt Lake City, as the Runnin’ Utes outlasted the Cougars 73-72 in overtime. For BYU, it was yet another close loss in an already frustrating season,

The Cougars' free throw shooting against Utah was emblematic of how the season has gone in Young’s first season in Provo. BYU has had opportunities to win games, but the fragility of basketball has them sitting at 11-6 overall this season and 2-4 in conference play.

On paper and by basketball metrics, Saturday night’s matchup between host Utah and rival BYU should be an entertaining one. Both schools are coming into their first Big 12 matchup — this one at the Huntsman Center (7 p.

Utah Utes football standout Logan Fano took to X (formerly Twitter) to celebrate the Utah men’s basketball team’s thrilling 73-72 overtime victory over BYU

The 265th edition of the BYU-Utah basketball rivalry had its share of heroes from the team wearing red. Thanks to the efforts of Ezra Ausar, Lawson Lovering and Hunter Erickson — and key contributions from other Runnin’ Utes — Utah was able to win a 73-72 thriller in overtime on Saturday night at the Huntsman Center.

The Utes take on league-leading Houston on Tuesday and the Cougars travel to Colorado. Not only does Utah carry bragging rights over BYU with the 73-72 win, but Craig Smith’s team left Saturday’s win with more answers than BYU’s Kevin Young.