The rivalry continues between BYU and Utah this weekend, with a resume-building victory on the line.
TV schedule: Saturday, December 12, 6:00 pm ET. BYUTV
Arena: Marriott Center in Provo, Utah
The BYU Cougars have started the season off (5-2) and is coming off a loss at home against Boise State (74-70). Alex Barcello chipped in with 20 points and Purdue transfer Matt Haarms had 18. As a team, BYU shot 33% from three and 61% (11-18) from the free-throw line. They will need to shoot better to beat Utah.
Alex Barcello has had a nice season so far for the Cougars. Barcello, (19.6 PPG) is shooting 62% from the field and the three-point line. But other guys like Utah Valley transfer Brandon Averette (8.7 PPG) need to step up if the Cougars want to bounce back.
According to Kenpom, opponents are only shooting 22% of their shots this season from three against the Cougars which is the 3rd lowest in the country. Even though Utah ranks 214th in the percentage of shots that are from the three-point range. The Utes are 29th in the country in three-point percentage shooting 40% on the season. It will be interesting to see if the Utes decide to shoot more from beyond the ark.
The Utah Utes have only played two games this season (2-0). But is coming off a recent 75-59 win against Idaho State. The Utes had six players in double figures and were led by freshman Pelle Larsson with 14 points.
The most important player on the Utes is junior Timmy Allen. Allen, who was 2nd team All-Pac 12 last year had 27 points in their meeting against BYU last season. Allen playing well is a huge key to win for Utah.
Alfonso Plummer known as a shooter has gotten off to a great start this year scoring (17.0 PPG). Plummer keeping up the positive momentum would be great for the Utes.
Point guard Rylan Jones has done a really good job taking care of the ball this year. Jones, who started as a true Freshman last year has a 2.5-1 assist to turnover ratio.
The battle between Utah and BYU is a pretty even game. The game will come down to which team’s supporting players can provide enough of the scoring load to help out either Barcello or Allen. However, I think BYU bounces back and pulls out in a close one.