This Day In Utah Sports History: Utah, BYU Basketball’s Last Conference Tournament Meeting
Mar 9, 2023, 10:06 AM | Updated: 3:07 pm
DENVER – On March 9, 2006, the Utah and BYU men’s basketball teams met in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West Conference Tournament.
The Utes won what would be the last Conference Tournament meeting between the two rivals.
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The 2006 Mountain West Conference Tournament was held in Denver, Colorado.
BYU held the conference’s 3-seed with a record of 20-9. Utah had a 14-15 record and was the 6-seed.
The two regular season matchups saw each team winning a game in front of the home fans. Utah won the more recent game in February behind a 14-point, 10-rebound game from Luke Nevill. BYU won in January with a 17-point performance from Rashaun Broadus.
“I definitely keep up with the Cougars, that’s for sure.” -Rashaun Broadus#ESPN960
— ESPN 960 (@espn960sports) May 14, 2018
Utah, BYU Basketball Face Off In The Pepsi Center
Keena Young opened up scoring for the Cougars with a mid-range jumpshot. He also went on to score three of BYU’s first four baskets.
Bryant Markson was on the early attack for the Utes. He scored the first 5 points of the game for Utah.
Some context to accompany Seneca Knight’s 17 ppg/6 rpg season at San Jose State in 2019-20–
Since 1999-2000, these are the only BYU players with 17-and-6 seasons:
Mekeli Wesley
Rafael Araujo
Keena Young
Lee Cummard
Brandon Davies
Eric Mika
Elijah Bryant
Yoeli Childs— Greg Wrubell (@gregwrubell) July 20, 2021
Utah’s Australian Center Luke Nevill quickly stole the show in the quarterfinal matchup.
The Cougars didn’t have an answer for the seven-footer. Nevill finished the game with 7 offensive rebounds. The entire BYU team had four.
In Utah ‘hoops’ news…. MWC basketball player of the year awards are swept by Utah!! Luke Nevill and Morgan Warburton take home POY awards
— Utah T&F/XC (@Utah_trackfield) March 9, 2009
The Utes went on a run midway through the first half that would give them the largest lead of the game for either side, 9 points.
At halftime, Utah led by seven, 35-28. Nevill had 16 points and 7 rebounds.
Trent Plaisted started the second half on fire. He scored 11 of BYU’s first 13 points in the half. The run brought the Cougars back to within two points.
With 7 minutes left in regulation, a three-point shot from Jimmy Balderson gave BYU their first lead since 4-2.
“There are so many advantages to playing at #BYU with the alumni, the networking, and the connections you form. It’s a great thing to be part of the program.” –Jimmy Balderson#ESPN960 #BYU
— ESPN 960 (@espn960sports) March 18, 2019
The Cougars held onto their lead until three minutes left when the Utes tied it at 64.
Nevill continued his dominance and scored 7 straight points to give Utah a 3-point lead with 10 seconds left.
Best of luck to former Ute Luke Nevill, as he gets ready for Indiana Pacers training camp
— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) September 18, 2012
Utah advanced to the semifinals with a four-point win over the favored BYU Cougars.
The Utes lost in the semifinal to the 7-seed Wyoming Cowboys.
Wyoming lost to the San Diego State Aztecs in the championship. SDSU qualified for the NCAA Tournament in 2006.
Although there’s 7+ minutes left, @GoAztecs and @WYO_MBB played in the only #MWMadness final that went into OT. SDSU won in 2006 (69-64)
— MW Men’s Basketball (@MW_MBB) March 14, 2015
Chandler Holt is a Digital Sports Producer for sports.ksl.com, specializing in all things basketball and football. Follow Chandler on Twitter at @ChandlerHoltKSL.
