Takeaways From Utah’s 85-74 Loss To No. 23 BYU
Mar 8, 2025, 10:55 PM | Updated: 11:08 pm
Mar 8, 2025; Provo, Utah, USA; Utah Utes guard Mike Sharavjamts (25) holds the ball as Brigham Young Cougars guard Dallin Hall (30) defends during the first half at Marriott Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images
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Provo, UT—In the season’s final game, and the 266th edition of the rivalry game, the Runnin’ Utes fell to rival BYU, 85-74.
Unfortunately, Utah’s turnover issues continued tonight, and were a major difference in the game. Utah played tough, but the giveaways mounted and BYU capitalized, especially in the second half.
Miro Little stepped up big for Utah tonight, finishing with 21 points on 7-of-14 shooting. Utah finished the game 25-of-72 (35%), while BYU shot 29-of-61 (48%), including 61.5% shooting in the second half. Beyond that, here are the takeaways from the game.
Utah failed to protect the ball
It was another game, and another outing of turnover issues. Utah played a very tough first half and even held onto the lead for nearly eight minutes. Unfortunately, the giveaways mounted, and the last one of the half eclipsed the double-digit mark. BYU made Utah pay with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to take a 4-point lead into the locker room.
To start the second half, Utah had a stretch of three turnovers that allowed BYU to extend their lead to 10 within the first four minutes. Then, Utah did a better job of protecting the ball and cut it back to single digits. Unfortunately, the damage had been done, and Utah couldn’t dig itself out of the hole.
A number of turnovers were careless, mistakes that could have been eliminated by valuing the ball better. Utah often got into the paint and then tried to make a pass in a pretty congested area, which often led to deflections and giveaways.
Utah finished the game with 17 turnovers and BYU scored 21 direct points off of those giveaways.
Extended scoring droughts were just too costly
The Utes had extended scoring droughts in each half, and in an atmosphere like this, scoring droughts are extremely harmful. With a strong crowd behind them, any scoreless stretch can lead to a quick run for BYU.
In the first half, Utah didn’t score for four minutes, giving away an early lead, which allowed BYU to take a 12-7 lead after nine minutes of action.
But the second half drought was much more costly. Already down, the Utes went scoreless for five minutes and gave BYU the runway to go on a 12-0 run and build a 17-point lead.
As you’d expect, turnovers were the main culprit during these two stretches. Utah created several decent scoring opportunities but then gave the ball away as BYU’s defense recovered.
Ezra Ausar’s second half absence in the second half
It was a tale of two halves for Utah’s star forward. Ausar looked unstoppable in the first half. BYU did not have many answers for him as he ended the opening frame with 10 points and 7 rebounds, 4 of which on the offensive glass. He attacked the glass relentlessly and was rewarded with putbacks or trips to the free throw line.
Unfortunately, he finished the game with only 12 points and 12 rebounds. After scoring a layup at the 16:51 mark, Ausar did not score the rest of the half. Credit to BYU for making adjustments on him defensively and also doing a better job of securing the defensive glass.
But Utah did not have a counter to get him more involved and that was an issue. He got a couple of attempts late in the game but for most of the second half, it was difficult for Utah to get him good scoring situations.
Thinking about the rivalry with Alex Jensen at the helm
The rivalry between Utah and BYU has always been intense. In the Big 12 Conference, it’s become so much more than that.
With the hiring of Alex Jensen, the Utes will be led by someone who genuinely understands the intensity of the rivalry game. As a player, Jensen went 7-1 in his career against the Cougars, including three wins at the Marriott Center. With Jensen at the helm, the competitiveness of the rivalry game will only grow.
As members of the Big 12, the rivalry game will be on a much grander stage and the conference’s reputation and tradition (11 national titles, 16 runner-ups among league members all-time) should only add to its intensity.
UP NEXT – Utah vs UCF
The Runnin’ Utes will turn their attention to the Big 12 Tournament, and a matchup against the UCF Knights.
