‘Gonna be a dogfight’: What the BYU-Utah rivalry means to new generation of Runnin’ Utes

The University of Utah basketball team is getting a crash course education this week in what the BYU-Utah rivalry means to both schools.

There’s only one Runnin’ Ute on this year’s roster, junior forward Keanu Dawes, who has ever played against the Cougars.

On top of that, most Utah players this season are from other parts of the country or are international players — there are no Utes who hail from the Beehive State — so when Utah hosts No. 9 BYU on Saturday (8 p.m. MST, ESPN), it will be their first taste of the bitter rivalry.

“I just know it’s called the Holy War,” said Utes fifth-year forward James Okonkwo, whose college career has taken him to West Virginia, North Carolina and Akron before Utah.

“I don’t know a lot about it honestly because obviously they were late to the Big 12 merger when I was at West Virginia so I didn’t really get to experience playing either team, let alone know the rivalry. But I love rivalry games, always look forward to those. That’s gonna be a really special environment.”

Thanks to guys like Dawes and first-year Utah head coach Alex Jensen (the former Ute star forward who went 10-2 against BYU as a player), there are at least some in the locker room who understand what the rivalry means before Utah gets on the court for Saturday’s matchup.

Asked if Dawes has let his teammates know what’s in store, Okonkwo said, “Just that it’s gonna be a dogfight. The refs might hold the whistle a little bit, let us kind of duke it out a little bit, and I’m excited for that. But nothing too specific. (We need to) just stay on our identity and keep playing us.”

“I mean, I could tell them as much as I can but it’s not really something you can put into words until you’re actually in the environment and experience it for yourself.”

Utah forward Keanu Dawes, on facing BYU

Added Dawes, “I mean, I could tell them as much as I can but it’s not really something you can put into words until you’re actually in the environment and experience it for yourself.”

It’s an opportunity for guys such as promising freshman forward Kendyl Sanders to get a temperature on the heated rivalry.

“Honestly, all I know is going to be packed in here,” he said.

Jensen was a perfect 5-0 against BYU at the Huntsman Center during his playing days. While no particular memory stands out to him from his time playing against the Cougars, the feeling after a win over the rival stuck out.

“The good memories are always winning, right?” Jensen said. “I just told our guys, there’s nothing like after a game, playing hard and beating a team — there’s no better feeling like that. BYU being the rival just kind of amplifies a little bit of everything.

“I think we’ll be ready, but again (it’s a) great opportunity and I don’t want us to lose it and look back and say we didn’t play hard, or we didn’t do this or that.”

Oddly enough, despite BYU being the program on the rise in recent years while Utah has been searching to rekindle its former glory, the Cougars have lost their last two games against the Utes in the Huntsman Center.

A year ago, Utah won in overtime, 73-72. Ezra Ausar, who’s now playing at USC, scored 26 points and led a 16-4 second-half run that helped turn the tide before the game went into the extra session, and former Cougars-turned-Utes Hunter Erickson and Jake Wahlin made plays for Utah in the win.

Two seasons ago, BYU was ranked No. 14 going into the Huntsman and had a three-game win streak in the series. Utah, though, stormed out to a 17-5 lead, then Gabe Madsen drained a critical 3 with just over a minute to play as Utah won, 73-69.

In the game two years ago, Keba Keita had 10 points, six rebounds and a blocked shot for Utah. He’s since transferred to BYU, though, and now he starts for the Cougars.

That’s one of several ties between the two programs, even if this year the two rosters combine for only three players — all on the BYU roster — who hail from Utah hometowns.

Dawes actually grew up as a kid in the Salt Lake valley before moving to Houston and playing his high school ball there. He attended Runnin’ Ute games with his grandparents, who were Utah season ticket holders.

He remembers the lead-up to Utah-BYU contests of years past, “just excitement for it.”

Last year, he experienced it firsthand, coming off the bench in both games against BYU.

In their Huntsman Center matchup when Utah won by a point, Dawes had the chance to extend Utah’s 73-72 lead with five seconds left in overtime — just moments after BYU’s Trevin Knell missed the front-end of a 1-and-1 — though he missed both shots from the line.

The Cougars, though, didn’t get a quality look, and the Utes prevailed.

In two games against BYU last season, Dawes averaged 15.5 minutes, 5.5 points and 5 rebounds.

He’ll be tasked to play a much bigger role this year for Utah, alongside the team’s other top playmakers, guards Terrence Brown and Don McHenry.

The Utes (8-7, 0-2 Big 12) are the decided underdog in the latest matchup of these rivals — BYU (14-1, 2-0 Big 12) is given a 89% win probability, according to KenPom.

The expectation is that BYU, with its roster headlined by AJ Dybantsa, Richie Saunders and Rob Wright III, will break the Utes’ two-game winning streak in the series at the Huntsman.

Dybantsa, the projected high lottery pick, has scored more than 20 points in the Cougars’ last eight games. Jensen said the Utes will throw multiple defenders at him, but it will be a team effort in trying to contain one of the country’s top talents.

“For somebody like that, just make sure everybody’s on the same team scheme,” Okonkwo said. “They’ve got five. We’ve got five.

“He’s a pretty good offensive player. Make sure we’re all adjusted to limiting their team offense when he’s in the game and executing properly when he’s out the game. Just playing together, being a team together and locking in through one through five.”

One weird quirk to the rivals’ schedules this season is that they won’t have to wait long for the rematch. BYU will host the return game at the Marriott Center in two weeks, on Jan. 24.

While Jensen said the latest rivalry matchup didn’t change the day-to-day approach to Utah’s pursuit of progression, it gives them an opportunity to make a statement against a program the caliber of BYU’s.

“I’m just trying to get the point across to them, (it’s a) great opportunity for them to play a team as good as BYU. … That’s why you play basketball — for opportunities like this.”