BYU Basketball: Utah Utes announce game date in Provo after 1-year hiatus

The University of Utah officially released its basketball schedule Monday afternoon, with BYU being one of the teams the Utes will take on. The game will take place in Provo, Utah at the Marriott Center on Saturday, December 16.

The scheduled game returns after a one-year hiatus in the series, in which Utah head coach Larry Krystowiak decided to buy out the 2016 game in Provo to take a “cooling off period.” As part of the buyout, Krystowiak must pay BYU $80,000, with four $20,000 payments to be made over a 4-year period.

The last BYU-Utah game in the Marriott Center was December 2014. The 13th-ranked Utes defeated BYU, 65-61.

The Utah-BYU basketball rivalry has been incredibly close over the years. In 257 all-time meetings, Utah owns a 129-128 advantage in the series. BYU’s last victory over Utah came in 2012, when the Cougars defeated the Utes in the Marriott Center, 61-58.

BYU has yet to release its non-conference schedule, but should be doing so soon; a source very familiar with the timeline indicated that the schedule will be released in the “next week or so.”

In addition to the Utah game, we do know some of the games already scheduled. BYU will play at UVU on November 29, the first time UVU will ever host BYU. The Cougars have also scheduled games with Utah State, Weber State and Princeton, as well as two games in New York City against UMass and Alabama.

Vanquish the Foe will have an in-depth breakdown and analysis of BYU’s non-conference schedule once it is released.