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The Roar #4: Rivalry Week, Chaz, Hunger Games, and Mean Green

Douglas C. Pizac-USA TODAY Sports

1. BYU to be in the Hunger Games:

The Fight Hunger Bowl no longer has a sponsor, Kraft gave up their sponsorship for it, so many tongue in cheek Y fans refer to the Fight Hunger Bowl as the Hunger Games Bowl. Very fitting eh? BYU will play Washington. Coach Sarkisian bailed to USC and Coach Petersen will not be coaching the Huskies in the Dec. 27th bout. Get your tickets now, the game will be played at AT&T park, a baseball stadium. Talk about unique. Keith Price and Bishop Sankey are great ball players so BYU will have their hands full. "May the odds ever be in our favor."

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2. Chazzed:

BYU scored 96 points, shot 50% from the field on the road against UMass on Saturday. It was a great win for BYU. Oh wait, they lost. If you were to tell me 96 points isn't enough to beat any team in college basketball I'd call you crazy. Chaz Williams, the second coming of Nate Robinson, scored 32 points and had 15 assists against the Cougars. 15! Haws chipped in 25, Carlino 23, and Mika had 18 and 8. He's ranked by ESPN.com as the #8 best freshman in all of college basketball. BYU fell to 7-3, all three losses coming to the hands of ranked teams. Kinda frustrating knowing that BYU isn't quite to that level yet.

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3. Mean Green:

It might be overshadowed by the loss to the Minutemen, but BYU did in fact get a win last week against the little mean green engine that couldn't. BYU drubbed North Texas by 30, scoring 97 points in this one. There's something about scoring in the high 90's that gives me the impression that BYU will win the game. Mika had 17 and 11, Haws dropped 23, Collinsworth had 17, 6, and 5, and our buddy Carlino had 5 points, 11 assists, and 10 rebounds. He never ceases to amaze for better or for worse.

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4. The not so Rivalry Week:

BYU has beaten Utah 7 times in a row, 11 of the last 12, 12 of the last 15. Total one-sided domination, even more so than Utah owning BYU in football the last little bit. Utah is improving. BYU barely edged out the Utes in Provo last year after overcoming a large margin at halftime. Utah is 7-1, plays Idaho St. tonight, so will likely be 8-1 when facing BYU. Utah's strength of schedule is literally dead last in all of college basketball. They may have set it up that way for Utah to gain a little confidence and get used to getting something that's been so rare in Salt Lake the last few years, a win. The game will be played in the Huntsman Center, Utah will have confidence and motivation to break the 7-game losing streak against the Cougs, Utah barely lost to Boise St. who's a good basketball team by 2 on the road. I expect this game to be an actual rivalry game, a dog-fight if ya will. But I still fully expect BYU to pull out a W.

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Your Turn:

Will BYU beat Utah in basketball on Saturday in the Huntsman Center to make it 8 in a row, 12 of the last 13?

Do you like Washington as our opponent in the Fight Hunger Bowl? Would you have rather BYU played someone else?

How good do you think BYU's basketball team is? What is lacking to make BYU great? What changes if any need to be made?

Answer in the comments below.