BYU Cougars: Top 15 fall sports games
By Adam Gibby
Number 4a: BYU vs Utah – Men’s Basketball Dec. 17
Number 4b: BYU vs Saint Mary’s – Men’s Basketball Dec. 30
Why it is ranked as high as it is: These games are inseparable in importance. On one hand you have Utah which is a rivalry game. On the other hand you have a conference game that could very well set the tone for the rest of the season. Utah is coming off of a one year “break” from BYU basketball while Saint Mary’s is coming off of its best season in a long time. Both of these teams will very likely be ranked in the 15-25 range when they play the Cougars meaning that a win against either team would be very good for the Cougars’ chances to play in the NCAA Tournament again.
Why it is ranked as low as it is: Both of these games are played at very inconvenient times. Utah is played right around finals time and Saint Mary’s is played right around when football bowl games start to get really good. Another reason why it is not ranked extremely high is simply because the BYU basketball team may not have a super great year. If they lose two to three games before playing either one of these teams, this game will not matter very much to them as far as hopes for making the NCAA tournament.