Postgame notes: BYU 75, Utah 66

The following notes and quotes are from BYU’s 75-66 win over Utah on Saturday at the Marriott Center in Provo, Utah. 

Series Results: BYU leads 134-129, including 77-49 in Provo. Head coach Mark Pope is now 3-1 with BYU against Utah.

Attendance: 14,355

TEAM NOTES

Leading at Half

The Cougars are now 61-9 in the Mark Pope era when leading at halftime, including 6-2 this season. BYU led 35-31 at the break tonight.

Winning Ways

BYU has won 16 of their last 21 matchups against the Utes, with their last loss coming in 2019. Coach Pope and the Cougars have now won three straight in the rivalry series. 

Friendly Airwaves

The Cougars are now 15-2 in games broadcast on CBS Sports Network during the Mark Pope era.

Good To Be Home

BYU has two wins after the first two games of their four-game home stand. The Cougars improved to 43-7 at the Marriott Center under head coach Mark Pope.

PLAYERS NOTES

Fouss on the Loose

Sophomore Fousseyni Traore scored BYU’s first 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting with two free throws. Traore finished with 17 points. BYU is 18-5 when he scores in double figures.

Defensive Dallin

Freshman Dallin Hall had two steals, which ties his career high. He also had a career high six rebounds, four of which came on the defensive end. 

Relentless Rudi 

Senior Guard Rudi Williams scored 12 first half points, marking the third time in the past four games the senior has reached double figures in the opening 20 minutes. He would finish with a game-high 26 points, matching his season high. His 69.2% shooting (9-1of-3) is also a season high.

George’s Shoe Drive

Before tonight’s game and Thursday’s contest against Western Oregon BYU collected shoes for Gideon George’s The George Helping Hands Foundation. The shoes will be sent to George’s native Nigeria.

SEASON HIGHS

• Points: Rudi Williams (26)
• Field Goals Made: Rudi Williams (9)
• Field Goal Percentage: Rudi Williams (69.2%)
• Field Goal Attempts: Jaxson Robinson (14)
• Rebounds: Dallin Hall (6)
• Offensive Rebounds: Dallin Hall (2)

CAREER HIGHS

• Rebounds: Dallin Hall (6)
• Steals: Dallin Hall (2)

QUOTES

Coach Mark Pope

On the rebounding game

“The thing I loved the most was the rebounding game because that has been huge for us, it’s the reason we’re still alive. The glasses are controllable, that’s an effort, an energy and a passion that takes team-wide commitment. The fact that we could win on that side again tonight is super important to me. Huge credit to Utah tonight because for the first time this season, we had under 10 offensive rebounds.”

On Rudi Williams

“Rudi is special. I’ve been coaching a long time, and you don’t see someone like him very often. He’s always so willing to help and coach Dallin [Hall], and it makes me happy because he does it the right way with his whole heart. When you do things the right way with a whole heart, this game eventually pays you off. Rudi is not just playing great, but he’s also carrying a young group of guys.”

On Fousseyni Traore starting tonight

“I thought he started out terrific tonight. I was nervous about it, but he did really well. He was really good around the rim tonight, which is important because he stabilizes this team.”

On playing Utah

“The BYU vs. Utah rivalry is always a special game, it’s one that will never go away because it is so important. It’s definitely fun for the fans which is super important for us. This team has been hungry to get better, and I’m really proud of these guys for what they accomplished tonight."

Coach Cody Fueger

On gameplan

“Something that we haven’t done all year long, we were switching their ball screens one through five. Trying to keep us from getting out of our rotations, and staying out to their shooters so there wasn’t a lot of lag free of being there on the catch with these guys. Our guys did a heck of a job just staying down in stance and making catch and shoot threes really difficult to come by. The guys were communicating and did an unbelievable job. We thought they were going to attack the post a little bit which they did in the first half. We gave up six points in the post, but we’d rather do six points in the post, then 12 points from threes. That was kind of our gameplan the whole time.”

Guard Rudi Williams

Opening statement

“It was a short turnaround to prepare for this game, but we had two good prep days leading up to it. The coaches emphasized in our preparation how good of a team they are and how well they shoot the ball. Carlson and Madsen both are shooting the three above 40 percent this year, so we did a good job locking those guys up and executing the game plan.”

On the adjustment being out of the starting rotation and why he has thrived in that role 

“There’s really been no adjustment. I still do the same stuff I’ve always done. Whether I’m coming off the bench or starting, I’m still trying to lead this team and trying to be aggressive with the ball in my hands.” 

On what made the difference in this game 

“50-50 balls. Coach said these in-state games are a big deal, and it’s not about who’s scoring the points or getting the rebounds. It’s about the little things like diving on the floor, second-chance points, and offensive rebounding. The ugly stuff. I feel like we dominated in doing those things tonight.