Aggie men’s basketball falls to in-state rival BYU 77-63 at Vivint Arena

The Utah State basketball team fell 77-63 to rival Brigham Young University on Wednesday night at the Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City.

While Aggie fans and players went home disappointed from a loss, this game provided a unique opportunity for athletes from Utah State and BYU to play in front of 12,000 passionate fans on a court that many of them watched their childhood NBA players play on.

“Any time you get a chance to come and play in this arena and play in this environment it’s good for your team,” said Aggie head coach Tim Duryea.

The arena remained largely silent before the game started until a loud chant of “let’s go Aggies” thundered throughout the 19,911 seat venue. The source? Hundreds of Aggie students descending the stairs to their seats behind the basket.

The USU student section, The Hurd, distributed its entire allotment of tickets for the game, and even provided transportation in the form of multiple buses to create a “Spectrum on wheels.”

The fans of each school, energized by the blaring music and hype-up introduction videos played on the arena’s newly-installed jumbo boards, remained engaged throughout the entire competition.

Though most of Cougar faithful live within 45 miles of the neutral-site Vivint Smart Home Arena, Aggie-blue filled the majority of the lower bowl.

Combining fans from each school in the same venue created a unique environment. Members of The Hurd and BYU’s student section, The ROC, exchanged cheers directed at each other such as “we can’t hear you,” “this is our house,” and “where’s your fanbase?”

Each school came equipped with their own pep band, stunt squad and mascot, none of which wanted to be outdone by their rival-school counterpart. To add to the competitive nature of the event, Aggie mascot Big Blue and Cougar mascot Cosmo even participated in a dance-off during a media timeout.

Slovakian USU forward Norbert Janicek said this was his first time playing on an NBA court, and that while it was a good experience, “I just wish that the outcome was a little bit different,” he said.

“I got to come here twice in my college career, and it’s really cool for me,” said senior Aggie wing Jalen Moore. “It’s just great playing in front of a big crowd like that on an NBA court.”

The game was a part of a home-away-neutral agreement made between the schools a few years ago, ensuring that each team gets a home game against the other at least once every three years. The two teams will meet in Logan next year.

The home of the Utah Jazz has been friendly to the Cougars in the past, winning 12 of their past 14 games held there. The Aggies were 3-3 coming into their seventh ever game at the venue.

USU and BYU will also each participate in the Beehive Classic, a basketball showdown involving each of Utah’s four division one basketball teams at Vivint Smart Home Arena in each of the next three seasons.