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PROVO — The odds were stacked against Utah going into its final game of the regular season on the road against No. 23 BYU.
A season sweep over the Cougars was always going to be a long shot for the Runnin' Utes, even when Utah managed to control a 5-point lead late in the first half.
BYU wasn't going to continue to go scoreless from 3-point range after 13 attempts, and Utah's turnover disparity was never going to make a close game go in its favor.
It required near perfection from Utah.
But the Cougars started to hit 3-pointers — back-to-back after the first baker's dozen and none bigger than Dallin Hall's halftime buzzer-beater to give BYU a 4-point lead and the momentum — and Utah continued to see its turnover disparity grow.
"I think it's no secret, our Achilles is the turnover situation," interim head coach Josh Eilert said. "And they turned up the pressure. They turned up the pressure, especially on our point guard play. And I really got after our guys in the locker room there at halftime that I'm searching, searching for a point guard that can really run the show and get us into what we need to get a good shot each and every time down the floor.
"So it's been something that just keeps on rearing its ugly head, the turnover situation, and certainly did tonight."
As a result, the points started to accumulate from both stats — BYU went on to make eight 3-pointers and got 21 points off Utah's 17 turnovers — to make a Utes comeback anything but likely. BYU outscored Utah 51-44 in the final 20 minutes.
That's been the story of the season.
Since Jan. 18, when Utah topped BYU by 1 point in overtime in the Huntsman Center, the two teams have gone in seemingly different directions. Sure, the Utes managed wins over Kansas and Kansas State, but there were more disappointments than successes along the way.
In fact, it reached a level where Utah fired — and hired — a head coach before the regular season was even over. Not exactly the recipe for a successful season.
BYU finished the regular season with eight straight wins. Utah had only eight wins in conference play.
Utah closed out the regular season with an 11th place finish, while BYU secured a double bye and a No. 4 seed in next week's Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City.
That has to sting a bit for Utah, but none of it comes as a surprise, either.
It could be argued that Utah exceeded expectations the season — the Utes certainly weren't the worst team in the Big 12 — while recognizing that it was a major disappointment, as well.
Sure, Utah wasn't playing with a full deck of cards compared to the rest of the league — in just NIL resources alone — but the team had overcome much of that to show out at times and challenge some of the best teams in the league (at least for 20 minutes and some change).
But the end result was generally the same: a loss.
What happens in the postseason likely only matters to those still on the team; but for others, it's one more day under an old regime that is fading into black.
That future regime with Alex Jensen & Co. may not fare any better, especially early as he acclimates to the college environment again, but it provides excitement to a previously apathetic fan base now hungry to return to basketball glory.
The odds will still be stacked against Utah — at least in the immediate future — but the hope for all interested in the Runnin' Utes is that a new regime will help get Utah back to being a successful program again.
Immediately following Utah's exit in the upcoming Big 12 Tournament, all the attention turns to next season. Jensen will need to identify early which players on the current roster he needs to try to keep, but a total rebuild isn't out of the question, either.
If Utah wants to be in a spot more similar to its rival, anything and everything should be on the table to re-energize the Runnin' Utes basketball program. The biggest question is if Utah can get it done this time around.
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