Sure, the Cougars (22-9, 13-5) would have liked to continue their five-game winning streak and keep their tag as the league's hottest team heading into the WCC Tournament this week. But it was not to be.
"The bottom line is a lot of things were going to have to go our way to get what we wanted from this game," BYU coach Dave Rose said. "Obviously you want to win and have the momentum. But we are going to have to beat them again if we get what we really want."
That rubber-match after the WCC heavyweights each won on the other's court for the second straight season will come on Monday in a semifinal, provided both teams take care of business in quarterfinal matchups on Saturday.