Utah
Will BYU and Utah State face off in March Madness?
The NCAA Tournament is just three weeks away, and the Beehive State should be well represented in the field.
BYU and Utah State are each slated to earn at-large bids for the big dance, while Utah Valley currently sits atop the WAC standings and could make its first-ever tournament appearance by claiming the conference championship.
The majority of current bracket projections have both the Cougars and Aggies hovering between No. 7 and No. 10 seeds, which could lead to a unique outcome — the longtime in-state rivals playing each other in the NCAA Tournament’s opening round.
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Such a matchup has occurred once before, when BYU defeated Utah State 91-82 back in 1971. A 2025 rematch would certainly be compelling television.
Here’s a look at where the local teams are currently projected to play in the NCAA Tournament.
What are the latest bracketology projections for BYU, Utah State and Utah Valley?
ESPN
- BYU: No. 8 seed vs. Utah State in the first round, San Francisco subregional
- Utah State: No. 9 seed vs. BYU in the first round, San Francisco subregional
- Utah Valley: No. 14 seed vs. Texas Tech in the first round, Denver subregional
- Best matchup: Clearly BYU/Utah State. Not only would the basketball itself be highly entertaining, but it would be one of the most memorable sports moments in state history.
CBS Sports
- BYU: No. 10 seed vs. UCLA in the first round, Wichita subregional
- Utah State: No. 8 seed vs. Vanderbilt in the first round, Raleigh subregional
- Utah Valley: No. 14 seed vs. Iowa State in the first round, Milwaukee subregional
- Best matchup: BYU/UCLA. Fans will remember when the Cougars were upset by the underdog, Final Four-bound Bruins in 2021. Revenge on UCLA would be a fitting way for BYU to capture its first tournament victory in more than a decade.
USA Today
- BYU: No. 8 seed vs. Vanderbilt in the first round, Newark subregional
- Utah State: No. 7 seed vs. Nebraska in the first round, Milwaukee subregional
- Utah Valley: No. 14 seed vs. Kentucky in the first round, Denver subregional
- Best matchup: Utah Valley/Kentucky. Mark Pope looking for his first-ever tournament win as a head coach against his former program. Utah Valley looking for its first-ever tournament win against its former head coach. A grudge match for the ages!
The Athletic
- BYU: No. 9 seed vs. UConn in the first round, Raleigh subregional
- Utah State: No. 8 seed vs. Gonzaga in the first round, Lexington subregional
- Utah Valley: No. 14 seed vs. Arizona in the first round, Denver subregional
- Best matchup: BYU/UConn. The Cougars have not defeated a single digit seed in the tournament since 1991. Taking down the two-time defending champion Huskies would be a rewarding way to finally end that streak.
The Washington Post
- BYU: No. 9 seed vs. Illinois in the first round, Lexington subregional
- Utah State: No. 8 seed vs. UConn in the first round, Raleigh subregional
- Utah Valley: No. 14 seed vs. Texas A&M in the first round, Denver subregional
- Best matchup: Utah State/UConn. Jerrod Calhoun has already proven to be a home run hire for the Aggies, but beating Dan Hurley would make it feel like more of a grand slam.
Team Rankings
- BYU: No. 8 seed
- Utah State: No. 9 seed
- Utah Valley: No. 14 seed
When is Selection Sunday?
This year’s NCAA Tournament bracket will be revealed on Sunday, March 16. The selection show announcing the 68-team field will be televised at 4 p.m. MST on CBS.
The 2025 tournament will begin with the First Four games in Dayton, Ohio, on March 18 and 19, then first and second round games will be played from March 20-23.
The Final Four will be held at the Alamodome in San Antonio on April 5 and 7.
Utah
Here’s who will lead Utah Valley University as its next president
Jon Anderson will be charged with moving the Orem school forward following the death of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk on campus last year.
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Incoming UVU President Jon Anderson poses for a photo with his family after an event announcing his selection at Utah Valley University in Orem on Friday, July 17, 2026.
Utah
Beaver County residents set up thousands of sandbags ahead of flashfloods
BEAVER COUNTY, Utah — A massive community effort is underway as volunteers and Beaver County crews distribute thousands of sandbags to protect homes from the potential path of floodwaters.
After the Cottonwood Fires, residents have been waiting for weeks for relief to come in the form of rain, though officials now warn it may come all at once with an increased risk of flooding and debris flow.
Emergency Service Director Les Whitney believes that the fire has left plenty of debris to bring trouble for residents.
“We got a lot of water. We’re bringing debris with it, so tree branches, tree limbs, logs, lots of different size firewood, and that’s all in the creeks. We’re worried about that plugging up our bridges and stuff, so we have heavy equipment and excavators located in strategic places so that we can keep those bridges open,” said Whitney.
An estimated 140 homes and condominiums were spared from the flames, but remain in the paths of floodwaters.
Residents can also pick up sandbags at the Beaver County Sheriff’s Office or at the Beaver County Rodeo Fairgrounds.
Utah
Utah man arrested again for allegedly abusing dog twice in three months
EAGLE MOUNTAIN — An Eagle Mountain man currently on pretrial release in 4th District Court who is accused of abusing his dog has been arrested again for allegedly punching the same animal.
Keith Reaves Davis, 43, was booked into the Utah County Jail on Wednesday for investigation of aggravated cruelty to an animal.
Utah County sheriff’s deputies were called Wednesday afternoon to a grocery store on a report that a man was beating his dog after it had gotten off its leash and was stopped by a bystander, according to a police booking affidavit.
“I reviewed security camera footage from the grocery store, and an individual matching the description of the suspect was seen holding the dog in the air by one paw and repeatedly striking the dog on the right hind leg area. I observed the male strike the dog several times before dropping the dog from approximately 1-2 feet. The strikes appeared to be as hard as the male could hit,” the arresting deputy wrote in the affidavit. “The dog did not cry out or whimper as if the dog was accustomed to the abuse.”
When questioned, Davis “admitted to striking the dog because it was not behaving,” the affidavit states.
An animal control officer who responded to the scene to take custody of the dog noted it was the same dog he had taken from Davis exactly three months earlier during another animal abuse investigation.
In that case, Davis was charged in 4th District Court with aggravated cruelty to an animal, a class A misdemeanor; and public intoxication, a class C misdemeanor, after deputies received a tip from a neighbor that a dog was being abused at Davis’ home, according to charging documents. When questioned, Davis “acknowledged hitting his dog as punishment,” the charges state.
Deputies also reviewed videos that the neighbor had filmed. The neighbor told investigators “there was blood from the dog on the ground of the garage and (the neighbor) can hear the dog screaming as if it’s being hurt. Deputies got the videos from the (neighbor) and you can hear very loudly the dog screaming and crying with a lot of loud banging noises. In one of the videos, you can hear the dog sounding like it is being choked by a collar and is grasping for air,” a police booking affidavit states.
Davis’ next court hearing in the April case is scheduled for July 28.
In their latest booking report, sheriff’s deputies note that they “believe further harm will be inflicted on this dog if it is released back to the male a second time,” and have recommended the dog not be returned to Davis.
The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.
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