SALT LAKE CITY — In the end, especially considering so few ramifications were involved, common sense prevailed.
Four months after making an ill-advised decision, the University of Utah changed course and announced it will resume playing BYU in men’s basketball. The reversal means the long-running series will face only a one-year interruption and resume in Provo early in the 2017-18 season.
For all involved, thank goodness the Utes chose the right. There simply weren’t enough legitimate reasons for the two teams not to play one virtually meaningless non-conference game.
In January, one month after BYU freshman guard Nick Emery made a bonehead decision to sucker punch Utah’s Brandon Taylor, Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak personally paid $80,000 to buy out the game set for the Marriott Center next season.