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Provo • When he came to the state of Utah from the Houston area in the mid-1970s to play basketball at what was then known as Dixie College, BYU coach Dave Rose was immediately surprised by how much Utahns loved their basketball.
"The instate rivalries were just terrific," he said.
And he wants to keep them going as long as he's around.
As Rose's Cougars prepared Monday to face instate rival Utah State on Tuesday night at the Spectrum (7 p.m. CBS College Sports Network), the 10th-year coach said he wants the series to continue uninterrupted well into the future.
"I was really excited about the popularity of basketball in the state, and I have just been impressed with it over the years," Rose said. "Hopefully we can continue to play each other. The games are great, and the fans really enjoy them. It is not the funnest thing, I think, for the coaches, but I think the players and fans love them."
Rose said the instate games are tough on the coaches because "we are all trying to recruit the same kids, and these games stay with you for a long time. … But the most important thing is to jump in there and keep playing them, because I think it is good for everybody."
Playing at the 'zoo'
As a redshirt freshman from Las Vegas in 2011, Anson Winder remembers the first time he played in a college basketball game at Utah State's Spectrum.
"It was a zoo," said Winder, now a senior. "I wasn't prepared for that, especially as an 18-year-old going into that experience. It was a crazy experience."
The Cougars (5-2) are expecting more of the same Tuesday — from both the 3-2 Aggies and their famous raucous crowd. BYU has won five of its last seven meetings with USU, but has lost six straight in Logan, not winning there since 2000.
"Everybody has kind of hyped it up a lot, and it is probably true," said guard Chase Fischer, the transfer from Wake Forest. "I am expecting a hostile crowd. … It is a road game for us, and they play really well at home. So we are in for a dogfight."
Fischer played twice at Duke as a Demon Deacon and faced the Cameron Crazies, so he will be eager to see how the Spectrum crowd compares. Winder said the two toughest crowds he has faced in college have been at Utah State and Gonzaga, where the Kennel is always rocking, not just for BYU visits.
"Coach [Rose] has brought up [the fact] that he hasn't won there in a while," Winder said. "It won't be easy. We are going to get their best shot. So if we can pull out a win, that would be great."
Ha ha Haws
Senior guard Tyler Haws, one of the best free-throw shooters in the country (91.1 percent), said he's only laughed once at the free-throw line in his life, at that was at the Spectrum when he saw a 30-something fan wearing no shirt behind the basket.
"I think it was Wild Bill. Is that his name? Wild Bill stood up and was just shaking," Haws said. "I couldn't help but laugh."
Twitter: @drewjay