Arizona lost a spirited game to BYU on Saturday night, and the school has issued an apology over a chant that was directed toward the Cougars after the final buzzer sounded.
No. 19 Arizona was upset by BYU 96-95 thanks in part to a controversial foul call at the end of the game. Caleb Love put the Wildcats up 95-94 by hitting a pair of free throws with 13 seconds remaining.
Following a BYU timeout, top Cougars scorer Richie Saunders drove to the basket and put up a wild shot. It looked like Arizona had made a game-winning stop, but a foul was called. Saunders made both of his free throws to give BYU the lead. You can see the video here.
BYU then intercepted Arizona’s inbound pass with 3.2 second remaining to seal the victory. Wildcats fans were furious over the finish, and many of them directed their frustrations toward BYU.
As players were walking off the court, many Arizona fans broke into a “f– the Mormons!” chant.
Arizona athletic director Desireé Reed-Francois later issued a statement apologizing for the vulgar chant.
“Following tonight’s men’s basketball game, it was brought to our attention that an unacceptable chant occurred,” Reed-Francois said. “On behalf of the University of Arizona Athletic Department, we apologize to BYU, their student-athletes, coaches and fans. The chant is not reflective of who we are and should not have happened.”
Players had to be separated during the postgame handshake line, so the tension on the floor may have spilled over into the stands.
Some words exchanged post-handshake in Arizona, no kerfuffle pic.twitter.com/FD9BYibGkx
— CJ Fogler 🫡 (@cjzero) February 23, 2025
Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd was critical of the foul call after the game, telling reporters you “hate for a game to be decided by that.”
BYU now has two straight wins over ranked opponents. The 19-8 Cougars also embarrassed a top-25 team so badly on Tuesday night that some fans were calling for one of the most successful coaches in the country to be fired.
