Coming into Tuesday night's game between BYU and No. 20 Arizona, the Cougars were riding a four-game win streak.
Their battle against the Wildcats would be the biggest test so far on the season, as they had a chance to prove to the college basketball world that it meant business.
In total, there were nine ties and 11 lead changes, but BYU fell to Arizona 88-77.
The Cougars are still looking for their signature win.
If there was a game that would cement BYU's status as an NCAA Tournament team, it was this one.
In nearly every college basketball media projections, BYU sits on the bubble, with some even having the Cougars in their "first four out" on the outside looking in.
A win against Arizona, who has won 11 of its last 12 games, would have been a huge boost for the Cougars.
Both teams came out to play on the late 9 p.m. game time start.
Fresh off a season-high 19 points on Saturday, BYU senior forward Mawot Mag picked up right where he left off with eight point in the first half. He hit two 3-pointers that bailed out BYU in late shot clock situations.
Arizona's big man Tobe Awake was able to get his work done down low. He managed to score 12 points and grab six rebounds in the first half.
Neither team could gain an edge.
Tied 41-41 at halftime, BYU and Arizona traded blows for the first ten minutes of the second half, but Arizona answered every punch that BYU threw.
The biggest counter punch came when Wildcat star Caleb Love hit a setback 3-pointer to put Arizona up by two. He then put his finger up in what looked like a shushing of the crowd — the crowd was deafening and on their feet during this particular play — but Love said that he wasn't signaling to the crowd at all.
"I wasn't really going to the crowd," Love said. "I was telling my teammates, 'you know, we're good' ... my energy was going towards my team."
Arizona took firm control in the last minutes of the second half. At one point, BYU went on a seven-minute field goal drought. The Wildcats made shots, rebounded, and made their free throws. Everything the Cougars could not do.
Finishing close games was a big point of concern for BYU two-and-a-half weeks ago. At one point, the Cougars were 2-4 in conference play with a handful of close losses.
After the last two victories by the Cougars - one in overtime and one by six points at UCF — BYU seemed to have put the late game critiques behind it, but after its disappointing play at the end of Tuesday's game, the questions have risen back up.
"I think we left a lot of money on the table, which is frustrating," BYU guard Dallin Hall said.
In an ideal world, BYU wouldn't drop too far in the eyes of the NCAA Tournament selection committee, but a 15-7 team with two quad-one wins needs every victory it can get.
As of this week, the Cougars only have three more chances to get a win against a ranked team, hosting No. 16 Kansas in two weeks, playing at No. 20 Arizona again, and going on the road to face No. 8 Iowa State on the final week of the season.