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Takeaways: Runnin’ Utes Can’t Sustain Strong Start in Loss to Arizona


The University of Utah Runnin’ Utes lost in Tucson Saturday night to the Arizona Wildcats, 82 to 64. Utah actually kept the game close for most of the game, pulling to within one point after a Both Gach basket made it 46 to 45 with 12:28 left in the game. Arizona proved their Top 10 ranking and went on a 21-0 run over the next five minutes to put the Wildcats in a safe 67-45 lead. The Utes fall to 8-9 on the season and 1-6 in the Pac-12 while Arizona moves to 14-1 and 4-0 in conference play.

Here are some takeaways from the game:


The Carlson factor

It is always a tall task for any school to try and beat Arizona at the McKale Center, but not having your starting center makes it really difficult. Branden Carlson missed his second straight game from his appendicitis surgery, and while he is not necessarily known for his rebounding prowess, his ability to alter shots in the paint is missed.

Arizona outscored Utah 56 to 28 in the paint, with 12 points coming during the 21-0 run in the second half. The Wildcats were only 3-18 from three-point range, but 30-47 (63.8%) from inside the arc and 28 of those buckets inside the paint. Arizona’s Azuolas Tubelis had no problem getting what he wanted on offense as he finished with 32 points and eight rebounds to lead the Wildcats on 14-24 shooting.


Turnover woes continue

Utah finished with 20 turnovers in the game, including six during Arizona’s 21-0 second half run. The Utes have long missed a true point guard that could command the offense consistently and hold up against the physicality of conference play. The Utes only mustered nine assists in the game, further highlighting the difficulty of finding a good rhythm during the game. While many offenses do not feature a traditional point guard and can get away with playing a two-guard at the point, Utah’s lineup is still growing and does not have the consistent scoring threat off the dribble or a sharp shooter to come off screens yet.


Room to grow

It is an understatement that this team has a long way to go, even in the early days of Craig Smith’s tenure. However, the silver lining behind some of the large deficits is that Utah has a model for what they need to look like in order to compete in the Pac-12. Arizona’ size and strength was on display in the second half, particularly in the paint with the bigs, but also showed up on the wings as longer athletes with strength have disrupted Utah on the perimeter. A pattern this season is Utah holding their own for about the first 30 minutes only to run out of gas late in the game to bigger and stronger teams.

Utah clearly has the ability to play themselves into every game, but the last half of the season will depend on their ability to maintain that intensity and discipline for a full 40 minutes and who steps up to lead this team in every sense of the word.


Up next

The Runnin’ Utes stay in the state of Arizona to play their postponed game against Arizona State on Monday in Tempe.


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