The Utah Men’s basketball team proved that their 35-point season opener wasn’t a fluke by following it up with another impressive victory Friday night with an 82-53 thrashing of UC Riverside.

The game was virtually over by halftime, where the Utes led the Highlanders 48-13.

Here are the takeaways:

Lovering and Bajema are the missing pieces Utah has needed

It’s only been two games, but the additions of Colorado transfer Lawson Lovering and Washington transfer Cole Bajema have made this team so much better.

Lovering’s size and ability to shoot from all over the floor has been difficult for opposing defenses to stop. He’s really taken the load off of Branden Carlson.

Bajema has been fantastic from three-point range. What’s really special about him is that he doesn’t just chuck the ball up every time he touches it. In the first two games, he’s a combined 6/11 from deep and 10/17 overall.

The Bench depth just might be solid enough

Keba Keita has taken the next step this season. He brings so much energy to the floor. He followed up his impressive debut with another great game, getting 10 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 blocks in just 15 minutes of playing time.

Ben Carlson is another energy guy, and he’s more than happy to do the dirty work. He’s quietly averaging 11 points and 5.5 rebounds in the first two games, and is 4/7 from three-point land.

Finally, Hunter Erickson has been another solid contributor off the bench. He had a rough shooting night against the Highlanders, but he’s been a great facilitator.

Imagine if the Utes could add just one more guy to consistently help off the bench…keep crossing your fingers for a Deivon Smith waiver.

Regardless the opponent, the defense looks good

It’s only been two games against Big Sky and Big West teams, but teams are having trouble shooting against these Runnin’ Utes.

Over the two games, Utah opponents have shot just 34.3% from the field and 29.3% from 3-point range. The Utes already have a rebounding margin of +42.

Utah only created 7 turnovers against UC Riverside, so there is still room for improvement there.

Up Next

The Runnin’ Utes will head to South Carolina Thursday, November 16th to play in the Charleston Classic. Their first opponent of the eight-team tournament will be Wake Forest.

The Demon Deacons began the season with a 101-78 win over Elon, but then lost their second game on the road against Georgia, 80-77.

CMU transfer G Kevin Miller (19.5 Pts, 5.5 Rebs, 3.5 Asts), G Cameron Hildreth (22.5 Pts, 4 Rebs, 4 Asts), and F Andrew Carr (21 Pts, 8.5 Rebs, 3 Blks) will lead Wake Forest in Utah’s first true test of the season.