Fun, nail-biting, too close for comfort… There are a lot of ways to describe the University of Utah’s win over the Stanford Cardinal, as they came away victorious in an overtime thriller. There are still plenty of things to fix, like the cold shooting spurts, but there were also plenty of recent developments to be intrigued by.

Here are the takeaways from the game:

Carlson had the best game of a Ute all season

I know, I know, Both Gach and Rylan Jones both had triple-doubles in the same game—that’s an accomplishment, but it wasn’t against a quality opponent, like Branden Carlson’s near triple-double. One game after I admittedly wondered if he was a quality stretch-4 or stretch-5 and not the low-post presence that the Utes need. Carlson responded with one of the best games by a Utah center in recent memory: 15 points, 10 rebounds, and eight blocked shots. He was a beast playing with high energy and was all over the place on offense and defense.

If Carlson can play with that type of tenacity on a consistent basis, the Utes suddenly have the force in the paint that they’ve been lacking.

After a fast start, a dry spell almost doomed them

The Utes started the game in dominating fashion, only to go cold and not convert on a field goal for the final 10 minutes of the first half. To make matters worse, they only added two free-throws during that span, finishing the first half with 28 points. Fortunately, the Cardinal didn’t do much better during that span, scoring six points of their own, as the Ites had a 28-22 halftime lead.

It’s well-documented that the Utes have struggled with their shooting during most of Pac-12 play. The Utes were fortunate to have big performances from Carlson and Riley Battin (11 points and 10 rebounds), with Timmy Allen and Rylan Jones coming in clutch at the end. Still, Stanford stormed back and was never out of it, forcing overtime. Thankfully from there, the Utes ran away with it.

Ultimately, they’ve got to limit these consistent droughts that they go through in order to make a late season run and be a threat when the conference tournament rolls around.

Allen struggles, but still came through for Utah

The sophomore leader had a night to forget when it came to his shooting, as he finished just 3-10 from the field. He also didn’t have his typical night crashing the boards with only four rebounds total. That being said, he still found effective ways to contribute on the offensive end, by going 9-12 at the line. The mark of a great player is when they find ways to make an impact, even on an off-night. Allen did just that and Carlson and Battin picked up the slack.

There’s no doubt that it would have been ideal for him make both of those free-throws in the closing seconds, but I’m not going to fault someone who consistently found a way to convert at the free-throw line all night.

Up next

The Runnin’ Utes will host the (10-12 overall, 4-5 Pac-12) Cal Golden Bears at 6pm MST on Saturday, a game in which they will honor former Utah Athletic Director Chris Hill. This is the last conference foe that the Utes haven’t faced this season, as they’ll soon kick into the second half of their Pac-12 schedule.