The Runnin’ Utes suffered their first loss of the season on Sunday, letting an 11-point halftime lead slip through their fingers. The 78-73 loss to Mississippi State was a battle between two of the best shooters in the country with Gabe Madsen and Josh Hubbard. That battle unfortunately didn’t live up to its billing, as both were cold to start before Hubbard got hot in the second half.
Here are the takeaways from the game:
Hot starting Madsen goes cold
Shooters are going to shoot, and shooters are going to be streaky. That's been the career of Utah’s Gabe Madsen, and it’s not going to change for the 2024-25 season. Utah’s star, who opened the season averaging 25.3 points per game and 17-35 from three-point range, was ice cold during Utah’s first road game against Mississippi State.
Madsen shot 4-15 from the field and 1-10 from long-distance. The Runnin’ Utes came into the game as the top three-point shooting team in the country. With their star struggling, Utah focused more on attacking the paint. The rest of the team went 7-18 from three-point range.
A great first half and a brutal second half
Utah came out strong against the Bulldogs, as their biggest lead was 11. They shot 45.5% from the field and 31.3% from deep. Mississippi State went 22.9% from the field and an ice cold 7.7% from deep. Utah didn’t exactly cool off in the second half, but the Bulldogs’s shots began to drop and they had 11 more free-throw attempts than the Utes.
A big reason for Mississippi State’s second half turnaround was their star guard Josh Hubbard. The Utes held him to three points in the first half, but unlike Madsen, Hubbard found his rhythm in the second for 20 points in that half alone.
The supporting cast had another solid game
This Utah offense runs through Gabe Madsen and for obvious reasons. Unfortunately, Sunday wasn’t his day. The Utes still had four more players in double-figure: Ezra Ausar (15), Mason Madsen (14), Keanu Dawes (13), and Miro Little (10). Dawes had his best game so far, getting a double-double by adding 12 rebounds, and Little added six assists.
A positive to take away from the first four games of the season is that Utah has a promising supporting cast.
Up next
It’s a light week for the Runnin’ Utes this week, as they’ll face the Utah Tech Trailblazers on Friday.
