The Runnin’ Utes (18-13, 9-11 Pac-12) closed out their 2023-24 regular season on Saturday with a hard fought road loss to the Oregon Ducks (20-11, 12-8 Pac-12). Leading by five at the half, an injury to Branden Carlson would prove too much to overcome. Utah had a chance to win it, but Ben Carlson missed at the buzzer.
Here are the takeaways from the 66-65 loss:
Carlson injury was too much to overcome
Around three minutes into the second half, Utah’s Carlson got tangled up with Oregon’s N’Faly Dante. As Carlson pulled away, Dante held on to the star senior’s arm, which injured it in the process.
Carlson went straight to the locker room and never re-entered the game. Utah was leading at the time of his injury, but Oregon made their run soon after. The Ducks biggest lead in the second half was seven, as the Utes hung close and even led by five at one point after trailing.
Despite leaving the game after only 22 minutes of action, Carlson led Utah with 19 points on 7-12 shooting and 3-5 from long-distance. Dante led Oregon with 19 points and 12 rebounds. Deivon Smith finished with 15 points and Gabe Madsen followed with 14. The duo only combined for six points each after Carlson left the game, with four of those coming from the foul line for Smith. Utah went from shooting 50% overall in the first half to shooting an ice-cold 32.1% in the decisive second half.
A clean look that wasn’t the best look
Trailing 66-65 with eight seconds left, Madsen hauled in a defensive rebound and passed to Smith. Streaking down the court, Smith’s lane looked close and instead of settling for a mid-range jumper, he passed to Madsen. Madsen had a relatively clean look to win it, but instead he chose to pass to a wide open Ben Carlson for a three that bounced off the rim.
It was a poor decision despite Carlson being wide open. A 32.6% three-point shooter, Carlson finished the game 1-8 from the field 0-5 from deep. Madsen found the most open guy on the court, but he was open for a reason. In March, come hell or high water, that’s a shot Smith or Madsen need to shoot.
At-large hopes slim to none and it’s a hot seat
Despite finishing 18-13 overall, the seat for Utah head coach Craig Smith has become scorching hot. Does it mean a change is looming? No, but there are conversations. Utah finished 9-11 in a bad Pac-12 conference. Combine that with a 2-9 road record. They also suffered several injuries for the second season in a row, which should lead to a revamped strength and conditioning program.
Unless something unexpected happens, this will be the seventh year in a row that Utah has missed the NCAA Tournament. When Smith was hired, UteNation has been told that he said the turnaround would take four years. However, the odds of Utah being competitive under Smith in their first season of the Big 12 is low.
Regardless of what the fanbase and some boosters may hope for — a head coach hire that reconnects the glory days — the buyout and the belief in giving Smith his four year window, might be his saving grace.
UteNation falls in the camp of wanting to see Smith’s four year window through, but we acknowledge that it’s becoming more and more difficult to justify.
Up next
The Utes must either win the Pac-12 tournament or make it to the championship game in order to secure a spot in the NCAA Tournament. To do that, they’ll need to take things one game at a time as they open the tournament against Arizona State. Despite being the No. 6 seed and Arizona State being No. 11, it’s an unfavorable matchup for Utah, as the Sun Devils have defeated Utah twice in the regular season. If the Utes win, they’ll face No. 3 Colorado.
