The University of Utah men’s basketball team traveled to Fort Worth, TX to play TCU in the Simmons Bank Showdown. The Utes fell in the “neutral” site matchup at Dickies Arena, 62-76.
The Utes (6-3) matched up well with TCU for most of the first half until an 11-0 run by TCU (7-1) broke the game open and created a lead that Utah could not overcome. Branden Carlson and Both Gach led Utah with 16 points each, with Carlson recording nine rebounds, six blocks, and a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line. Carlson and Gach also led the Utes in minutes with 30 and 35, respectively.
Here are the takeaways from the loss:
Poor shooting plagued Utah
It was a tough night shooting for the Runnin’ Utes, as they went 3-for-20 (15%) from behind the arc. In fact, Utah did not make their first three-pointer until 17:13 left in the second half after going 0-for-8 in the first half. In addition to missed threes, Utah also missed quite a few shots within the paint, some from right in front of the rim. The gap stayed around 10 or 12 points for most of the second half, with Utah getting as close as eight points with just under four minutes to go.
Overall, Utah shot just 33.9% on the night, although they were 21-for-25 from the free throw line. Despite some good looks throughout the game, Utah’s shooters struggled to find any kind of rhythm.
Defensive miscues led to easy TCU points
Utah only committed eight turnovers on the night, but an athletic TCU team turned Utah misses into fast break points by getting ahead of the transition defense. Led by Mike Miles’ 28 points and eight rebounds, TCU forced Utah to run all over the court.
Every time it seemed that Utah was going to close the gap, TCU would either turn a defensive rebound into an easy bucket on the other side or find an open shot by finding the late rotation by Utah. TCU was only 5-for-18 on three-pointers, but they saw many open looks throughout the game.
The Utes fought hard in the first 15 minutes, but TCU’s strength and athleticism wore down Utah in the second half. The rebounds and aggressiveness seen in the first half by the Utes were shut down by the Horned Frogs in the second half, as TCU’s strength began to win the tough battles.
Carlson, Gach, and Thioune with solid impact
Despite the tough loss, there were some encouraging themes in Fort Worth. Branden Carlson was one rebound shy of a double-double and his presence was felt on both ends of the floor. Carlson is learning to stay out of foul trouble and take advantage of his height, as evidenced by his six blocks and just two fouls; it is a little reminiscent of David Foster when he was most efficient on the defensive end. Early on, Gach was finding his way to the basket and was a big part in Utah keeping up in the first half. Although he faded in the middle part of the game, Gach started to emerge again towards the end and found his way to the foul line.
A subtle, but great thing to see was Lahat Thioune’s impact on the game. While only seeing 10 minutes to spell Carlson, Thioune finished with four points, five rebounds, one assist, and one steal. He was solid on defense and good on the glass. His continued development will be key as teams will surely key more on Carlson in conference play.
Up next
The 6-3 Utes travel back to Salt Lake City to host the 6-2 Manhattan Jaspers from the MAAC on December 11 before finishing the non-conference slate at Missouri and home against Fresno State.
