The Runnin’ Utes kicked off their 2024-25 men’s basketball season with a 100-59 victory over the Alcorn State Braves. While their first season in the Big 12 is supposed to be a challenging one, there were some encouraging signs in the season opener.

Here are the takeaways from the game:

Madsen bros. are an intriguing duo

Okay, so this could be a fun storyline developing. Without a doubt, Gabe and Mason Madsen are Utah’s two best shooters. The twin brothers weren’t shy on Monday, hoisting up 19 combined threes and hitting 11 of them. They finished with a total of 42 points - Gabe with 27 and Mason with 15.

It was a special moment sharing the court again for the two brothers and they both delivered.

Make it rain

Utah set a school record on Monday night with 19 three-pointers made. They shot 50% against Alcorn State, going 19-38. Aside from the aforementioned Madsen brothers, three other Utes hit two shots from long-distance: Keanu Dawes, Miro Little, and Mike Sharavjamts.

When Dawes hit Utah’s 18th three-pointer of the game, that gave Utah a new school record.

The question going forward is how consistent the team as a whole can be with these shots? Gabe Madsen, for one, can be a really streaky shooter.

The Utes’ three-point shooting might be the key to them finishing the middle of the pack in a difficult Big 12 conference.

What’s in store for Utah defensively?

It was a 41-point Utes victory, but Alcorn State didn’t necessarily play a bad game. In fact, they were close up until the tail end of the first half. Statistically, Utah had an obvious advantage in field goal (36.4% to 56.1%) and three-point percentages (27.3% to 50%) but all other categories were relatively close. Alcorn State also won the battle for points in the paint.

The Utes have much more athleticism and length than they’ve ever had during the Craig Smith era. It was an encouraging result to have a blowout win and still find out things the group needs to work on.

Up next

The Runnin’ Utes wrap up their opening week at home on Thursday against Central Arkansas at 8:30 PM MST. They’ll then play Queens State on 11/12 before going to Mississippi State for their first road contest.