The Runnin’ Utes absolutely dominated Jax State from the start on Saturday, jumping out to a lead as much as 22. The Utes seemed well on their way to scoring over 100 points, but head coach Craig Smith called off the dogs, as Utah cruised to a 99-58 victory.

Here are the takeaways from the game:

Wishing the best to Gavin Baxter

Just before tipoff, it was announced that senior Gavin Baxter would medically retire. The former BYU Cougar provided valuable leadership and experience to the Utes, but his past knee injuries proved to be too much of a hurdle for him.

On the season, he averaged 7.7 minutes per game in seven of nine games. He shot 37.5% from the field. In the end, he just couldn’t play at a level he feels good about.

“I'm very grateful for the chance Utah gave me but due to my injury history,” said Baxter. “I can't compete the way I want to.”

While he hasn’t been at his peak level of performance, Utah will still benefit greatly if he stays around the team.

Best wishes to Baxter in life after basketball.

Utes get a high 45 first half points

Utah jumped out to a 19 point lead before Jax State finally hit their first shot—a three-pointer from Clarence Jackson over five and a half minutes into the game. Before their matchup against Utah, the Gamecocks were in the top-10 in the country for their three-point shooting.

Jax State would heat up from beyond the arc going 5-10 for the half, but 8-28 overall to shoot a meager 28.6% for the half. Utah shot 7-15 from three-point range in the half, and actually shot it even better in the second half, going 9-13.

Branden Carlson and Gabe Madsen both reached double-digits before the half, with 10 and 13 points, respectively. Carlson would finish with 19 and Madsen would end up with 16 points. Rollie Worster also had an impressive five assists at half before finishing with eight for the game.

Stefanovic catches fire

The sophomore from Belgrade, Serbia got off to a bit of a slow start on the season, but over his last four games he’s averaging 12.5 points per game. He rode a hot streak of 6-8 shooting from three-point range Thursday night on his way to a game and season-high 20 points. He also had three assists and two steals.

For Utah to become a definitive top-25 team and NCAA Tournament team, it’s imperative that he maintains consistency. Despite shooting 6-8 from beyond the arc, he only shot 1-7 from everywhere else.

Up next

The Runnin’ Utes will be off this weekend and then back at it at home against UTSA next Tuesday. Later next week, they’ll travel to Provo for the rivalry matchup against the struggling BYU Cougars.