The Runnin’ Utes opened conference play with a big 96-86 road victory on Thursday night, defeating the Arizona State Sun Devils—who previously defeated the no. 1 Kansas Jayhawks. The game was a tale of two halves, as Utah initially looked severely over-matched in the first, only to come back and run away with the game, thanks to a scorching hot offense.

Here are the takeaways from the game:

The lineup made more sense and it was more effective

Earlier, we had discussed that Sedrick Barefield and Donnie Tillman could not come off the bench together as Utah searches for the ideal starting lineup. Barefield got the start today and Tillman came in in relief, as for one game, Utah found what it needed from its starters and its bench. Timmy Allen scored 17 points, Tillman added 22—which were both career highs for the underclassmen. Ute Nation was aware of what Barefield was capable of and has responded well after coming off the bench. The pleasant surprise tonight was that of Tillman who finished the night 6-8 from behind the arc. There are still many unknowns about this Utah team but this starting lineup turned out to be successful for the Utes, at least for one game. Can it continue?

Can that second half please be a norm and not an outlier?

At one point early in the first half, Utah trailed the Sun Devils 28-11 and things were not looking great for Utah. Shots were not falling, they were not taking care of the ball, and they didn’t seem to have much fight in them. But, the Utes kept fighting and ended the half on a 7-0 run and cut the ASU lead to just four before the break. Then, Utah came out in the second half on fire and also played with more passion. The biggest difference in this entire game was the 16 made three-pointers and the impressive 51% shooting from the field and 81% from the charity stripe. Along with the improved shooting, Utah looked a lot more comfortable on the offensive end and they were always hustling back to set up defensively. Anytime a team scores 96 points, they should come out on top and 57 of these points came in just the second half.

The turnovers still need to be cleaned up

Despite all of the positives to come out of last night’s game, the Utes still lost the turnover battle, 14-9. With their youth, this is likely to be a constant work in progress, throughout the season. Why is this such a big deal, even in a victory? It’s not every night that you’re going to shoot 51% from the field, 53% from three-point range, and 81% from the line. This goes back to the point above, that last night was an outlier. The Utes will need to clean up the turnovers, if they want to be successful in Pac-12 play.

Up Next:

After starting Pac-12 play 1-0, the Utes now head to Tucson to face the Arizona Wildcats on Saturday. Arizona is 10-4 on the year after defeating Colorado in their first Pac-12 game. With a win on Saturday, the Utes will be on top of the Pac-12 South and will open many more eyes after a tough start to the season. Regardless of what happens Saturday though, with a win over the Sun Devils, this road trip is already a success.