The Runnin’ Utes left Salt Lake City winless on their quick homestand, falling in their second game of the week to the Oregon State Beavers, 81-72. Larry Krystkowiak’s crew mounted a late comeback in the second half, but ultimately it wasn’t enough to dig themselves out of their first half hole.

Here are the takeaways to the game:

Utes can't quite finish the comeback

Down 14 at halftime and only shooting 25% from three-point range with 10 turnovers put the Runnin' Utes in a tough hole to begin the second half. This team has overcome some big deficits over the course of the season, but as the story has gone, they couldn't quite get out of their own way. As the second half hit, the Utes were better with the ball—only committing four more turnovers—but they only shot 6-22 from behind the arc. They cut it down to as little as four points in the final minutes, but a poor shooting night by Utah and a failure to shutdown Oregon State's Tres Tinkle (31 points) ultimately led to a second straight home loss and a setback to what has otherwise been a decent showing in conference play.

Allen continues his dominating play

One of the few highlights in Saturday’s disappointing loss to Oregon State was the performance of freshman Timmy Allen. He finished with 24 points and six rebounds as he continues to stay hot in Pac-12 play. The thing that stuck out against OSU, though, was his energy and passion as he tried to put the team on his back and will them back down the closing stretch. He led the team in scoring and minutes, as he played all but two minutes against the Beavers. Since Pac-12 play began, Allen has been an anchor for the Utes and has been one of their most consistent players. He’s averaged 14.4 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. Allen played his heart out and has begun to step up as a leader for this young Utah squad. With this team that lacks consistent senior leadership, Allen’s role will keep growing along with his offensive success.

Consistently inconsistent is the mark of this young team

In nine conference games, there have been only two, where Sedrick Barefield has scored less than 16 points—in eight of those games, he’s ended up in double-figures. As mentioned above, Allen has also become a consistent threat, but this team lives and dies by the three-pointer. Throwing out Barfiled’s numbers, the rest of the team shot a paltry 3-15 from long distance against the Beavers.

Consistency had long been the biggest question mark of Barefield’s game, and it’s something that has been solved for the majority of his senior season. Now, the rest of the team needs to follow suit, or else it’s going to be a roller coaster ride to the end of the season.

Up next

The Runnin’ Utes begin their California road swing on Wednesday, as they take on the USC Trojans. They then travel to Pasadena on Saturday to take on the UCLA Bruins. Both squad come in with identical Pac-12 records to the Utes, and very similar overall records. Now on a two game losing streak, after a golden opportunity was squandered at home, the Utes can’t afford to leave Southern California without at least one win.