The Runnin’ Utes completed a home sweep of the Washington schools on Saturday evening by beating the Washington State Cougars 76-64. After a slow start, Utah took the lead 24-23 with 4:25 left in the first half thanks to a Timmy Allen free-throw, and then the Utes never looked back. A tightened bench rotation and big contributions from different players helped Utah defend home court and improve to 3-4 in conference play.
Here are the takeaways from the game:
Rylan Jones leads the way
Despite being normally the smallest player on the court, Rylan Jones has created a habit of coming up with the biggest plays in crucial moments for the Utes this season. The freshman out of Holladay had just six points at halftime, but he finished with 24 points on the night. At one point, Jones was responsible for 13 of Utah’s 15 points, and he assisted on the other two. As Washington State’s CJ Elleby and Isaac Bonton attacked on offense late in the game, Jones matched them on offense and simply took over the game. Whatever the Cougars threw at Utah, Jones had an answer. Ute fans knew a Rylan Jones commitment was big, but it seems that it is starting to sink in just how special he can be.
Jantunen and Carlson step up
On a night where Allen had a pedestrian 11 points by his own standards, Mikael Jantunen and Branden Carlson had great nights to set the stage for Jones to take over late in the second half. Jantunen was a spark plug off the bench, owning the low block on his way to 16 points as Utah finished with 40 points in the paint. Strong, consistent play from the bigs is something that has been lacking since Jakob Poetl left for the NBA, but Carlson is showing signs that things are starting to click. The freshman 7-footer scored a career best 12 points and finished with three blocks, although his presence on defense impacted even more Washington State shots. Whether by design or because Jantunen and Carlson were playing well, Coach Krystkowiak kept his rotation tight, with only seven players seeing time. The bench rotation will be something to keep an eye on as the conference season moves forward.
The Utes continue to win the boards
One thing this squad has struggled with on the season, is the physical aspect of the game, especially rebounding. During this week’s home stand, which saw them go to 8-1 in the Huntsman on the season, the Utes decisively won the rebounding advantage in both games.
The one portion to nitpick however, is that against the Cougars, Carlson only had two in twenty-three minutes. As a 7-foot starting center, that’s an area he needs to greatly improve to be successful as he’s averaging only 3.3 boards a game—when a starting center should be at two to three times that. For comparison sake, 6-foot Rylan Jones, is averaging 3.4.
Up next
After running through a gauntlet of Oregon, Colorado, Arizona, and Arizona State, the Runnin’ Utes fought back over a tough Washington team that also needed a win and found their stride against Washington State. Will this week be a step forward, or will the growing pains continue in Los Angeles next week? USC beat Oregon State easily and took Oregon to double overtime, while UCLA is right next to Utah in the Pac-12 standings.
