The 6-2 Runnin’ Utes defeated the 4-5 Cal Bears on Sunday, thanks in large part to a strong defensive effort. Both Gach led the way with 19 points on 7-10 shooting and Branden Carlson returned from his injury to chip in 12 points. It was Utah head coach Craig Smith’s first Pac-12 win with the Utes.

Here are the takeaways from the win:

Gach continues his growth

I don’t want to dwell on the past and I won’t here, even though it can be easy to do so. So instead, I offer this example: Craig Smith and his staff have a terrific developmental track record and it’s showing at Utah with Both Gach. Two other coaching staff had the opportunity to bring out the enormous potential in him and neither succeeded.

Under Smith’s tutelage, Gach has suddenly caught fire since being inserted into the starting lineup. He’s averaging career highs in points with 13, while shooting 53.3% from the field and 38.5% from three point range. At the current rate with the increased trust that everyone has in him, expect his PPG to increase

It’s early, but the promising thing is that Gach is doing this with consistency and not having to rely on a high volume of shots, like he has in the past.

There are plenty of other examples, like Branden Carlson’s rebounding, but Gach’s progression is the most obvious.

All-around complete second half leads to win

Down at the half 35-29, Utah went on a 10-0 run to go up 39-35. Twelve minutes in, went on a 15-4 run. Freshman Lazar Stefanovic continued his development with his third double-digit scoring night, drilling three three-pointers in the second half.

In the end, the Utes used a 14-point swing in the decisive second half to pull away from the Cal Bears.

The Utes defense was suffocating during the same time period, as Cal shot 8-27 and 0-8 from three-point range.

Carlson returns after USC injury scare

In a bit of good news on the injury front, Utah star Branden Carlson returned after his lower leg injury scare against the Trojans. In 21 minutes of action, he had 12 on 3-8 shooting and four rebounds, so he wasn’t 100%. However, he fought through it, after the Utes had been decimated with injuries. Additionally, Gabe Madsen returned from his undisclosed injury.

Carlson is one player Utah can’t afford to lose for an extended period of time, so that was positive news on Sunday.

Up next

The Utes get back to a brief period of playing four non-conference games, starting with TCU on Wednesday and Manhattan on Saturday. They won’t play another Pac-12 game until after Christmas.