The losing streak is over. On Thursday night, the Runnin’ Utes defeated the struggling Oregon State Beavers, 84-59. Improvement has been happening recently for Utah despite going through a 10-game losing streak and it culminated in a sound 25 point home win against the Beavers.

Here are the takeaways victory:

The longest 43 days are over

Wow, it’s been 43 days since Utah last won a game on December 21st against Fresno State. At that time, Utah improved to 8-4 and fans were talking about how refreshing the new version of Utah basketball was. Then, ten losses and some crucial injuries later, the tune changed.

With the Utes blowout win over Oregon State, it’s easy to look at the positives again, even if the wins haven’t been coming as hoped for. In these long, long, long 43 days, the Utes have seen early contributors struggle and fall out of the rotation, and young freshmen step up.

Believe it or not, since January 17th, the Utes have played competitive basketball against two teams ranked in the Top 25, with UCLA being in the Top 10. They’ve also had games go down to the wire against Arizona State and Washington, with their lone rough performance being against Washington State.

The difference in turnovers was key

The Utes had 21 assists and five turnovers on the night. Yes, you read that right, it’s not a typo, nor are the numbers flipped around. In a season where it’s much more common to see the Utes at close to 21 turnovers, they did an excellent job with ball movement and protecting the basketball.

Oregon State on the other hand had 12 turnovers and the Utes scored 18 points off of those opportunities, compared to nine points by the Beavers.

The shots were falling from downtown

The Utes haven’t been the best three-pointing shooting team in 2021-22, but they’re bound to see an uptick, as freshmen like Gabe Madsen and Lazar Stefanovic become more and more comfortable.

Against the Beavers, Madsen went 2-4 while Stefanovic went 5-9. Riley Battin hit three and Both Gach and David Jenkins Jr. each hit two. At the half, Utah was 9-18 for 50%. They’d go on to finish 15-35, 42.9%.

The most pleasant surprise of the season has been Stefanovic, who has scored in double-figures in four of the last five games. During those games he’s gone 14-32 for 43.75% from three-point range and become the focal point of the offense. In Stefanovic, it’s very likely the Utes next star is emerging and it’s honestly a joy seeing the humble and appreciative freshman embrace it.

Up next

Fresh off their victory, the Utes will face the 14-7 Oregon Ducks at the Huntsman Center on Saturday at 6:30 MST. The Utes will be doing a jersey ceremony for Ute legend Tom Chambers, who was the no. 8 pick in the 1981 NBA Draft by the San Diego Clippers. Chambers was a two-time All-WAC center for the Utes and he’d go on to be a four-time NBA All-Star at power forward.