On Thursday, the Runnin’ Utes hosted the Washington State Cougars. Craig Smith’s squad faced their first big adversity of the season after a three-game losing streak. The comfort of their home court proved to be just what they needed, after a convincing 77-63 victory.

Here are the takeaways from the win:

Utah regained its shooting stroke

The Utes never trailed the entire game and would out-score the Cougars by a 14-point margin. Utah shot 55.4 percent from the field and hit 9-22 three-pointers. Senior Branden Carlson played lights out in the first half not missing a single shot. The Cougars went on a 12-2 run to tie the game up at 29 with a little over two minutes left in the first half. Carlson ended the first twenty minutes of play with 21 points after his own 10-0 run that included two back-to-back three-pointers putting the Utes up by eight.

Utah’s veteran leader would finish the night with a new career high of 28 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Rollie Worster would follow with 14 points, seven assists and 4 rebounds while Gabe Madsen added another 12 points. The three shot a combined 63.6 percent from the field and 7-12 from long distance.

Washington State struggled without Bamba

The Cougars were ice cold throughout the night, aside from their bench play and also having more free-throw opportunities than Utah. Washington State’s bench outscored Utah’s by seven and they shot seven more free-throws than the Utes, connecting on 15, while Utah only made six.

Washington State was without their leading scorer TJ Bamba, but sophomore Mouhamed Gueye stepped up to lead the team with 20 points and seven rebounds. Jabe Mullins added another 11 points and four rebounds, off of the bench.

The Cougars struggled to make baskets, shooting 34.4 percent from the field even though they had multiple second chance opportunities off of 15 offensive rebounds.

The win continues Utah’s series dominance

Utah’s victory made it a regular season sweep, which is the sixth time they’ve swept the home and home series against Washington State. Three other seasons, the Utes went 1-0 against the Cougars.

Up next

The Runnin’ Utes host the Washington Huskies on Saturday at 6:00 PM, before heading back out on the road for their Pacific Northwest trip against Oregon and Oregon State. The game against the Huskies will be the only time the two play during the 2022-23 regular season. The Huskies are 4-5 in conference play and just earned their first conference road win against Colorado.