The University of Utah men’s basketball team advanced to the second round of the Pac-12 Tournament on Wednesday, with a win over the no. 10 seed Washington Huskies. After a made three by Alfonso Plummer at the 5:51 mark, the Utes led by 19 and seemed to be coasting to an easy victory. Then the wheels fell off, before the Utes hung on for a 98-95 nail-bitter.

Here are the takeaways from the game:

Balanced attack nearly hits 100 again

Utah scored 98 points for the second game in a row, led by Timmy Allen with 24 points and Alfonso Plummer with 21. Six different Utes scored in double-digits and every player shot at least 50% from the field. It nearly took the full season, but Larry Krystkowiak has found a solid rotation with multiple options to score. Even in the face of Washington's fierce run to make the game interesting, Utah found a way to keep up in the second half, still scoring 51 points of their own.

Unfortunately, this fact will be lost due to fan frustration of the Utes almost giving the game away down the stretch.

Two stats nearly have the game away

According to the stat sheet, the game was as close as the final score. The Utes and Huskies were similar in many categories, but Washington held a significant advantage in two areas: steals and offensive rebounds. While turnovers and overall rebounds were not too different, forced turnovers and second chance opportunities were decidedly in favor of the Huskies.

When the Huskies elevated their defensive pressure, the Utes looked caught off guard and unprepared as if they had never seen a press before. Both Plummer and Pelle Larsson committed six turnovers each, as the Utes had 16 total and 10 of those came in the second half. This is not something that should be happening this late in the season.

If Utah is to move on past USC in the second round, every detail will matter. The Trojans will want to avenge their 10-point loss from the end of February, so the Utes will need to be sharp to advance.

Martinez’s value was felt on one clutch play

Wow. At first glance, it looked like an “Oh crap,” moment, as Washington’s Cole Bajema went up strong for an easy dunk with 34 seconds left, The play would have shrunk the lead to five as Utah was just trying to hold on for dear life after blowing the 19-point lead. Then five seconds later a foul was called on Washington. There was a second of confusion for many watching the broadcast, as the score hadn’t changed. Then came the replay. Emerging Utah freshman Ian Martinez flew into the paint showing effort that most college players would have just given up on. He stuffed the ball just before it got to the rim and Allen was off to the races the other way.

That play was basically the difference in the game, as the Utes won by three and it briefly stunted Washington’s momentum. Martinez only scored five points on two shots in 20 minutes, but his athleticism on the defensive end was a game-changer for the Runnin’ Utes.

Up next

The Utes move on to the second round of the Pac-12 Tournament to face the no. 2 seed USC Trojans at 6:30PM on Thursday. The Trojans will be looking for revenge after the Utes recent victory in Salt Lake City. The Trojans feature a likely Top 5 2021 NBA Lottery pick, Evan Mobley, who despite his success as Pac-12 Player of the Year, he’s been held in check by the Utes during both of their previous games.