Sometimes games aren’t as much about the opponent’s overall talent level as they are about matchups. Sitting in the middle of the Pac-12 standings, no team in the conference has given the Runnin’ Utes as many matchup problems as the Stanford Cardinal.
Utah followed up a 31-point home loss to Stanford on Jan. 27 by falling to the Cardinal once again Sunday afternoon, this time losing 84-66 in Palo Alto, Calif. Surrendering a Pac-12-best 62.2 points per game entering the matinee, the Utes allowed Stanford to average nearly 86 points in two contests against them this season.
From guards who were able to shoot over the top of Utah defenders to athletic big man Dwight Powell dominating inside, Utah rarely had an answer for the Cardinal in either matchup.
On Sunday, guard Chasson Randle led the Cardinal with 22 points and Powell added 15 to go along with eight rebounds and four assists. Even senior Gabriel Harris, who was averaging just two points per game coming in, scored 14 in his final home game at Maples Pavilion. Jarred DuBois scored 22 for Utah in the loss.
Utah assistant coach Andy Hill said after the game that it’s the versatility of Stanford’s big men that has caused the problems for the Utes, as that opens up the Cardinal offense.

“It’s a real challenge for [Jason Washburn] and [Jordan Loveridge] … and then they spread the floor and it opens it up and they’re able to take us off the bounce a little bit,” Hill said on the ESPN 700 Postgame Show. “That presents a tough matchup for us, there’s no doubt about it, and that’s why I think we’ve struggled at times with these guys and that’s why you’ve seen a couple games like this with them.”
The struggle to stop Stanford started almost immediately Sunday, as the Cardinal came out blazing hot from the field to open up a 38-22 lead. At that juncture, Stanford had shot 5-of-11 from beyond the arc. The Cardinal took a 44-31 lead into halftime. They finished the game 11-of-26 from behind the three-point line.
“Whenever you have a team that shoots well from the three, it’s always gonna be a problem,” DuBois said on the Postgame Show. “Early on and throughout the game they were hitting a lot of shots … We have to do a better job of making those shooters put the ball on the ground and try to defend them off the bounce.”
Utah did do an exceptional job of stopping Stanford for the first four minutes of the second half and cut the halftime deficit to four, 51-47, but then the turnovers came. Having committed only four turnovers in the first 20 minutes of play, Utah coughed the ball up three times on ensuing possessions and the Cardinal capitalized to go on a 9-0 run and take control of the game.
Hill said the goal entering the contest was for the Utes to commit just 10 turnovers. They committed 12, including eight in the second half, and the defense couldn’t stop Stanford on the other end.
“Late in the season, the possessions are way more valuable and so you can’t turn it over,” Hill said. “We were a lot better turning it over than we have been, but it was still too many and at costly times to get them on a little bit of a run.”
Utah fell to 3-13 in Pac-12 play. The Utes will return home to play Oregon State on Thursday.