Runnin’ Utes To Face Tough Washington Schools
University of Utah sophomore forward Timmy Allen (1) reaches for the basket through Oregon defense during an NCAA Basketball game at the Jon M. Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City, Utah on Saturday, Jan. 4, 2020. (Photo by Kiffer Creveling | The Daily Utah Chronicle)
January 22, 2020
The University of Utah men’s basketball team will be back home in the Jon M. Huntsman Center this weekend to take on the Washington Huskies (12-7, 2-4 Pac-12) and the Washington State Cougars (12-7, 3-3 Pac-12). They’ll face the Huskies first on Thursday at 6 p.m then the Cougars on Saturday at 5 p.m. The Utes are 10-7, 1-4 Pac-12.
Last weekend Utah was in Arizona where they took on Arizona and Arizona State. The Utes fell to the Wildcats on Thursday 77-93, then again to the Sun Devils in another close game at 63-83. Right now Utah is in last place in the Pac-12, right behind Washington.
When the Utes and Huskies met last year, both times Utah fell to Washington. Both games were close, finishing at 53-69 and 45-62. However, last year Washington was the leader of the Pac-12 at the end of the season while the Utes ended up third, so this year’s matchup will be very different. The Huskies’ two wins in the Pac-12 come from beating USC 40-72 and Oregon State at 56-64, but all the other games for the Huskies in Pac-12 play have been really close. The Utes came close to beating Oregon at 64-69, and the Huskies just missed beating the then No. 12 Ducks at 61-64. The Huskies will head to Colorado after to play against the Buffs on Saturday. This will be the first time this season the two teams meet and will be the only time this season.
For the Cougars and Utes, the story is opposite. Utah came out on top each time the two teams met last year. For the first matchup in early January, Utah won 88-70. Then when they faced again in late February the Utes won again 92-79. Washington State is 3-3 in the Pac-12 right now, putting them in sixth place. The Cougars are on a two-game win streak and one of their wins came over the Ducks in an upset at 72-61. The Cougars have also beat Oregon State and UCLA, but fell to Stanford, California and USC. Washington State is going to be in Colorado on Thursday to face the No. 23 Buffs first before coming to Salt Lake. The Utes and Cougars won’t be facing each other again this season.
Other Pac-12 match ups this week include Stanford playing California. While Oregon will face USC, the Trojans just came off a win after upsetting Stanford last weekend. To watch the Utes games this week head to the Jon M. Huntsman Center or follow along on ESPN 700.
Wendy Arnold • Jan 23, 2020 at 2:45 pm
Great article!! Go Utes