The University of Utah men’s basketball team dropped an exciting game against the No. 4 UCLA Bruins late Thursday night. Utah fought back from down double digits to make it a one possession game with five minutes to play, but couldn’t get over the top as the Bruins’ copious amounts of big game experience proved too much for the Utes to handle. 

Utah hung in there for a majority of the first half, but UCLA simply executed better in their sets. They had shooters everywhere and plenty of athletic bigs who gave Utah trouble all night long. The Utes didn’t execute well enough on defense, making it too easy for the No. 4-ranked team in the country to score in bunches.

The Utes competed on the boards and limited glaring mistakes as much as they could, but were cold from three for too long, and despite some late shot-making, it wasn’t enough to get out of the hole. The Bruins shot well all night and scored tons in transition to keep Utah at arm’s length the entire evening.

Credit to Utah, they fought back from down 16 points to make it a three-point game with about five minutes to play, but the Bruins executed better down the stretch, hitting a couple big 3-pointers to put it away. Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Tyger Campbell are college basketball veterans with plenty of big game experience, and it showed.

Utah’s Backcourt Rotation

Mike Saunders Jr. got heavy minutes for the first time since the early parts of the season due to Utah’s depleted guard rotation. With Gabe Madsen and Rollie Worster nursing injuries, Saunders needed to play as a backup point guard.

He flashed a few moments of good play, attacking the rim twice for buckets as soon as he checked in as well as drilling multiple 3-pointers when Utah needed them in the second half. Saunders was competitive defensively on the ball and played with a lot of effort as he tried to make a case for more minutes. Saunders finished with 25 points on 10-17 shooting, the most out of any player in the game.

Head coach Craig Smith went with Saunders ahead of guys like Jaxon Brenchley and Eli Ballstaedt, who have both had spot minutes over the course of the season, but haven’t played nearly as much as they did last year. That’s a sign of a deeper stable of guards, with Lazar Stefanovic, Wilguens Jr. Exacte and Bostyn Holt putting together solid seasons along with the two injured starters in Madsen and Worster. 

It’s tough to say what the backcourt will look like next year, but Smith has enough options to get him by. Is what they have enough to get the team where they want to go? That’s a different question, but there is quite a bit of young talent here that could develop into something pretty solid. Saunders, despite a tough season that certainly hasn’t gone the way he planned, is a part of that future.

“He played with a lot of spirit out there tonight,” Smith said. “He wasn’t perfect, obviously, nobody is, but he played with a lot of energy.”

“Whenever my number’s called, I’m always ready,” Saunders said.

Postseason Outlook

With the Utes suffering their third straight loss, the postseason crystal ball does not show a March Madness run. Utah will likely be a highly seeded NIT team barring a miraculous run in the Pac-12 Tournament. 

That’s still far ahead of schedule from where they were expected to be, and gives the team something to build on heading into next season.

Up Next

The Utes will face the USC Trojans at home on Saturday for their final regular season game in Salt Lake City. Then it’s off to Boulder for the finale against the Colorado Buffaloes.

Saturday will be senior night, marking the final chance to see some of Utah’s graduating seniors outside of a potential home game in the NIT. Marco Anthony is the only key guy on the roster who is out of eligibility, but it could also be Branden Carlson’s final game here, as he has a choice to make regarding a potential fifth season.

Utah tips off against USC at 6 p.m. MST.

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