The struggles on the road have plagued the Utah men’s basketball team all year, and that theme continued throughout this week. After coming off a loss at Washington State, Utah headed to Seattle looking to secure their first conference road win of the year against a Washington team that has struggled all year. From the jump, the Utes looked outmatched as Washington jumped out to an early lead. Utah was never able to close the gap in this one and would eventually fall 73-98.
First Half
Utah’s offense was not clicking in the first half, putting up only 10 points in the first 10 minutes of the game. Washington jumped out to a 25-10 lead at the 9:23 mark of the first half, forcing Utah to call a timeout. The Utes offense started to pick it up later on in the half, closing the gap to 37-30 with 3:30 remaining.
Unfortunately for the Utes, they would be stuck at 30 points for the remainder of the half, while Washington was able to end the last three minutes on a 9-0 run to take a commanding 46-30 lead into halftime.
The Utah defense was a big problem early on in the game, as Washington seemingly got whatever they wanted at the rim. The Huskies’ quick guards were too much for Utah to handle as they penetrated the interior of the defense almost every time down the floor. Utah could not get any looks in transition as Washington controlled the ball well, limiting the opportunities for the Utes to get out on the fast break.
Second Half
Coming out of halftime, Utah continued to struggle as Washington stretched the lead to 57-31 within three minutes of play. The offensive struggles for Utah were evident, as nobody seemed to be able to generate any momentum in order to cut into the steadily growing Husky lead.
At the 6:55 mark of the second half, Washington had stretched the lead to 83-52, all but putting the game away. The struggles that Utah has faced on the road were prevalent again in this one, leading to the blowout that Washington was able to put together. The final score in this one ended up being 98-73 in favor of the Huskies.
Utah will need to figure out how to win on the road quickly if they want to secure a bid in the NCAA tournament coming up in just a few weeks.
Utes Stuffing the Stat Sheet
Deivon Smith suited up in the one after what looked to be a severe injury versus Washington State. He led the Utes in scoring with 20 points on 8-14 shooting. Ben Carlson came off the bench and provided some scoring, putting up 13 points and knocking down three triples. In Cole Bajema‘s return to Seattle, he scored 10 points on 4-8 shooting while dishing out three assists as well. Hunter Erickson and Branden Carlson both chipped in nine points of their own, but it was not quite enough to come away with a win.
What’s next for the Utes?
Utah will have a week off before they take on a tough Colorado team at the Jon M. Huntsman Center on Saturday, Feb. 3, at 3:00 p.m. MST. The Utes will look to bounce back after two tough road losses this past week.
