Utah Men’s Basketball Drops Triple OT Heartbreaker To No. 8 Arizona Wildcats
Feb 8, 2024, 9:03 PM | Updated: Feb 10, 2024, 2:28 pm
SALT LAKE CITY – The Utes gave everything they had and more but could not survive a 105-99 triple-overtime marathon loss against visiting Arizona.
Utah (15-8, 6-6) hosted the No. 8 Arizona Wildcats (18-5, 9-3) at the Jon M. Huntsman Center on Thursday, February 8.
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What a game. Utes fall to #8 Arizona, 105-99 in triple overtime.
THANK YOU, Utah Fans, and especially @TheMUSS for your unwavering support in such a battle! pic.twitter.com/eM33vKsGA9
— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) February 9, 2024
Four Utes reached double figures, led by Carlson’s 27-point, 15-rebound double-double. Deivon Smith added a triple-double with 11 points, 11 rebounds, and ten assists. Keba Keita was credited with two blocked shots but impacted several others, finishing the night with 18 points and seven rebounds in 35 minutes. Gabe Madsen made 5-of-10 threes for 17 points.
Former Ute Pelle Larrson matched Carlson’s 27 points, adding eight assists and seven rebounds in the winning effort. Caleb made just 5-of-20 shots but hit several big shots late to finish with 19 points and 10 rebounds.
First Half
The Utes kept pace with Arizona in the opening minutes thanks to good passing and a nice finish from Branden Carlson.
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Pretty ball movement leading to the pretty @ballerbranden35 floater off the glass✨#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/39esDrFXj4
— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) February 9, 2024
Both teams made half their shots in the opening ten minutes, but three Utah turnovers allowed the Wildcats to take a 19-15 lead into the under-twelve-minute timeout.
Keba Keita ended a streak of six-straight misses for the Utes when he cut the deficit to 22-17 with a putback layup.
Aggressive in transition leads to a @Keba_Keita_13 cleanup on the glass💪#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/XnuFcCOzeM
— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) February 9, 2024
Arizona continued to increase its lead down the stretch as the Utes struggled to 32 percent shooting from the field and 2-of-10 from three in the first half. Craig Smith’s team missed nine of its final ten shots in the half.
The Wildcats took a 41-25 lead into the break.
Second Half
The Huntsman Center crowd tried to impact the game early in the half, but despite making three triples in the first four minutes of the half, Utah’s defense couldn’t string together stops against the eighth-ranked team in the country.
Utah cut the gap to 51-41 with 15:05 to play.
Back to back 3's for @GabeMadsen53 ‼️🎯#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/8vVwSMlhob
— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) February 9, 2024
The Utes opened the half by hitting their first five three-point attempts, briefly reducing the deficit to double digits with a dunk from Carlsen.
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Throw it DOWN BIG MAN‼️💪
Lawson finding the open @ballerbranden35 #GoUtes pic.twitter.com/AGvmowWNur
— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) February 9, 2024
Minutes later, Gabe Madsen’s third three of the half sparked a 7-0 run that cut the Wildcats advantage to 63-59 with 8:59 left in the half.
Utah got within a point when Ben Carlson hit the seventh three of the second half.
1 POINT GAME‼️
The linkup between @sneakgod and @ben_carlson20 closes the gap for the Utes!!#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/TPJnq53nVG
— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) February 9, 2024
Utah capitalized on a defensive stretch that held the Wildcats without a field goal for more than six minutes. With 4:38 left, Branden Carlson knocked down a mid-range jumper, giving Utah its first lead since midway through the first half.
Arizona responded, upping the intensity and taking the lead into the final two minutes.
Trailing 76-71, an out-of-bounds play set up a dunk for Keita, cutting the deficit to three. After forcing a miss on the other end, Deivon Smith found Madsen in transition for a game-tying three with 18.6 seconds remaining.
The Wildcats missed a three, and Carlson grabbed the board to force overtime.
Overtime
Hunter Erickson gave the Utes a 79-78 lead when he knocked down the ninth three of the second half. Utah then went scoreless for more than two minutes.
Carlson ended the drought when Smith found him in the paint for a bucket.
The connection!! @sneakgod finds @ballerbranden35 to put the Utes UP 1 with 1:11 remaining‼️#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/rZ6IbOl6iz
— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) February 9, 2024
After a timeout, Keita blasted a blocked shot into the crowd as the Wildcats scrambled for a good look. Arizona couldn’t find the net with two looks, forcing them to foul after Utah got the rebound with 42.8 seconds left.
NO. SIR. @Keba_Keita_13 🚫#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/NtqG7e86Ff
— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) February 9, 2024
After Smith made one of two free throws to give the Utes a two-point lead, Caleb Love knocked down a quick floater to tie the game at 82 with 26.7 seconds left.
Both teams traded empty possessions in the final seconds to force a second OT.
Double Overtime
Back-to-back three-point possessions to open the second extra session gave Arizona a four-point lead, but the Utes responded with baskets from Carlson and Keita to tie the game at 88 with under three minutes to play.
LOB TIME⬆️@sneakgod finds @Keba_Keita_13 for the long range OOP!🔨#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/7PGLK4Dtpr
— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) February 9, 2024
After empty possessions for both teams in the final minute, a Wildcats three-point attempt rimmed out to force a third overtime.
Third Overtime
Arizona took a 95-93 lead after scoring interior buckets on back-to-back possessions to open the overtime number three.
The lead grew to seven before Arizona settled in with a 105-99 win.
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Brian Preece is a sports.ksl.com insider covering the Utah State Aggies, Locals in MLB, and Salt Lake Bees. Follow Brian’s Bees, Beehive baseball, and Aggie athletics coverage here.
