Utah Keeps First-Round Bye Hopes Alive With Win Over USC

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Led by six threes by Parker Van Dyke, the Utah Utes picked up a vital win in the homestretch of the regular season in a 83-74 victory over USC.

Coming into the game against the Trojans at the Huntsman Center, the Utes were right in the middle of a huge mess in the Pac-12 standings. Based on how the USC game, the contest against UCLA on Saturday and how the rest of the conference’s games all came together, the Utes could either get a vital 3 seed in the conference tournament or fall all the way to the 9 seed.

The only thing that Utah could control among the conference chaos were its last two games, beginning with USC on Thursday.

Utah got significant contributions from all its starters as the Utes picked up their second win of the season against the Trojans. All of the starting five, plus Both Gach, who came off the bench, scored in double-figures.

Utes WIN❗️ 💪

Final Score, Utah 83, USC 74.#GoUtes🏀🔴 | #Pac12Hoops pic.twitter.com/vS2sa2Fv2v

— Utah Basketball🏀 (@UtahMBB) March 8, 2019

Van Dyke was sensational in his second-to-last game in the Huntsman Center. The East High product knocked down six triples, three in each half, to guide Utah to the crucial win. He finished with a game-high 20 points.

His backcourt mate and fellow senior Sedrick Barefield was also stellar in his penultimate game on the hill. He had 17 points with four 3-pointers made while also pulling down seven rebounds.

Sedrick Barefield just moved up to 3️⃣4️⃣th on the school’s all-time scoring list, surpassing Jason Washburn’s total of 1️⃣0️⃣7️⃣3️⃣ points.#GoUtes🏀🔴 | #Pac12Hoops pic.twitter.com/RCXbi3ESFm

— Utah Basketball🏀 (@UtahMBB) March 8, 2019

While the two senior stars shined, freshman Timmy Allen gave one of his strongest performance of the year. He had 19 points and five rebounds with three steals on defense.

The Trojans had three players tie for the team-high in points with 17.

With the win, Utah remains in third place with a 9-7 record in Pac-12 play and a 15-13 record overall.

USC slips to 8-8 in conference play with a 15-14 overall record.

You already know….PARKER VAN DYKE for 👌💦

UTAH 76 | USC 61 #GoUtes🏀🔴 | 📺 FS1 pic.twitter.com/TVNTVMPaJI

— Utah Basketball🏀 (@UtahMBB) March 8, 2019

Next Up

The Utes will play their final game of the regular season on Saturday against UCLA. The game will tip off at 5 p.m. and be broadcast on the Pac-12 Network.

The Pac-12 Tournament will begin March 13 in at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. If the Utes finish in the top four in the conference standings, they’ll receive a first-round bye and not play until March 14.