Pair Of Utes Further Cement Utah Legacy In Triple Overtime Game With Arizona
Feb 9, 2024, 3:10 PM
SALT LAKE CITY – The Runnin’ Utes put on a triple overtime show against No. 8 Arizona in front of fans in the Huntsman Center that came up a hair short.
While a win is always better, it’s hard not to be excited for point guard Deivon Smith and center Branden Carlson who both furthered their legacies as Utes in the epic Thursday showdown.
Smith became the first Ute ever to post two or more triple doubles in a single season with his 14 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists against the Wildcats. On the other hand, Carlson creeped into Utah’s top-10 scorers in school history with his 27-point night.
.@sneakgod is the 𝙁𝙄𝙍𝙎𝙏 Runnin’ Ute ever with 2+ triple-doubles in a season
🔴4th player in 2023-24 with 2+ triple-doubles
🔴1st @pac12 player since @andre with 2+ triple-doubles in a season (3; 2003-04)
🔴40th time since 1996-97 a player has had 2+ triple-doubles in a szn pic.twitter.com/OGr9eAUkk1— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) February 9, 2024
Two Runnin’ Utes, Four Records, Two Times, One Season
Thursday night against Arizona isn’t the first time Smith and Carlson have posted personal milestones together. Earlier in January the dynamic duo also put into place a couple of history making records in a loss to Stanford.
Against the Cardinal Smith became just the fifth Ute since 1997 to reach the triple double milestone. Since that day Smith flirted with the marker two more times against Oregon and last week against Colorado before finally getting his second just the other night.
If that wasn’t enough to make Runnin’ Utes fans smile from ear to ear, Carlson became the only player in Pac-12 history to have over 1500 points, 700 rebounds, 200 blocks, and 100 assists in a career in that same Stanford game.
With his 27 points last night, @ballerbranden35 moves into the top-10 in scoring all-time at Utah.
1⃣,6⃣4⃣4⃣ 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗣𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁𝘀#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/YWPqyDPekx
— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) February 9, 2024
Both players have been huge in Utah’s success this season despite being on different timelines.
Carlson has been with Utah since the beginning of his career and has ridden out some pretty bad years to get to where the Utes are now.
Smith is new to the program this year and hasn’t even played the entire season due to an NCAA waiver issue, but it hasn’t mattered in the slightest. His impact has been felt from the moment he was cleared to play and hasn’t stopped since.
Michelle Bodkin is the Utah Utes Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of both the Crimson Corner Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and The Saturday Show (Saturday from 10 a.m.–12 p.m.) on The KSL Sports Zone. Follow her on X, Instagram, and Threads: @BodkinKSLsports
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