Utah Basketball’s Time In Las Vegas Ends With Loss To Colorado
Mar 14, 2024, 11:35 PM
LAS VEGAS – The Runnin’ Utes paired against the Colorado Buffaloes in the quarterfinal of the Pac-12 Tournament after blowing past ASU the night before.
Utah had to overcome an injury to star Branden Carlson that limited him against the Sun Devils and are hoping to pull another one off for the super senior against the Buffs.
The Utes and Colorado battled back and forth late in the first half after Utah had to dig themselves out of an early hole. The Buffs ultimately went into the locker room with a three-point lead, 33-30 over the Runnin’ Utes.
Halftime here at T-Mobile Arena.#Utes trail CU 33-30 after a hard-fought first half.
Cole Bajema leads points with 10. Hunter Erickson and Gabe Madsen are hot on his heels with 6 and 5 points.#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/rdViWSowgc
— Michelle Bodkin (@BodkinKSLsports) March 15, 2024
Utah kept battling, but the Buffs proved too much, 72-58.
FINAL
Utah’s time in Las Vegas comes to a close.#Utes pic.twitter.com/6psu9XvJZ2
— Michelle Bodkin (@BodkinKSLsports) March 15, 2024
How The Semifinal Round Of The Pac-12 Tournament Looks
Arizona beat USC handily in their matchup early in the day and will now face Oregon after they got by UCLA by the skin of their teeth. The Wildcats and Ducks are set to tipoff at 6:00 pm MT on Friday, March 15 and can be viewed on Pac-12 Networks.
The UCLA Bruins handled their business against the Oregon State Beavers and are now tasked with taking down the Oregon Ducks starting at 3:30 pm MT.
Stanford gave Washington State all they could, but ultimately couldn’t get it done against the Cougs who advanced to Friday’s semifinals. WSU will now take on Colorado who beat Utah in the last quarterfinal game of the night. That game will take place at 8:30 pm MT and can be viewed on FS1.
Looking Ahead At The Runnin’ Utes’ Schedule
The Runnin’ Utes will now wait to see if they have done enough to make a postseason tournament outside of the NCAA Tournament.
Starting Lineups Utah Utes Vs. Colorado
Tonight’s Starting ✋ pic.twitter.com/BNZX08E7FA
— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) March 15, 2024
first 5️⃣ on the court in Vegas ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/YZNpLDsNbO
— Colorado Men’s Basketball (@CUBuffsMBB) March 15, 2024
Utah Men Stats Leaders In Pac-12 Tournament
- Scoring Leader: Branden Carlson, Hunter Erickson – 13 points
- Rebound Leader: Deivon Smith – 6 rebounds
- Assists Leader: Deivon Smith– 4 assists
Despite the elbow brace, Carlson finished as the leading scorer for the Utes with 13 points while also hauling in four rebounds.
Hunter Erickson tied with Carlson contributing 13 points as well for the Utes along with two rebounds and two assists.
Cole Bajema came in third with 10 points while adding two rebounds and one assist.
Gabe Madsen wrapped up the highest scorers for the Utes with nine points and brought down four rebounds.
Noteworthy Runnin’ Utes Stats In Pac-12 Tournament
The Utah men shot 33% from the field, 27% from the three, and 57% from their trips to the line.
The Utes collected 37 rebounds, 14 assists, three blocks, four steals and limited the turnovers to four.
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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