Utah Basketball Loses Control In Second Half, Falls To No. 10 Arizona
Jan 6, 2024, 8:05 PM
SALT LAKE CITY – The Runnin’ Utes finish up their road tour of Arizona at the Mckale Center against the No. 10 Wildcats after a tough outing against ASU on Thursday night.
In the past, the Arizona trip has been a tough one for the Utes, something that head coach Craig Smith was hopeful his team could correct this week. It was not to be.
The Utes and Arizona battled back and forth through most of the first half, but the Wildcats pulled ahead to go to the locker room 42-39. Unfortunately, Utah did lose Keba Keita with a lower leg injury, but were able to keep the game manageable to that point.
Unfortunately, Utah came out of the half making some plays, but the Wildcats ultimately pulled away, 92-73. The Utes now sit at 11-4 (2-2) on the season.
Final from McKale Center.
🔴 73
🐱 92— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) January 7, 2024
Look Ahead At Utah’s Schedule
Utah will return to the Huntsman Center next week to host UCLA on Thursday, January 11 with a 7:00 pm MT tip. The game can be viewed on ESPN2.
Starting Five For Utah Vs. Arizona
Tonight’s Starting ✋ pic.twitter.com/GsBqk8JZyn
— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) January 7, 2024
Starting lineup! 🐻⬇️ pic.twitter.com/KutJZohqEc
— Arizona Basketball (@ArizonaMBB) January 7, 2024
Utah Men Stats Leaders Against Arizona
- Scoring Leader: Gabe Madsen – 18 points
- Rebound Leader: Ben Carlson – 5 rebounds
- Assists Leader: Rollie Worster – 5 assists
After a silent Thursday, Madsen went 7-13 from the paint, and 4-9 from the three to earn his team high 18 points. Madsen was also good for two rebounds and three steals.
Cole Bajema came in second with 11 points going 3-6 in the field, 2-4 at the three, and 3-3 at the line including two rebounds, one block and two steals.
Ben Carlson finished third on the night in scoring with 10.
Noteworthy Utah Men’s Basketball Team Stats Against The Wildcats
The Utes ultimately continued to struggle landing shots shooting 41% from the field, 29% from the three, and 78% from the line against Arizona.
Additionally, the Wildcats killed the Utes off the boards 42-24 and second chance points 13-7.
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
Are you on Threads yet? Let’s connect, give us a follow @kslsports.
