Utah Shut Down By UCLA’s Defense, Suffers Second Straight Loss

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – After a disappointing loss to USC on Thursday night, the Runnin’ Utes couldn’t get anything going on offense and that resulted in a 73-57 loss to the UCLA Bruins on Sunday afternoon.

In the first half, Utah trailed 32-21 at the break but was limited to 33 percent shooting from the floor and 1-12 for 8 percent from the three point line. The Utes shot just two free throws in the opening half.

The Utes started strong in the second half and turned a 13-point deficit to trailing by just four points. Before the under 8 media timeout, UCLA stretched their lead back to 8 points. The Bruins turned that into a 15-2 run and ended the game on a 23-11 run.

Riley Battin led the Utes with 14 points and 5 rebounds. He knocked down all three of his three pointers early in the second half. Timmy Allen struggled shooting the ball but was productive in other ways. He finished with 13 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists, while shooting 5-16 from the floor.

#Utes fall to UCLA 73 to 57.

Back at home Thursday, Feb. 6 vs Stanford at 8pm!#GoUtes🏀🔴 #Pac12Hoops pic.twitter.com/LAsdR1lniC

— Utah Basketball🏀 (@UtahMBB) February 2, 2020

Utes Struggling Offensively Again

Entering the game against UCLA, Utah has been struggling to find their shot since entering conference play.

In their 8 Pac-12 games this season (before UCLA game), Utah has shot better than 40 percent three times, two were losses. From beyond the arc, the Utes have shot 40 percent or better just twice and they won both of those games.

The Utes have shot less than 40 percent from the field in five games and lost every time. When they shot worse than 40 percent from the three point line, Utah is 1-5 in conference play. Their only win was against Washington.

TA finds @AlfonsoPlummer9 in the corner for 👌! 7:52 left to play here at Pauley Pavilion.

🔴 46 | 🐻 54

📺@FS1 #GoUtes🏀🔴 #Pac12Hoops pic.twitter.com/hUlTsTOR6Z

— Utah Basketball🏀 (@UtahMBB) February 2, 2020

In their loss to UCLA, the Utes made 39 percent of their field goals and 36 percent from beyond the arc on 9-25 shooting. The big issue in the loss was that Utah didn’t shoot many free throws, converting 4-5 from the charity stripe but allowed the Bruins to shoot 17-22.

Turnovers Hurt Utah

In the first half, Utah committed 8 turnovers and UCLA scored 7 points off of those miscues. The second half, the Utes turned the ball over 7 times and the Bruins scored 10 points.

UCLA had just 10 turnovers and Utah scored just 12 points.

The Utes allowed UCLA to score 34 points in the paint and 15 fastbreak points.

Rylan Jones had 11 points on 4-13 shooting from the field and committed 4 turnovers. Timmy Allen had 5 miscues to lead the Utes.

Tough loss for Utah. They caught UCLA playing their best basketball right now and their defense was too much to handle.

Have a big game ahead of them against Stanford at home on Thursday.#Utes #Pac12Hoops #KSLSports

— Trevor Allen (@TrevorASports) February 2, 2020

UCLA had three players score in double figures, led by freshman Tyger Cambell with a career-high 22 points, along with 8 assists. Jaime Jaquez Jr. added 18 points, while Jalen Hill posted 14 points and 8 rebounds.

The Utes dropped their record to 12-9 overall and 3-6 in Pac-12 play. They will return home to face Stanford on Thursday night at the Jon M. Huntsman Center. The game will tip-off at 8 p.m. and will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Network.

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