Utah Basketball Unable To Overcome Oklahoma State’s Strong Start, Fall 81-72
Feb 1, 2025, 3:30 PM | Updated: Feb 2, 2025, 2:28 pm
SALT LAKE CITY—After a sluggish start for Utah basketball, the Cowboys jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. They protect their home floor and knock off the Utes, 81-72.
Utah was led by 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting from Ezra Ausar, while Gabe Madsen added 15 on 5-of-15 shooting. However, Byce Thompson and Marchelus Avery were the best players on the floor in this one and led the Cowboys to victory.
The Utes fall to 12-9, 4-6 with the loss and will return home for a matchup against the Colorado Buffs on Wednesday.
Starters for Utah basketball against Oklahoma State
Craig Smith stuck with the same starting five, which were as follows:
Mike Sharavjamts, Gabe Madsen, Jake Wahlin, Ezra Ausar, and Lawson Lovering.
First Half, Utah Vs. Oklahoma State
Utah began the game quite sluggish on the defensive end. They allowed the Cowboys to start the game 5-of-9 from the field, including 2-of-2 from deep. After four minutes of action, Oklahoma State jumped out to a 12-3 lead. Utah
15:45 – During the media timeout, Bryce Thompson was assessed a flagrant one foul for contact on Gabe Madsen. Mike Sharavjamts knocked down both free throws and Keanu Dawes added a layup during the possession to cut the lead down to 12-7.
After Utah cut the lead down to five, the Cowboys quickly extended their advantage to 19-7 with a couple of three-point possessions. Wahlin then answered back with a 3-pointer of his own to keep pace.
11:51 – After the break, Utah moved the ball around, then Gabe Madsen knocked down a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer late in the clock to make it 19-13, Oklahoma State.
Keller finds Madsen for the 👌 with time expiring!#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/06zzaqGKgY
— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) February 1, 2025
After a defensive stop, Ezra Ausar quickly added a layup on the other end. This was Utah’s first run of the game, an 8-0 stretch over three minutes of action.
Caleb Lohner scored on back-to-back possessions. First, an alley-oop finish on the baseline inbound play, and then on a soft jump hook in the post. That extended Utah’s run to 12-2 and cut the Cowboys’ lead down to 21-19.
8:00 – After the break, Oklahoma State pushed their back to seven at the free throw line. Mason Madsen knocked down a 3-pointer from the top, which made it a 26-22 game. A few minutes later, Dawes threw down a dunk off a Sharavjamts dish inside. That made it a 28-24 game in favor of the Cowboys.
Sharavjamts flips it to KD in traffic for the 🔨‼️#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/90rhgBRavk
— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) February 1, 2025
3:59 – The Cowboys again extended their lead after the timeout. After a couple of free throws, Connor Dow knocked down an open 3-pointer as G. Madsen slipped coming off of a pick attempting to defend him.
After a Utah timeout, G. Madsen knocked down a 3-pointer of his own to keep pace. After giving up a layup on the other end, Wahlin converted a reverse layup back cutting from the opposite corner.
Madsen finds Wahlin on the drive for the bucket! pic.twitter.com/eDiPUty8DN
— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) February 1, 2025
Utah finished the half with four consecutive free throw makes by Sharavjamts and closed out the half with a defensive stop. This was far from a solid half of basketball for Utah, but they went into the locker room down 41-33.
Second Half – Utah 33, Oklahoma State 41
The second half started kind of sloppy and with a lot of whistles. However, after two minutes of action, Ausar seemed to get going. He scored the first bucket. On the ensuing possession, he was fouled going to the rim, where he went 1-of-2 from the line. Then notched a steal and took it the other way for an emphatic slam dunk.
Ausar with the steal and slam early on here in the second half!#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/nf8fKHQKX3
— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) February 1, 2025
Unfortunately, after cutting the lead down to 43-38, the Cowboys quickly responded with a 5-0 spurt of their own and went into the first media timeout up 48-38.
15:43 – After the break, OSU’s Avery Dean went 1-of-2 from the line to extend the lead to 11. Oklahoma State later converted a 3-pointer, and quickly took a miss the other way for a layup to build a 14-point lead.
The whistle continued to be unfriendly to Utah. During one defensive series, they were whistled for three fouls in a 22-second span. That sent the Cowboys to the line and allowed them to build a 15-point lead by the next media timeout.
11:54 – Following the timeout, Utah worked the offense, which led to Sharavjamts being fouled at the rim. He went to the line and knocked down both freebies to make it a 56-43 game.
Utah secured a defensive stop after a couple of Oklahoma State offensive rebounds, which led to a transition opportunity where Dawes threw down a dunk off of a Sharavjamts dish.
Then Oklahoma State responded with a defensive stop and went on a run of their own to re-establish a 15-point lead. Eventually, Ausar got a layup to fall and drew the foul along with it.
7:29 – After the break, Sharavjamts knocked down a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 62-52. Yet again, the Cowboys would respond and rebuild their cushion.
Ausar continued to hunt for his shot, he was fouled at the rim and finished through contact, then converted the free throw. That again cut the Cowboys’ lead down to 10 points.
After an Oklahoma State turnover, Ausar quickly converted at the rim on the other end, making it 65-57. His layup accounted for seven of Utah’s last ten points and pushed Utah’s run to 10-3.
5:00 – Following the timeout, Arturo Dean knocked down a jumper to preserve a 10-point lead for the Cowboys. Ausar was fouled on the other end and went to the line where he knocked down both attempts.
Utah would continue to fight over the final minutes. They had the lead down to 77-70 with 1:12 left in the game but again, just couldn’t do enough to get over the hump. Utah falls on the road, 81-72.
UP NEXT – Colorado Vs. Utah
The Utes return home with an extra day of prep before hosting Colorado on Wednesday, Feb. 5, inside the Jon M. Huntsman Center. Veteran play-by-play man Mark Neely will have the call alongside former Arizona Wildcat Corey Williams as the Runnin’ Utes and Buffaloes square off in their third conference together starting at 7 p.m. (MST) on ESPN+.
