Takeaways From Utah’s 71-69 Loss To West Virginia
Mar 4, 2025, 10:20 PM | Updated: Mar 5, 2025, 12:28 pm
Mar 4, 2025; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers guard Javon Small (7) dribbles the ball as Utah Utes forward Ezra Ausar (2) defends during the first half at Jon M. Huntsman Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images
(2)
SALT LAKE CITY—In their final game at home, Utah ended with a 71-69 loss to West Virginia.
It was a gritty game, that included a lot of whistles and trips to the free throw line. The lead changed 10 times, eight of them coming in the second half.
Unfortunately, West Virginia made a couple more plays down the stretch to secure the win.
With the loss, Utah falls to 16-14 overall, 8-11 in Big 12 play, and now find themselves 11th in the conference standings. Here are the takeaways from the game.
Utah battled but season-long issues cost them again
The Runnin’ Utes started this game well. After nine minutes of action, they sat on a 19-7 lead. Gabe Madsen knocked down a number of shots and looked like Utah would run away with it.
However, as is the case in most Big 12 games, the opponent battled back, and West Virginia deserves credit for that last night. In fact, they went into the locker room with a 30-29 lead.
Utah struggled to create quality scoring opportunities against West Virginia’s defense. Given all that’s happening around the program, it would have been understandable for the team to fold, Arizona State did exactly that on Saturday.
Yet, the Runnin’ Utes stuck with it and battled hard throughout the second half. Unfortunately, the issues that have hurt them all season long, hurt them yet again.
“We have a narrow margin of error, and it’s always a possession battle,” interim head coach Josh Eilert stated. “I think they got seven more shots than we did, even after we finished with six more offensive rebounds, so what it boils down to is 16 turnovers.”
Utah’s 16 turnovers and 68% free throw shooting were the difference in this one. In a two-point loss, only converting 22-of-32 from the line amplifies the pain of each miss. Their poor ball security led to 10 first half turnovers, which fueled West Virginia’s run to claim the lead.
“That’s a huge part of the recipe to our success— limiting turnovers and winning that possession battle, and we didn’t do that tonight,” Eilert said.
West Virginia’s balanced production was a product of star guard Javon Small
Credit to them, it seemed that whenever they needed a bucket, someone stepped up and made a play,” Eilert said. “You look at their box score and see 10, 12, 6, 18, 6, 4, 12, 3 (individual point totals), everybody was out there producing for them.”
Every West Virginia player that stepped on the floor scored and grabbed at least one rebound, while four finished in double-digits. Compared to Utah, which had three scoreless players and only three in double-digits.
That was due in large part to star guard Javon Small, who not only was their leading scorer but also created quality opportunities for others. Small was really impressive, particularly late in the game, as Utah just didn’t have solutions to stop him.
“The gameplan really was to take Javon Small out of it, but we had a hard time doing it regardless,” Eilert shared.
He finished the night with 18 points and 7 assists. More importantly, over the last four minutes, he directly contributed to 10 of WVU’s final 15 points.
Gabe Madsen, seniors final game in the Jon M. Huntsman Center
“I’m going to miss this place, it’s been fun to play here, and I have a lot of good memories, tonight would’ve been a fun one to win but that’s just life sometimes,” Gabe Madsen said of his final game in the Jon M. Huntsman Center. “You always want to go out on a win, so obviously that sucks.”
Gabe Madsen finished with a game-high 23 points fueled by five 3-pointers, he also grabbed 5 rebounds and dished 2 assists. However, Madsen was the first to acknowledge that the careless with the ball cost them.
“It was a competitive game for sure, but it just comes down to turnovers, I had 4 turnovers, 16 as a team,” Madsen said after the game. “We talk a lot about the possession battle and I think they had like 11 (seven) more shots than us. We have to take better care of the ball, and I’ll be the first to say I’ve got to be better at that.”
It truly is unfortunate that seniors—especially those who have been with the program for extended lengths—don’t finish their careers with a win in their final home game.
Thank you for all you have given this program, Seniors‼️#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/ifRheDofTN
— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) March 5, 2025
UP NEXT – Utah vs BYU
The Runnin’ Utes close out the 2024-25 regular-season on the road against their bitter in-state rivals, BYU, this Saturday, March 8, starting at 8 p.m. (MST). Mark Neely will have the call between Utah and No. 23/22 BYU alongside 3x NBA Champion Scott Williams on ESPNU as the Utes look to sweep the in-season series in the 266th edition of the heated rivalry.
