Turnovers Plagued Utah In 70-36 Loss To No. 7 Houston
Jan 22, 2025, 6:08 PM | Updated: Jan 23, 2025, 1:05 pm
SALT LAKE CITY—Utah’s three-game win streak came to an end in pretty emphatic fashion as Houston bullied the Utes in a xx-xx
The Utes struggled to protect the basketball against Houston’s stingy defense. They finished the game with 26 turnovers and converted just 30% on 13-of-43 from the field. Utah didn’t offer much resistance on the defensive end, either. Houston enjoyed shooting over 50% from the field for most of the game and finished with just 4 turnovers.
This one wasn’t close and Craig Smith pulled most of his starters around the second media timeout of the second half. The Utes will need a significant bounceback effort this Saturday against the Baylor Bears.
Starters for Utah vs Houston
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 Houston
Utah started really slow in this one; Houston jumped out to a 6-0 lead before Lawson Lovering scored a layup at the 17:01 mark. Gabe Madsen knocked down a 3-pointer from the top on the ensuing possession. After nearly five minutes of action, Houston went into the first media timeout up 12-5.
15:11 – Utah struggled to protect the basketball and opened up with three consecutive turnovers. The defense allowed Houston to build a 20-5 lead in two minutes of action before Craig Smith called a timeout at the 13:00 mark. Following Utah’s timeout, Houston continued to make things difficult for Utah. The Cougars forced another turnover and knocked down another 3-pointer before the next media timeout.
11:17 – After the second media break, the Utes turned it over yet again, and Houston continued to extend their lead. Finally, after six minutes, Keanu Dawes knocked down a 3-pointer to end Utah’s scoring drought. On the ensuing possession, Dawes was fouled diving to the rim, and knocked down 1-of-2 from the line, which made it a 26-9 game. Utah continued to struggle against Houston’s high-level defense and went into the next media timeout with a 28-9 advantage.
7:09 – After the timeout, Utah knocked down consecutive 3-pointers. The first one was knocked down by G. Madsen, and the second by Miro Little, which cut Houston’s lead to 30-15. Still, the Utes weren’t creating many clean opportunities to cut into the lead further.
3:53 – After two more turnovers and a blocked layup attempt, the Cougars pushed their to 22 points. After a couple of minutes of action, G. Madsen drove the lane and knocked down a jumper from the right block. Unfortunately, that was the only make out of the seven shots Utah attempted in the final few minutes.
Houston dominated the first half, while the Utes struggled mightily. Utah ended the half with 14 turnovers, while Houston secured 7 offensive rebounds and score 10 second-chance points. The Cougars went into the locker room with a 41-17 lead.
Second Half – Utah 17, Houston 41
Utah’s turnover issues continued in the second half. The Utes turned it over each of their opening three possessions. That led to a couple more scores for Houston, who built a 47-17 lead by the team Utah attempted their first field goal of the half, which was a G. Madsen miss. Unfortunately, Utah went the entire 4:18 of action without a score, and Houston sat on a 49-17 lead by the first media timeout of the half.
15:42 – After the break, Utah was actually able to protect the basketball enough to attempt shots. The issue was that they were all heaves at the rim in late shot clock situations. The Cougars continued to make Utah pay with points in the paint on the other end. After seven minutes of action, Utah finally converted a field goal, as Little knocked down another 3-pointer. It didn’t make much difference, as Houston still enjoyed a comfortable 55-20 advantage.
12:13 – During the break, a Houston foul was upgraded to flagrant, which led to M. Madsen knocking down 1-of-2 from the line. On the ensuing possession, the Utes failed to covert and gave up a 3-pointer on the other end. Dawes was fouled on the next possession but, again, only converted 1-of-2 at the line. After a couple of turnovers, Zach Keller was fouled and missed the first of a 1+1 opportunity.
7:55 – After the break, Wahlin was fouled, but again, he only converted 1-of-2 from the line. Wahlin converted a couple of layup opportunities, while Keller added one of his own. Those three buckets made it a 64-30 game by the next media timeout.
3:23 – Dawes was able to putback a missed M. Madsen layup attempt. While Lohner and M. Madsen each added a layup of his own, and Utah ended the game with two more turnovers in the final minutes. The Utes fell to Houston, 70-36.
UP NEXT – Baylor vs Utah
Utah will return home, where their 10-2 home record will be put to the test. The Runnin’ Utes will be the Baylor Bears on Saturday, Jan. 25, starting at 2:30 pm, which is set to air on ESPN2. Dave Flemming will have the action on national TV alongside former Bruin Sean Farnham as Utah looks to avenge its Big 12 opener against the Bears.
