The #22 Utah Utes finally got the final Pac-12 monkey off their back, beating the #9 Arizona Wildcats at the Huntsman Center, 70-64. With just Senior Night to go in the regular season, the Utes (23-7, 12-5 Pac-12) are in a temporary virtual tie with the Oregon Ducks for first place in the Pac-12 Conference.
SALT LAKE CITY—The #22 Utah Utes finally got the final Pac-12 monkey off their back, beating the #9 Arizona Wildcats at the Huntsman Center, 70-64. With just Senior Night to go in the regular season, the Utes (23-7, 12-5 Pac-12) are in a temporary virtual tie with the Oregon Ducks for first place in the Pac-12 Conference.
As point guard Brandon Taylor did in Pasadena against the UCLA Bruins, the Utes’ dagger came via his three-pointer at the top-right of the three-point line, giving the Utes realistic hope of winning the conference a week from today against Colorado.
The Utes held a 40-29 lead at halftime over the Wildcats (22-7, 10-6 Pac-12), shooting 60% in the first half, and only turning the ball over three times. Jakob Poeltl was beating Arizona center Kaleb Tarczewski down low, scoring nine points, leading the Utes to outscore the Wildcats in the paint, 28-14.
In front of a raucous crowd of 15,508, the Utes had momentum at halftime. However, Utah lost their lead, due in part to four consecutive turnovers to start the second half, allowing Arizona to open the half on a 20-7 run. “I threatened to chop their fingers off in the timeout if they kept doing that,” head coach Larry Krystkowiak joked after the game.
Arizona led 59-55 with 6:17 left in the game, after which the Utes went on a 15-5 run to finish the game. One of the metrics Utah uses to measure defensive success is “kills,” which refers to the Utes preventing their opponent to score on five consecutive possessions. “From the media timeout [at 2:51], we managed to get two kills to finish the game,” Krystkowiak said. “It was big.”
With the teams trading baskets and the lead inside the final moments, Arizona forward Ryan Anderson drove for a layup from the left side with the Utes leading by one, but lost his handle on the ball, sending it out of bounds. Poeltl hit a free throw after being fouled to put his team up two points, after which Taylor brought the house down with his three-pointer.
Wildcat point guard Gabe York tried one last time to put his team within range, but missed a three-pointer with 17 seconds left. Poeltl gathered the rebound, passed to Taylor, who was fouled, and the Utes ran away with their first victory over their foes from Tucson since the March 1998 Elite Eight.
“What an environment for this building,” Krystkowiak said. “An opportunity for us to beat such a great team that we had yet to beat since I’ve been here, and to do it in this environment on ESPN, it was a pretty special afternoon.”
Seniors Brandon Taylor, Jordan Loveridge, Dakarai Tucker, and Austin Eastman will play in their final game at the Huntsman Center next Saturday against the Colorado Buffaloes. Sophomore Poeltl, expected to enter the NBA after this season, is likely will play his last game in the home arena as well.
Tipoff between the Utes and Buffaloes next Saturday will be at 7:30 p.m., with pregame coverage starting at 5:30 on ESPN 700. The game will be televised on ESPNU.
Larry Krystkowiak Postgame:
Jakob Poeltl, Brandon Taylor Postgame:
Highlights:
