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Having received consecutive Pac-12 street basketball video games for the primary time since sweeping the Los Angeles colleges in 2019, coach Craig Smith’s Runnin’ Utes return from their sweep of the Bay Space colleges over the weekend with an eye fixed towards preserving this late-season resurgence rolling.
However a few vital obstacles stand of their manner.
First, they could possibly be with out main scorer and 7-footer Branden Carlson, who rolled his ankle with three and a half minutes remaining within the 60-58 win over Cal and was not on the ground when Riley Battin hit a clutch jumper and Lazar Stefanovic and Marco Anthony made free throws to seal the victory.
It wasn’t as dramatic because the final time the Utes bought a street sweep — keep in mind Parker Van Dyke’s buzzer beater towards UCLA three years in the past? — however virtually as satisfying, contemplating what number of shut video games the Utes (11-16, 4-13) have let get away in Smith’s first yr.
Smith mentioned after the sport that he didn’t know the severity of Carlson’s damage and extra could be recognized after an examination on Sunday or Monday.
Mighty Arizona (24-2, 14-1) additionally stands in Utah’s manner again to respectability.
The No. 3-ranked Wildcats, who will virtually assuredly rise to No. 2 within the Related Press High 25 scheduled to be launched Monday as a result of they held off upset-minded and much-improved Oregon on Saturday and No. 2 Auburn misplaced to Florida, go to the Huntsman Middle on Thursday. Tipoff is at 9 p.m. MST and the sport will probably be televised by Fox Sports activities 1.
The Utes flew again to Salt Lake Metropolis on Saturday night time through a chartered flight.
“I do know our guys will come again on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and put together for an excellent crew,” Smith mentioned. “Arizona is an elite crew. Not an ideal crew, they're an elite crew. And there may be nothing that they don’t have.”
The Wildcats, who've received eight straight after edging Oregon 84-81 at McKale Middle, are No. 2 within the NET rankings. Utah is No. 122, up from No. 125 with the sweep of the Bears and Stanford Cardinal, solely its second sweep of the Bay Space colleges because it joined the Pac-12 in 2011.
Meaning Arizona ought to be a double-digit favourite.
“I imply, Arizona has elite playmaking and elite capturing, unbelievable measurement and flexibility. They've depth. They've nice athleticism. They only preserve coming at you in waves,” mentioned Smith, whose crew misplaced 82-64 to Arizona on Jan. 15 in Tucson.
Enjoying with out Carlson, who was out with appendicitis, Utah had a few six-point leads within the first half and trailed by only one, 46-45, with a little bit greater than 12 minutes remaining. Arizona answered with a 21-0 run to place it away, because the Utes went seven minutes and 27 seconds with out scoring.
“It has been a problem for everyone that has performed these guys this yr,” Smith mentioned.
Arizona’s solely losses have been to then-No. 7 UCLA 75-59 in Los Angeles and 77-73 to then-No. 19 Tennessee in Knoxville.
Senior guard Anthony, who led the Utes in scoring (13 factors) for less than the second time this season — the opposite was towards Fresno State (11) — mentioned the street sweep may do wonders for the Utes.
“I imply, it builds our confidence,” Anthony mentioned, lamenting a scoring lapse within the second half the place the Utes went greater than six minutes with out making a area purpose. “We're going to watch movie on this sport and see what labored, what didn’t. … We're simply going to maintain discovering methods to construct.”
Level guard Rollie Worster seconded that notion.
“I believe it simply will get us excited,” he mentioned. “You understand, now we have had a number of shut video games — a few of them we’ve dropped. However simply to return out on high the final couple offers us a number of momentum.”
Smith mentioned the Utes have been doing it by taking part in higher protection, taking higher care of the ball, and efficiently incorporating Carlson again into the lineup after the massive man missed 5 video games as a result of appendectomy.
“I believe our guys are actually, actually tight proper now, as tight as now we have been all yr,” Smith mentioned. “And we're simply nervous about getting higher. There's not an entire lot of drama. We're simply competing.”
The Utes are making groups earn their factors. They're sixty fourth within the nation in 3-point area purpose protection (31.1%) and 154th in area purpose share protection (42.6%).
“We've got needed to do some issues (on protection) that fairly frankly, as a head coach, are quite a bit completely different than I'm used to, however have actually helped us,” Smith mentioned. “We simply have simplified, and dug in on the defensive finish. In case you are not going to protect, you're simply not going to play.”
Carlson’s presence on protection will probably be wanted towards Arizona, which options former Ute Pelle Larsson and loads of different gifted gamers, together with Pac-12 Participant of the Yr candidate Bennedict Mathurin (17.4 ppg) and Azuolas Tubelis (15.2 ppg).
“Getting him again within the lineup makes an enormous, large distinction,” Smith mentioned. “He's our most skilled man at this stage of play, and he could possibly be a big-time drive for us rebounding, defending, and clearly he's the main scorer on our crew. So getting him again made an enormous distinction.”