Takeaways From Utah's 72-59 Win Over Colorado

SALT LAKE CITY—Though it wasn’t pretty, Craig Smith and Utah basketball ultimately took care of business in a 72-59 win over Colorado.

Utah needed a late scoring outburst to secure the 13-point win, as the Buffs held tough for most of the game.

With the win, the Utes improved to 13-9 overall, 5-6 in Big 12 play. They will travel east to take on the West Virginia Mountaineers on Saturday.

If you stuck it out, Utah’s 17-point outburst was worth the wait… almost

After an inexplicably sloppy game for most of the night, Utah finally went on a run that almost made it all worth it.

It was a 55-52 game after a Trevor Baskin bucket at the 3:58 mark. It seemed like Colorado had the momentum and were trending towards a breakthrough win.

Then, Gabe Madsen got a layup to go to start Utah’s run. The Utes got a defensive stop and then added a Hunter Erickson 3-pointer after Lawson Lovering secured an offensive rebound.

Mike Sharavjamts blocked a layup attempt, and the rebound was collected by Lovering again. He was fouled and after a night of struggles at the line, he actually knocked down both attempts.

Utah then got another stop, and got out in transition, which led to a Ezra Ausar one-handed slam, plus the foul.

Unfortunately, he missed the free throw, and then Sharavjamts added a couple of free throws but missed a couple as well. Lastly, Jake Wahlin connected on two 3-pointers as the knockout blows in the game.

This was the sort of run Utah needed to take control much earlier in the game. It’s disappointing that it took until the 3:40 mark in the second half to get it going, but they finally went on the run to get the job done.

Were the Utes overlooking the Buffs?

As exciting as the final three minutes were, the other 37 were pretty rough. Utah didn’t look very sharp, but the difference in ability level between Utah and Colorado was obvious, which is saying something.

Given Utah’s upcoming schedule—games on the road against West Virginia and Cincinnati—it would make sense for the team to spend a little extra time preparing for those games.

Utah turned the ball over frequently, finishing the game with 15. Most of them seemed to be inexplicable unforced turnovers, where a surprisingly bad pass or fumbled catch led to the giveaway.

And to be totally fair to Colorado, the Utes were only a 6.5-point favorite coming into the game. So, suggesting Utah may have overlooked them is an obvious stretch.

The main point is that Utah’s execution was surprisingly sloppy. Coach Smith must clean things up moving forward if they want to have a shot at a road win in the next two contests.

Frankly, tonight’s performance should be worrisome because Colorado clearly lacks the horses to compete in the league. They are winless in Big 12 play, and nearly giving this game away to them is concerning.

The unsung heroes for Utah basketball tonight

Gabe Madsen led the squad with 17 points on a rather efficient 5-of-10 overall, including 4-of-7 from deep and 3-of-4 from the line.

Though he only finished with 10 points and 7 rebounds, Ezra Ausar led the effort and energy for the Utes on both ends of the floor.

However, the unsung heroes were the difference tonight for the Utes.

Mason Madsen and Zach Keller were the guys that helped Utah settle in on the offensive end. Utah struggled through the first four minutes, then Keller added a layup and M. Madsen added one shortly after. They finished the half with 9 combined points, but M. Madsen was +9 and Keller was +5.

Their positive play continued in the second half, as M. Madsen seemed a bit more aggressive and Keller got a couple more layups to go.

All in all, M. Madsen finished the game with 10 points and 5 rebounds, while Keller ended up with 8 points and 2 boards. More importantly, they just played effective basketball for the Utes on both sides of the floor.

18-of-35 from the line

That’s what Utah shot from the free-throw line tonight. It was pretty rough to start the game, as they began 1-of-8 from the stripe.

They eventually converted four-consecutive from the line, but the up-and-down roller coaster ride continued throughout the rest of the game.

Utah has worked extensively on its free throws, but the struggles continue. The pressure can be felt in the Huntsman each time a player steps to the line.

Ultimately, it may just be that Utah simply doesn’t have good free throw shooters. It’s hard enough to get a quality win when they convert them, if they continue to shoot like this, they won’t stand a chance in their upcoming games.

UP NEXT – Utah Vs. West Virginia

Utah will take its first two-game road swing starting this weekend when it first heads to Morgantown for a battle with West Virginia on Saturday, Feb. 8. Eric Rothman will be on the call alongside Tim Welsh beginning at 3 p.m. (MST) on ESPN+ as the Utes check off the 39th state they’ve ever competed in on when the two square off in WVU Coliseum.

Steve Bartle is the Utah insider for KSL Sports. He hosts The Utah Blockcast (SUBSCRIBE) and appears on KSL Sports Zone to break down the Utes. You can follow him on X for the latest Utah updates and game analysis.

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