3 takeaways from Utah’s Pac-12 opening win against Washington State

Utah overcame an early second-half slump to take control in what ended up being a 80-58 win over Washington State at the Huntsman Center on Friday night in the Pac-12 opener for both schools.

Top performer: Gabe Madsen delivered just when it looked like Utah might be heading for a loss to open conference play. Madsen scored a game-high 20 points, with all of them coming in the second half after he shot 0 of 4 in the first 20 minutes.

Key stretch: After Washington State used a quick 7-0 run to go up 40-34 four minutes into the second half, the Utes turned up the intensity and efficiency on both ends.

Spurred on by four 3-pointers from Madsen as part of a 14-2 run, the Utes turned that six-point deficit into a nine-point lead over the next 5 minutes and change, then continued their assertiveness over the game’s final minutes to wrap up the win.

Shooting: Washington State entered the contest leading the Pac-12 in field goal percentage defense, and the Cougars certainly made Utah work for their points through the first half, as the Utes shot 38.9% in the first 20 minutes.

Utah, though, finished the night making 47.5% of its field goals, including 60% in the second half, while Washington State made 31.3%.

The Utes missed their first six 3-point attempts, but by game’s end, they had hit 7 of 17. Madsen made 4 of 9, while Branden Carlson (who had 19 points) hit 3 of 6.

Blocked shots: The Utes had nine blocks, including five from Carlson and three from Keba Keita (who also had 18 points and 11 rebounds).

Assists: Utah had 22 assists on 29 made field goals, while WSU had 14 on 21 field goals.

What’s next?

The Utes (10-2, 1-0 Pac-12) will stay at home for a sixth straight game at the Huntsman Center.

On Sunday, Utah will host Washington at 4 p.m. MST to wrap up its first weekend of conference play.

The Huskies opened league play Friday night at Colorado in one of the day’s other top matchups.