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LAS VEGAS — The Runnin’ Utes advanced to the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 tournament after narrowly beating Washington 67-61 Wednesday. But the competition only intensifies as the Utes square off with No. 4 Arizona Thursday — a team Utah has yet to beat since joining the conference.
Utah played the Wildcats twice this season, losing both outings. However, both games were hard-fought battles that came down to the final minutes before Arizona could finish off the Utes. In the Feb. 23 matchup, the Utes took the Wildcats to overtime at home, falling short 67-63.
“We’ve been close in both games — actually we’ve been close in three years,” head coach Larry Krystkowiak said following Utah’s victory over Washington. “It’s the one team in the Pac-12 we have not won a basketball game against. We got a lot of booby prizes along the way and ‘atta boys’ and ‘way to go, you competed with them.’ But we’ve got to figure it out.”
“Throughout the first two games, we learned that it will be a battle,” sophomore guard Brandon Taylor said. “We know we can compete with those guys and the rest of the top teams in the country. I’m excited to play them because they’re the No. 4 team in the country. We’re going to play really hard, and we’ll see what happens.”
Although Utah has played Arizona close this season, it will take a near perfect game for the Utes to match the Wildcats’ defense, shooting and overall talent. Arizona features one of the best defenses in the NCAA, holding opponents to an average 58.7 points per game.
“Arizona, statistically, is the best defensive team in the conference. They hold teams to percentages that are not really in the same neighborhood as a lot of the other 11 teams’ points scored. They’re real physical, they’re solid,” Krystkowiak said. “That’s what’s making them an elite team in college basketball this year; you’ve got a really talented group committed to playing defense.”
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Sophomore Dakarai Tucker hit one of the biggest 3-point shots of his career in the final seconds of the game against Washington Wednesday to give the Runnin' Utes a much-needed victory and to punch a ticket to the next round of the Pac-12 tournament.That defense has been a struggle for Utah to overcome, particularly rebounding. In Utah’s first matchup on Jan. 26, Utah was outrebounded 40-29, with Arizona grabbing 20 offensive boards.
“It was actually a real eye-opening experience for us,” Krystkowiak said, speaking about his team’s inability to rebound in the first game against Arizona. “We spent a couple weeks working on it. There’s certain guys that need to block out, there’s some guys that just need to go get the ball, and some of it is just a mindset.”
However, in Utah’s second game against the Wildcats this season, the rebounding effort was much improved and the Utes outrebounded Arizona 37-31. But Utah’s inability to make free throws in the final minutes of the game gave Arizona all it needed to get the win.
“I think we’ve got to rebound,” junior guard Delon Wright said. “They’re one of the top teams in our conference in rebounding — they all crash. So if we just rebound and play good, team basketball we have a chance.”
Rebounding and overall defense is not the only facet of Arizona’s game Utah has to worry about, though. Arizona has multiple offensive threats, lead by Pac-12 Player of the Year Nick Johnson and Pac-12 Freshman of the Year Aaron Gordon.
Johnson averages 16.1 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game, and has the ability to split the opposing defense and create his own shots. Gordon, a projected top 10 pick in the upcoming NBA draft, has a wide range of skills, including his ability to pass and to finish at the rim. Gordon averages 12.3 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game.
Utah will be a 7.5-point underdog heading into Thursday’s matchup. But that’s exactly where Krystkowiak likes to be.
“I’m not a big fan of being the favorite in any game, I’ve always liked the underdog role,” Krystkowiak said. “I don’t like being the favorite, I don’t think our guys like being the favorite. We had the opportunity to do what we should have done in a few games this year. You get a lead and you’ve got to be able to put your foot on the throttle moving forward.”
