The Utah men’s basketball team (14-5, 5-3 Pac-12) came into this game defending their undefeated home win streak against the Pac-12-leading Oregon Ducks (13-5, 5-2). The two teams exchanged buckets for the majority of the first half, seeing Oregon take a slim 33-32 lead into halftime. The Utes came out in the second half and continued to apply solid defensive pressure against a potent Oregon offensive attack. Clutch free throw shooting by Utah guard Cole Bajema would eventually close this one out and give Utah a massive 80-77 win against a solid quad-one opponent.
First Half
The first half was tightly contested, with 10 lead changes throughout. Utah’s defense continued their impressive play, holding Oregon to just 33 first-half points thanks to the stellar interior play of Keba Keita and Branden Carlson. Deivon Smith got his third straight start after Rollie Worster was sidelined with a foot injury. Smith has been exceptional in his 10 games since coming back from an early-season injury, controlling the pace of the offense and making timely shots.
Smith led Utah in the first half, scoring nine, including a deep three-pointer at the end of the first half to beat the buzzer. Carlson was close behind, putting up seven first-half points, while Bajema was able to tally six, knocking down two three-pointers.
Second Half
The back-and-forth pace continued in the second half, as Utah started to pour it on from three-point range thanks to three three-pointers from Ben Carlson. Keita was able to complete back-to-back and-ones at the 16:29 mark, both coming from beautiful assists by Smith.
The lead changes continued down the stretch, but a Carlson layup at the 8:11 point in the second half helped give Utah a slight 60-57 lead prior to the under-eight-minute media timeout.
Oregon started to heat up late as they lengthened their lead to 67-63 on a three-pointer from star guard Jermaine Couisnard with 4:51 left to go in the game. Smith, however, came down on the next possessions and buried a clutch three to pull within one point. Smith wasn’t satisfied with one clutch three as he came down and knocked down another crucial three-pointer on the next possession, this time giving the Utes a 69-67 lead.
With 1:00 left, Utah called a timeout up one with the ball in order to draw up a play for none other than Smith. Smith took his man to the hoop and finished over top of the defense, giving Utah a three-point lead with just 0:48 seconds left to go.
Free throw shooting has been a problem for the Utes all year, but Bajema was up to the task as he knocked down four shots at the line to close this game out. Utah would end up with an 80-77 win to slide into second place in the Pac-12.
Utes Stuffing the Stat Sheet
Smith led Utah in points, rebounds and assists, putting up an unbelievable stat line of 24, 9 and 9. Bajema played exceptionally well, scoring 13 points and grabbing 9 rebounds as well. Keita, Branden Carlson and Ben Carlson all put up 12 points to round out the majority of the scoring for Utah.
As a team, the Utes shot an astounding 50% from the field and 40% from three-point range to help take down a red-hot Oregon Ducks team. The defensive pressure by Utah played a key factor in the win as well, as Oregon’s offense is built on running in transition and wearing out the defense.
What’s next for the Utes?
Utah heads back on the road on Wednesday, Jan. 24, at 8:00 p.m. MST to take on Washington State. A road conference win would be crucial for Utah’s NCAA tournament hopes as the Utes look to knock off Washington State for the second time this season.
k.garrison@dailyutahchronicle.com
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