Plummer, Allen Lead Utah Basketball To Season Opening Win Over UW

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – It took just under one week later than expected but the Utah men’s basketball team started their 2020-21 season. They picked up a big 76-62 win over the Washington Huskies.

It was not only the season opener for Utah but it was also their first conference game of the 2020-21 season. Alfonso Plummer had 21 points to lead the Utes, hitting 8-of-17 from the field and 4-for-11 from the three-point line.

Timmy Allen added 14 points for the Runnin’ Utes. Mikael Jantunen was the third and final Utah player to score in double figures with 10.

Washington was led by Quade Green with 21 points, Nate Roberts added 12 points. UW shot 35 percent from the field and 20 percent from downtown. Utah made 43 percent of their field goals and 31 percent of their three-pointers.

FINAL from the Huntsman Center@UtahMBB 76@UW_MBB 62#GoUtes #Pac12Hoops

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) December 4, 2020

Utah Wins Turnover Battle, Guard Play

After taking some time to shake off the rust to start the game, Utah started to find their rhythm offensively in the last 10 minutes of the first half. Alfonso Plummer started the game making one field goal, which was a layup but was 0-for-3 from downtown to start the game.

Utah’s lone senior’s last game in 2019-20 set a Pac-12 Tournament record with 11 3-pointers made. At the break against Washington in the 2020-21 season opener, Plummer had 11 points on 4-for-9 shooting from the field and 2-of-6 from beyond the arc.

True freshman Pelle Larsson made his collegiate debut and did not disappoint in the first half, scoring 6 points and dishing out 5 assists.

The Runnin’ Utes shot 36 percent in the first half to take a 37-32 lead at the break. Washington ended the first 20 minutes making just one of their last seven field goal attempts and no field goals made in the last 2:55 of the half.

Larsson finished his college debut with 8 points and 7 assists.

The Utes took over the game midway through the second half when they went on a 13-0 run and Washington was held scoreless for a stretch of over four minutes. Utah had a 64-46 lead with 9:22 left in the game.

The home team committed 11 turnovers, while Washington had 13 miscues. Utah took advantage of the Huskies’ turnovers by scoring 23 points off of them.

The Runnin’ Utes did a great job sharing the ball, making 28 field goals off of 21 assists.

Up Next

The Utes improved their record to 1-0 on the season and in Pac-12 play. They will return to the Jon M. Huntsman Center on Tuesday, December 8 to host Idaho State. Tip-off is at 4 p.m. MST on the Pac-12 Networks.

Trevor Allen is a Utah Utes Insider for KSLSports.com and host of the Crimson Corner podcast. Follow him on Twitter: @TrevorASports. You can download and listen to the podcast, here.