Utah Steps Up Offensively But Isn’t Enough In Loss To Oregon

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Utah basketball stepped up their game offensively but it wasn’t enough in their 79-73 loss to No. 17 Oregon.

The last game for Utah wasn’t pretty offensively but things changed on Saturday against Oregon. In their loss to USC on Saturday, January 2, Utah made just 4 of their 30 field goal attempts in the second half.

On January 9, against the Ducks, Utah shot 55 percent from the floor but couldn’t get the perimeter shot going, making 6 of their 17 attempts from beyond the arc.

Timmy Allen led the way with 23 points and 5 rebounds, including 14 points in the first half. He surpassed 1,000 career points during the game and it happened to be his birthday.

For Oregon, Chris Duarte led all scorers with 25 points. Eric Williams Jr. added 19 points and 6 rebounds.

FINAL

Utah loses their third straight game.#GoUtes #Pac12Hoops pic.twitter.com/k6BeKS4dTP

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) January 10, 2021

New Starters For Utah Against Oregon

Last week, head coach Larry Krystkowiak hinted at a change in the starting lineup. For the most part this season, Rylan Jones, Alfonso Plummer, Timmy Allen, Mikael Jantunen and Branden Carlson got the starting nod.

Against Oregon and their smaller lineup, Utah countered with Rylan Jones, Pelle Larsson, Timmy Allen, Mikael Jantunen and Riley Battin.

Larsson had one of his better games as a true freshman for the Utes with 15 points, 5 boards and 5 assists in his first career start.

Battin recorded 7 points and 5 rebounds after being back in the starting lineup. Last season, Battin was a regular starter until towards the end of the season when Mikael Jantunen took his spot.

Coming off the bench for the first time in 2020-21, Alfonso Plummer posted 4 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists.

Final from the JMHC. pic.twitter.com/WhXm8a2Q2F

— Utah Basketball🏀 (w/ 😷) (@UtahMBB) January 10, 2021

Jantunen Posts Big Performance

Mikael Jantunen scored a career-high 20 points, along with 7 rebounds on 8-of-14 shooting from the field. He was getting open looks and was knocking them down and was really effective in the post.

Two other players had big impacts on the game without being in the scoring column much. Branden Carlson had 2 points, 4 rebounds and 2 blocks in his first game coming off the bench this season.

Rylan Jones struggled shooting the ball, going 1-of-5 from the field and 0-for-4 from the three-point line. That didn’t stop him from being effective in other ways. The sophomore guard finished with 2 points, 4 rebounds and 8 assists. He also took two charges late in the game.

Utah dropped to 4-4 overall and and 1-4 in Pac-12 play. They have lost three straight games. Up next they will host the Colorado Buffaloes on Monday, January 10 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.