Utah Basketball Runs Away To Quarterfinal Round Over ASU
Mar 14, 2024, 12:04 AM | Updated: 4:23 pm
LAS VEGAS – The Runnin’ Utes paired against the Arizona State Sun Devils in the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament.
After flaming out to finish the season against Oregon State and Oregon on the road, Utah’s back was really against the wall if they want to make the NCAA Tournament.
The Utes came out hot against ASU and never let up going into the locker room with a healthy 47-22 lead largely thanks to the efforts of Cole Bajema and Gabe Madsen.
HALFTIME
Utah goes into the locker room with a 47-22 lead over ASU.#Utes are shooting 70% from the field, 47% from the three, and 50% from the line.
Cole Bajema is the scoring leader with 14 points after sinking three straight threes.#GoUtes
— Michelle Bodkin (@BodkinKSLsports) March 14, 2024
Utah kept the freight train rolling through the second half of the game, ultimately putting a lot of distance between themselves and Arizona State to advance to the next round of the Pac-12 Tournament, 90-57.
FINAL#GoUtes #LightTheU pic.twitter.com/OVrMn0PzE0
— Michelle Bodkin (@BodkinKSLsports) March 14, 2024
How The Quarterfinal Round Of The Pac-12 Tournament Looks
USC came from behind to advance over the Washington Huskies in their matchup early in the day and will now face No. 5 Arizona on Thursday, March 14 at 1:00 pm MT.
The UCLA Bruins handled their business against the Oregon State Beavers and are now tasked with taking down the Oregon Ducks starting at 3:30 pm MT.
Perhaps in the most interesting matchup of the day ended up being between Stanford and Cal- the Golden Bears led most of the game until the Cardinal forced overtime and won. Stanford now faces Washington State at 7:00 pm MT.
Looking Ahead At The Runnin’ Utes’ Schedule
After a solid win over ASU in the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament, Utah will now turn their attention to the Colorado Buffaloes on Thursday, March 14 at 9:30 pm MT. The game can be viewed on the Pac-12 Network.
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Starting Lineups Utah Utes Vs. ASU
Tonight’s Starters‼️ pic.twitter.com/IUMfMrKzNl
— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) March 14, 2024
Leading us off in Las Vegas 🥊@Frankiecollins0 @AceWolf44 @jamiyaneal_
Alonzo Gaffney@shawnphillipsj1 pic.twitter.com/hzpDRgfXEj— Sun Devil MBB (@SunDevilHoops) March 14, 2024
Utah Men Stats Leaders In Pac-12 Tournament
- Scoring Leader: Cole Bajema– 22 points
- Rebound Leader: Deivon Smith, Lawson Lovering– 10 rebounds
- Assists Leader: Deivon Smith– 9 assists
Cole Bajema finished as the leading scorer for the Utes with 22 points and set a new career high points total while adding three rebounds, one steal, and one block.
This triple marks a NEW CAREER-HIGH for @colebajema22 ‼️🔥#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/QAQQNbJzwo
— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) March 14, 2024
Deivon Smith came in as Utah’s second leading scorer with 15 points and earning a double double with 10 rebounds.
Gabe Madsen wrapped up the highest scorers for the Utes with 10 points and brought down three rebounds and four assists.
Noteworthy Runnin’ Utes Stats In Pac-12 Tournament
The Utah men got back on track shooting against Arizona State going 59% from the field, 46% from the three, and 67% from their trips to the line.
The Utes collected 41 rebounds, 15 assists, one block and 10 steals, but did have 18 turnovers they will need to clean up to have a shot against Colorado.
Michelle Bodkin is the Utah Utes Insider for KSLsports.com and host of both the Crimson Corner Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and The Saturday Show (Saturday from 10 a.m.–12 p.m.) on The KSL Sports Zone. Follow her on X, Instagram, and Threads: @BodkinKSLsports
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