Utah Defense Falls Apart Down The Stretch, Iowa Earns 95-88 Win
Dec 21, 2024, 6:11 PM | Updated: 6:33 pm
Head coach Craig Smith (3rd L) of the Utah Utes looks on as his players take on the Washington Huskies during the first round of the Pac-12 Conference basketball tournament at T-Mobile Arena on March 09, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Huskies defeated the Utes 82-70. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY – Utah went on the road for a “neutral site” matchup against the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Sanford Pentagon (Sioux Falls, SD). The Utes put up a fight, but too many mistakes on the defensive end in the second half cost them and the Hawkeyes earned a 95-88 win.
The Utes started slow but really got going in the first half. They even built a double-digit lead early in the second half. However, the Utes defense had no answers for Payton Sandfort, who finished the game with 24 points.
Utah was led by 25 points on 11-of-14 shooting by Lawson Lovering, while Mason Madsen finished with 24 points on 6-of-11 shooting from 3-point range.
Beyond those two, Utah had no one else in double-digits. This was the last chance at a quality non-conference win and outside of Lovering and M. Madsen, the Utes failed to show up for this one. Here are some quick takeaways from the game.
Utah’s Second Half Defensive Collapse
Utah scored 48 points on 56% shooting and were +1 in the turnover margin in the second half. Unfortunately, offense was not the issue, it was Utah’s defensive collapse.
The offense kept them afloat but the defense gave up score after score to the Hawkeyes. The Hawkeyes scored 59 points, thanks to 65.5% shooting from the field and 17-of-23 from the free throw line in the second half alone.
The Hawkeyes guards were able to get into the paint seemingly at will. They created a number of layups and quality looks for others. And it was mostly coach Smith’s defensive guys that failed to get the stops.
What’s Going On With The Rotation?
Ezra Ausar played 10 minutes in this one. Mike Sharavjamts played 15 minutes. Keanu Dawes did not play. Three players Utah brought in to play big roles but aren’t, and it’s baffling why.
Ausar finished with 6 points and 4 rebounds in his minutes, while Sharavajamts scored 6, dished out 5 assists, and grabbed 3 rebounds. Yet, neither played big minutes in the second half as Iowa continued to gain momentum.
There’s just way too much inconsistency with the substitutions, which oftentimes seem to be emotionally charged decisions based on mistakes. Those mistakes still happened tonight against the Hawkeyes, while Ausar, Sharavjamts, and Dawes sat on the bench.
Coach Smith has to stop with that and settle on the fact that he needs his talented players to play big roles and work through mistakes.
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First Half – Utah vs Iowa
It was a very rough start for the Utes. They didn’t score their first bucket until the 16:16 mark. Utah either turned it over or was forced into taking a number of bad shots.
Their second bucket of the game didn’t come until the 13:34 mark and were down 12-4.
MTO – 15:41 – Iowa 7, Utah 2
Mike Sharavjamts checked in and got things going for Utah. He scored a layup within the first minute on the floor. He then notched a steal and assist that led to a Gabe Madsen dunk as well. By the second media timeout, the Utes were able to trim the Hawkeye lead down to 14-8.
MTO 11:18 – Iowa 14, Utah 8
After a couple of minutes, the action picked up significantly. Utah stormed back with a series of consecutive 3-pointers to take a 27-24 lead. Both teams found their groove for a few minutes and exchanged buckets. However, Utah was able to string together a handful of stops, while the offense put points ont he board.
Mason Madsen knocked down a couple of 3-pointers, while Sharavjamts also got one to go and another 2-point jumper. Lovering added three buckets of his own working the low post. This was perhaps the best stretch of offense we’ve seen from Utah this season.
By the next media timeout, the score was 31-30 in favor of the Utes. The two teams scored a combined 39 points between the media timeouts at the 11:18 and 5:27 mark. The Utes outscored the Hawkeyes 23-14 during this stretch.
MTO 5:27 – Utah 31, Iowa 30
The next few minutes before the final media timeout, the Utes extended their lead to 36-32. The Madsen twins scored both buckets, G. Madsen with a layup and M. Madsen with another 3-pointer.
MTO 3:00 – Utah 36, Iowa 32
In the final three minutes, the Utes and Hawkeyes exchanged a couple of buckets and went into the locker room with a 40-36 spread in favor of Utah. Both Utah buckets came from Lovering, including the final bucket of the half, a dunk diving to the rim out of the pick-n-roll action.
Utah’s offense came to life but so too did the defense. The Utes finished the half shooting 47.2% from the floor, while dragging the Hawkeyes shooting down to 44.1% from the field.
M. Madsen led the way with 14 points on 5-of-11 shooting, while Lovering added 10 on 5-of-5 from the field.
HALF – Utah 40, Iowa 36
The Utes started the second half much better. They started with a 9-2 run in the opening two minutes. It began with an Ausar two-handed slam, followed by a M. Madsen knocked down a pull-up 3-pointer from the top in transition, two Ausar free throw makes, and a Little dunk.
That gave Utah a 49-38 lead G. Madsen knocked down a 3-pointer from the left wing after a couple of Iowa scores.
MTO 15:56 – Utah 54, Iowa 48
The Hawkeyes continued to fight back over the next few minutes. They were able to trim Utah’s lead to 55-50 with a Payton Sandfort jump hook at the 15:14 mark.
During their run, the very pro-Iowa crowd came to life and the Hawkeyes cut the lead down to 59-57.
Lohner checked in and had a very positive impact in a short amount of time. He scored a couple of buckets, notched a steal, and grabbed a couple of rebounds.
MTO 11:21 – Utah 63, Iowa 59
The action over the next three minutes was non-stop. Utah’s offense kept them afloat, but the defense completely fell apart during this stretch.
The Hawkeyes scored consistently, whether from field or the free throw line. Utah would answer with a bucket on seemingly every other possession, as they struggled to find quality looks. Iowa then regained the lead at the 10:13 mark after a 3-pointer which gave them a 69-68 advantage.
Lovering scored consecutive buckets at the rim but the Hawkeyes continued to score on the other end. They were able to extend their lead to 75-71 before M. Madsen knocked down a much-needed 3-pointer.
