Utah Pummeled At Home, Lose 93-66 To Texas Tech

SALT LAKE CITY –  In the program’s first-ever Big 12 conference home game, Craig Smith and the Runnin’ Utes could not hang tight with the Red Raiders, losing 93-66. 

The Utes started this game playing much better than they did against Baylor. Unfortunately, they seemingly ran out of gas at halftime.

The Utes converted just 28% of their shots in the second half, and finished the game shooting 6-of-23 from 3-point range. Meanwhile, the Red Raiders played quite well on both ends of the floor, and Utah could not keep pace with the Red Raiders.  

Gabe Madsen and Mason Madsen combined for just 4 points, all of which Gabe scored. Utah simply isn’t able to compete without those two scoring and producing.

Utah Starting Lineup

Utah was without their starting power forward Ezra Ausar, who was tending to family/personal matters. That led to a change in the lineup and an additional one as well.

It was Mike Sharavjamts, Gabe Madsen, Mason Madsen, Caleb Lohner, and Lawson Lovering to start the game.

First Half – Utah vs Texas Tech

Utah controlled the tip, but the Red Raiders’ Darrion Williams scored in the first bucket of the game. The Utes responded with a couple of easy ones from Lohner at the rim. Unfortunately, Elijah Hawkins knocked down consecutive 3-pointers, which gave the Red Raiders a 10-4 lead. Lovering did draw two early fouls on JT Toppin, which sent him to the bench after three minutes; Lovering only knocked down 1-of-4 from the charity stripe, though. Sharavjamts scored a layup on a cut to the rim from the backside. The Red Raiders continued to shoot it well and built a quick 17-7 lead after five minutes.

14:37 – Following the timeout, Utah played much better. Jake Wahlin had a putback dunk off of a Sharavjamtas missed jumper coming out of the timeout. After a couple of Red Raiders free throws, Sharavjamts knocked down a 3-pointer from the left wing off a dish from Zach Keller. Keller scored back-to-back buckets, both of which came at the rim. The defensive pressure was much better for Utah, and it led to a transition opportunity for Keanu Dawes, who finished at the rim. On the ensuing possession, Dawes was fouled diving to the rim and going up for a dunk.

11:18 – Following the 1-0f-2 free throws for at Dawes after the break, Utah continued to play well on both ends of the floor. Texas Tech had a couple of late-in-the-shot clock backbreaker types of shots, but the defensive intensity was obvious.

Miro Little checked in and immediately made a positive impact. It started on the defensive end with his on-ball defense. He then made a great cross-court pass to an open Wahlin in the corner for a 3-pointer. He grabbed a defensive rebound and orchestrated good offense over the next few minutes. Wahlin and Little each knocked down a 3-pointer to give Utah a 30-29 lead at the next media timeout.

6:33 – A brutal minute of action for Utah as they watched Texas Tech go on an 8-0 in less than 60 seconds, which forced a timeout for Utah. After the timeout, Keller scored another at the rim off a no-look dish from Sharavjamts. Lohner then scored an easy one underneath off of an Erickson miss from 3-point range.

3:25 – Utah’s final few minutes were a bit of a letdown. The Red Raiders pushed their lead to double digits and made it more difficult for Utah offensively. The Runnin’ Utes defense, which sparked their surge earlier in the contest, let them down. Utah played with great effort but did not contest strongly enough to affect the Red Raiders offensively.

Texas Tech ended the half shooting 61% from the field and 46% from 3-point range. Chance McMillian had 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting, while Federiko Federiko added 10 points as well.  The Utes played well offensively, shooting 55% from the field but missed too many from 3-point range at 4-of-12 shooting from deep. Utah’s leading scorer, Gabe Madsen, was almost completely absent though. He finished the half with 0 points on 0-of-3 shooting but dished out 2 assists.

Second Half – Utah 36, Texas Tech 47

The Red Raiders started the half with the ball, which led to Toppin free throws, where he made 1-of-2. On the other end, Utah also opened the second half 1-of-2 from the free throw line with Lohner. The Ute’s defensive effort looked good; they had consecutive defensive stops, but the Red Raiders took advantage of a couple of breakdowns.

15:53 – Following the break, Sharavjamts made another no-look dish to Keller for an easy one at the rim and followed that up with a 3-pointer on the next possession. Unfortunately, those would be the last points scored for three minutes, and Texas Tech took advantage. They forced three consecutive Utah turnovers, and the Utes went scoreless. Meanwhile, they pushed their lead to 17 points, and by the next timeout, they had a 61-44 advantage.

11:36 – This was the stretch where Texas Tech had an answer for everything Utah did. Utah had a run, and Texas Tech responded with a run of its own. Texas Tech made mincemeat of Utah’s full-court pressure. The Utes turned the ball over multiple times, allowing the Red Raiders to build a 17-point lead.

7:50 –  Utah seemingly chucked shots at the rim during this stretch. They missed three consecutively before a Keller layup at the 5:50 mark ended the streak. Dawes scored on the next possession but the Red Raiders just continued to score and clamp Utah down on the defensive end.

3:33 – The final few minutes were pretty inconsequential. The Red Raiders continued to build their lead and controlled things to the very end. Utah falls, 93-65.

Steve Bartle is the Utah insider for KSL Sports. He hosts The Utah Blockcast (SUBSCRIBE) and appears on KSL Sports Zone to break down the Utes. You can follow him on X for the latest Utah updates and game analysis.

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