Utah To Welcome Texas Tech For For First-Ever Big 12 Home Opener

SALT LAKE CITY —Craig Smith and his Utah men’s basketball squad are set to host their Big 12 home opener on Saturday. They will welcome the 9-3, 0-1 Texas Tech Red Raiders to the Jon M. Huntsman Center.

Utah, 8-4, 0-1, suffered an 81-56 loss against the Baylor Bears on Tuesday. Hunter Erickson finished with a team-high 13 points off the bench on 3-of-4 shooting from deep. Mason Madsen was the only other double-digit scorer with 10 points of his own. 

Texas Tech vs Utah, How To Watch, Listen

Date: Saturday, January 4, 2025

Tip-Off: 5:00 (MST)

TV/Stream: ESPN+

Radio: ESPN 700 AM

Pete Sousa will once again have the call for fans on ESPN+, this time with former Oklahoma State guard Bryndon Manzer as Utah hosts the Red Raiders in SLC for just the second time in program history.

Utah’s first Big 12 home game

Saturday marks the program’s inaugural home game in the Big 12. The Utes faced a tough introduction to the conference, starting their journey with a road game against Baylor in Waco, TX.

It was not a clean performance offensively, as Utah looked out of sorts for most of the game. It wasn’t just that they shot poorly, the greater concern was that they were forced into taking really difficult shots.

Offensive struggles continued for the Utes, who converted just 31.7% from the field, the lowest of the season. That included just 22.7% shooting from 3-point range, the second-lowest rate this season.

Hosting a formidable Red Raiders team in Salt Lake City marks an important moment for the Utah Basketball program. It offers a chance to showcase some quick improvement and potentially earn a valuable victory.

Coach Smith acknowledged the need for more structure offensively. He also noted that they simply missed many shots they normally make. Utah needs to play much cleaner offensively and tighten up on the defensive end.

Additionally, this game is the first home contest as a member in arguably the best basketball conference in the nation. Utah has work to do to compete at a high level in the Big 12, and protecting its home court is essential.

Getting out of the funk

After an impressive start to the season, senior Gabe Madsen has been in a bit of a funk. Madsen started the season averaging over 20 points per game. Over the last five games, Madsen has converted just 17-of-56 from the field and averaged just 10.2 points.

The ebbs and flows are pretty common for a shooter like Madsen. However, shooting 30.3% from the field over this extended period is not the norm. Utah needs Madsen to regain the confidence and form with which he started the season.

Looking ahead to Saturday’s contest, one easy way for Utah to make quick improvements is for Madsen to find his groove again.  This isn’t to place all of Utah’s offensive struggles on Madsen alone. Utah needs to be much better across the board, but it starts with Madsen. If he can get going, that should do a lot for everyone around him.

Getting to know the Texas Tech Red Raiders

The Red Raiders are a talented team excelling on both offense and defense. After 12 games, they average 86.0 points while conceding just 65.3 points.

However, they’re also coming off a home loss in their Big 12 opener. The UCF Knights defeated them 87-83. So, they will certainly be looking for a bounceback effort.

JT Toppin is back and will play the five primarily. The 6-foot-9, 225-pounder is averaging 19.5 points and 10.9 rebounds while also notching 2.1 blockers per game.

Darrion Williams is a versatile forward who averages 16.0 points while grabbing 5.7 rebounds and dishing 5.0 assists.

Chance McMillian is also averaging 16.0 points and 3.8 rebounds and is shooting a blistering 51.6% on 5.2 attempts from 3-point range.

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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