Tag: Utah Utes Basketball

Pac-12 Postseason Watch: Colorado, Utah both advance

Colorado and Utah won their postseason contests.

The Pac-12 Conference has a handful of teams playing in the postseason. Four teams made the NCAA Tournament and one made the NIT.

On Tuesday, the Utah Utes defeated UC Irvine in the first round of the NIT in an 84-75 victory. Branden Carlson led the way with 21 points and 11 rebounds as Deivon Smith also recorded a double-double for the Utes.

Utah’s next game will come against Iowa in Utah on Sunday evening, so they have a few days off to rest and prepare for another tough matchup against a Big Ten team. The Hawkeyes defeated Kansas State to advance in the NIT.

Colorado faced Boise State on Wednesday in a First Four battle of 10-seeds, and the Buffs were simply too much for the Broncos, as they remain winless in NCAA Tournament history (0-10),

Colorado was arguably underseeded and shouldn’t have been a First Four team anyway and they beat Boise State 60-53.

Tristan da Silva had 20 points and TCU transfer Eddie Lampkin Jr. had 13 points with six rebounds as the Buffs moved on.

Colorado next goes up against 7-seed Florida on Friday afternoon.

Utah earns No. 2 seed in NIT

Utah is playing UC Irvine in the NIT.

The Pac-12 Conference got four teams into the field for the men’s NCAA Tournament. Oregon’s stunning run in the conference tournament gave them a spot and Colorado, Washington State, and Arizona are the other schools.

The women’s side was much more promising with them having a few Final Four contenders, although the UCLA Bruins got a horrible draw being in the same region as Iowa and LSU. 

The Utah Utes men’s team accepted an NIT bid as a 2-seed and will host UCI on Tuesday. The other top seeds in that region include Villanova (1), Iowa (3), and UCF (4).

Utah entered the Pac-12 tourney as a bubble team to watch, but a 14-point loss to Colorado put that conversation to bed.

The good news is that the Utes are still playing postseason basketball and have another home game for the fans. The game is on Tuesday night against UC Irvine.

Social media goes wild after Sebastian Mack ejection, UCLA’s last-second loss to Utah

Social media exploded after Sebastian Mack was ejected and Branden Carlson dealt a huge blow to UCLA.

The UCLA Bruins men’s basketball team saw its winning streak end on Sunday at Pauley Pavilion. Utah was too much, and a Branden Carlson buzzer-beater was the difference-maker in another hard-fought game.

The Bruins had to play nearly the entire game without Sebastian Mack due to him being ejected for a dirty play in the first half. And, despite that, UCLA still was in it, with Dylan Andrews hitting the go-ahead jumper with just seconds remaining.

But, Carlson was the hero, sealing the deal with a huge tip-in for Utah. There is a ton ti unpack from this game, and here are some of the reactions on social media.

Pac-12 men’s basketball report: Utah sneaks past Oregon, bubble teams fail to make statements

In late January, the Pac-12 has only one threat to make the Sweet 16: Arizona. No one else is a major contender.

The Pac-12 men’s basketball results have not been as good as many in the conference have hoped for. On Sunday, Utah snuck by Oregon, 80-77, in a close game between teams fighting for a spot in the NCAA tournament.

One encouraging thing for Dana Altman’s team was the play of N’Faly Dante, who did all he could to get the win for the Ducks (h/t Miles Dwyer of Ducks Wire).

“In the second half, the Ducks started running their offense through N’Faly Dante. After scoring just 2 points in the first half, Dante went for 21 in the second half. Dante also played 29 minutes in Sunday’s game, the most since his injury.”

Dante played in just his third game since returning from injury, and he showed every bit why the Ducks are excited about his potential.

He finished the game with 23 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists in a losing effort.

Oregon’s loss at Utah is not a bad loss, but it represents the failure to add a quality win to the resume. By losing to both Colorado and Utah over the past few days, Oregon remains a bubble team relative to the NCAA Tournament. With Washington State losing at Cal on Saturday, the Pac-12 did not have a good weekend in terms of boosting its number of NCAA Tournament bids. The maximum number looks like four teams, and it’s possible that the Pac-12 will get on three bids. Other than Arizona, not one team looks likely to be a higher seed in a first-round game. In other words, only one team in the conference looks likely to have a seed higher than No. 9. That means the Pac-12 has only one serious threat to make the Sweet 16, let alone the Final Four. That’s a huge disappointment in late January.

Next up for Oregon is a game against Arizona State. Utah next faces Washington State.

Visit our friends at Fighting Irish Wire, Buffaloes Wire, and Ducks Wire.

Utah transfer Lazar Stefanovic heads to UCLA

Mick Cronin and UCLA landed Utah transfer guard Lazar Stefanovic. The Bruins’ roster is undergoing major changes.

The college basketball season has officially been over for a week since UConn won the national title. As a result, the transfer portal has been active across the country.

The Utah Utes saw guard Lazar Stefanovic enter the portal, and he decided to head to UCLA, according to Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports.

Stefanovic leaving Utah is a notable loss for the Utes. He was the third-highest scoring player on the team behind Branden Carlson and Gabe Madsen (10.3 PPG). The sophomore guard from Yugoslavia now enters a UCLA team that is undergoing a ton of changes as well, although Mick Cronin always finds a way to make his team competitive in the Pac-12.

Stefanovic made the Pac-12 All-Freshman team in 2022 and was a major focal point of the Utah offense this past season, even more when Gabe Madsen missed time with an injury. Stefanovic scored 26 points on 10-22 shooting and six 3-pointers against Stanford in February, so UCLA is surely hoping it can get some consistent 3-point shooting out of him.

Stefanovic averaged 10.3 PPG with 3.1 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 28.3 minutes per contest as a starter. Stefanovic posted a picture on his Twitter profile all decked out in UCLA gear.

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USC faces tough road test against Utah on Saturday

The #USC Trojans can take a big step toward a tournament spot with a road win against Utah on Saturday.

The USC Trojans continue to do what they are supposed to do: Win games. On Thursday night, USC won against the Colorado Buffaloes on the road, and their NCAA Tournament hopes continue to look brighter with the regular season coming to an end.

The Trojans notched win No. 20 on Thursday night, and on Saturday they have another tough test with a road game against the Utah Utes. USC beat Utah 71-56 on January 14 in Los Angeles, and that was with Gabe Madsen in the lineup for the Utes.

Madsen later suffered an injury and has not returned to the court, and Utah has been reeling. Since January 28, Utah has gone just 2-5, and those two wins came against Cal and Colorado, two of the worst teams in the Pac-12.

Utah was on the bubble recently, but three straight losses entering Saturday’s game aren’t doing the Utes any favors whatsoever.

In the first meeting of the year between these teams, Boogie Ellis led the way with 17 points and Tre White stepped up with 13 points as Drew Peterson added 11 points and 6 rebounds.

Ellis has been hot lately since his 9-point performance against Oregon State and he has scored 20 or more in each of the last three games.

It was a refreshing night on Thursday for USC: Four of five starters had double figures and Reese Dixon-Waters added 15 off the bench. However, USC needs to find a way to limit Branden Carlson once again if they want to get a big bubble win on Saturday in Salt Lake City.

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Pac-12 bubble watch: Utah loses to UCLA, probably needs to win Pac-12 tourney

If Utah’s bubble candidacy isn’t fully done, it’s one loss away from ending. The Utes have run out of second chances.

We were clear in saying it this week: Utah had to beat UCLA on Thursday in Salt Lake City to have a realistic chance of getting an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. Utah did beat Arizona, but that’s about all the Utes have achieved this season. They missed crucial nonconference win opportunities against Mississippi State, TCU, and BYU. Their home-court loss to Sam Houston State hurts. Their home-court loss to Stanford is a crusher.

Going 2-5 in their last seven games also does not help the Utes.

They needed a win over UCLA to put some real meat on the bone of their portfolio. They lost to the Bruins, 78-71, which very likely pops Utah’s bubble. If it doesn’t fully end Utah’s bubble candidacy, it at least forces the Utes to win each of their next five games: versus USC, versus Colorado, first-round Pac-12 Tournament game, Pac-12 Tournament quarterfinal, Pac-12 semifinal.

If Utah wins the first four of those games but doesn’t win the Pac-12 semifinal — presumably over UCLA or Arizona, either one — it won’t get in.

This leaves Arizona State as the only Pac-12 bubble team other than USC with a half-decent chance of making the field. ASU plays at Arizona on Saturday.

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Utah basketball loses Gabe Madsen in huge blow to Utes

Utah will be without guard Gabe Madsen for 4-6 weeks as he deals with a leg injury. #USC will not face Madsen when the Trojans go to Salt Lake City in late February.

The Pac-12 Conference is looking more and more like a league in which just three teams will make the NCAA Tournament. A few weeks ago, Arizona State and Utah figured to be potential at-large teams before enduring losing skids.

Notably, the Utes just lost a key player in Gabe Madsen for the next 4-6 weeks. Madsen is dealing with a lower leg injury and is likely to miss the remainder of the regular season.

The Utes are 15-9 on the year, and Madsen was their second-leading scorer, averaging 11.7 PPG. He had three straight double-digit scoring efforts before the injury, so this is a significant loss for Utah.

Utah has an 8-5 record in the Pac-12, good for fourth place entering the weekend, but losing Madsen might be too much for the Utes to overcome.

The next couple of games shouldn’t be an issue for Utah — they face California and Colorado. After that, the schedule is unfavorable: at Arizona and Arizona State, then home against UCLA and USC before finishing the season with a road game at Colorado.

With Madsen out, Utes leading scorer Branden Carlson will have to do more work, and sophomore guard Lazar Stefanovic should see more opportunities on offense.

When USC goes to Salt Lake City in late February, it will not face Madsen.

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