How Utah made mincemeat of UCLA — and made some history in the process
Utah wasn’t about to let a chance to snap its losing streak to UCLA come down to the wire.
Nope — this one made history instead.
The Runnin’ Utes built a double-digit lead in the first half, neutralized the Bruins’ top player, Adem Bona, for much of the night and then ran away with a 90-44 win Thursday night at the Huntsman Center.
A 33-5 run over a nine-minute stretch in the second half after UCLA had pulled within six put the win on ice early.
For good measure, the Utes followed that with a 21-2 run, turning a once 33-27 game into a laugher.
A few historic benchmarks came from the blowout:
The 46-point margin of victory was Utah’s largest ever against the Bruins, surpassing a 32-point win over UCLA in 2015.
It was also the largest margin of victory for Utah in Pac-12 play, in their final season in the league before moving to the Big 12 next year.
That was the second-largest margin of defeat ever for UCLA in program history.
The Runnin’ Utes — who had lost seven straight to the Bruins prior to Thursday and came in on a two-game losing streak — led by 10 at intermission before that decisive run that was fueled by strong post play and a bevy of 3-pointers.
“I loved how connected we played on both ends of the court. I love how we communicated at a really high level on the defensive end and we played selfless basketball.” — Utah coach Craig Smith
“I thought we had an excellent week of practice coming into tonight. We needed to. We had to tighten up some things and get a lot better after the road trip last weekend. I just thought we had played out of character a bit,” Utah coach Craig Smith said.
He added, “I loved how connected we played on both ends of the court. I love how we communicated at a really high level on the defensive end and we played selfless basketball.”
Utah kept the 6-foot-10 Bona in check during the opening 20 minutes — UCLA’s star center had 2 points at intermission on 1 of 2 shooting. He picked up his second foul with 6:21 remaining until halftime and sat the rest of the first half.
Bona ended the night with just 4 points and two rebounds.
That was just one factor of Utah owning the paint, though.
The Utes had a 50-28 rebounding edge, including 14-6 on the offensive glass, which led to a 19-4 advantage in second-chance points.
“That was certainly a major point of emphasis this week, about anything you could imagine on defense,” Smith said. “We were hammering home all week — got to give credit to our guys, they responded — but rebounding is going to be a monster key tonight.”
One game after giving up 50 points to then-No. 10 Arizona in the paint, the Utes fared much better in setting the tone inside against UCLA. Utah ended up with a 38-18 edge in points in the paint.
Key takeaways
Top performers: Keba Keita contributed 14 points, four rebounds and a steal off the bench.
Cole Bajema scored 14 while making four 3-pointers, and Branden Carlson ended up with a double-double — 12 points and 14 rebounds.
Key stretch: The Utes put the game away with a 33-5 second-half run after UCLA had climbed within 33-27. For good measure, Utah later followed with a 21-2 run.
17-3: The Utes held a decisive edge in fast break points.
50-28: Utah owned a plus-22 advantage in rebounding, including 14-6 on the offensive glass.
3-pointers: The Utes shot 13 of 32 from behind the arc, while UCLA was just 3 of 17.
Points in the paint: The Utes had a 38-18 advantage scoring in the paint. That included holding UCLA’s star center, Adem Bona, to just 4 points and two rebounds.
This time, Utah benefitted from having a healthy Keba Keita, who only played four minutes before leaving with an injury against the Wildcats.
Keita, as he often has, helped set the physicality on both ends, scoring seven points in the first half.
Branden Carlson and Lawson Lovering also played a big role inside.
The fifth-year senior Carlson showed off his ability to impact the game in multiple ways, finishing with a double-double with 12 points and 14 rebounds while adding three assists and three blocks.
Lovering, again, was aggressive in driving to the paint while guarding the hoop on defense, even overcoming a stretch where he picked up three quick fouls early in the second half.
Bona didn’t score his second bucket until Utah has pushed its lead out past 20 points.
Keita got the crowd on its feet several times throughout the night — he provided an instant spark coming in for Lovering early in the second half in particular.
One of the loudest cheers of the night came when Carlson quickly brought the ball upcourt after collecting a defensive rebound, found a streaking Keita and fed him for a slam dunk to make it 42-27.
“Keba Keita comes in and he just makes winning plays,” Carlson said. “His physicality and energy he brings really lifts everyone else up. He wants you to compete just as hard as he does. You know what you’re going to get from Keba every game.”
Utah ended up with a 17-3 edge in fast break points.
Five Utah players ended up in double-figures, in no small part because of the Utes shooting 13 of 32 from 3-point range.
Cole Bajema had four 3-pointers, while Gabe Madsen and Deivon Smith each added three — many of those 3s landed home in that decisive second half when Utah outscored the Bruins 57-21.
“We got it going. We were really sharing the ball and we were stepping into those 3s like we meant it. I thought we did a better job finding windows in the defense to get those because these guys are one of the top teams in the country in protecting the paint,” Craig Smith said.
“... In the second half, our guards and everybody did a better job of finding space, so when we got into the paint, we were kicking it out and just making the right play.”
Behind Keita and Bajema, who each scored 14, was Carlson’s 12 points, while Madsen and Deivon Smith each scored 11.
Utah shot 50% for the game, including 56.4% in the second half.
That’s even more impressive, considering UCLA was only allowing opponents to shoot 31.8% from the field entering the night.
UCLA, meanwhile, didn’t have a single player reach double-figures.
Former Ute Lazar Stefanovic, who transferred out of Salt Lake City after last season and was met with a chorus of boos every time he touched the ball, had 8 points, while Dylan Andrews scored a team-high 9 points.
The youthful Bruins — who have been shooting about as ice cold as the weather was outside the Huntsman Center on Thursday — shot 31.5% in the game and just 28% in the second half.
“We got back to the basics and doing things that we know we’re capable of — talking, just being there to help, having your brother’s back — and I think we just did everything tonight and were able to come out with the victory,” Deivon Smith said.
What’s next?
The Runnin’ Utes (12-4, 3-2 Pac-12) will head back out of the road this weekend, playing at Stanford on Sunday (3 p.m. MST, Pac-12 Network).
The Cardinal (8-7, 3-2 Pac-12), who shocked Arizona early in league play, beat Oregon State late Thursday.
Following the quick road trip, Utah will return home for two games against Oregon State (Thursday) and Oregon (Sunday) next week.
