Runnin’ Utes’ next challenge? Snapping a road losing streak in Arizona

Brandon Judd
·3 min read
Utah Utes head coach Craig Smith talks to the team during a men’s college basketball game between the University of Utah and Washington State University at the Jon M. Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, Dec. 29, 2023.
Utah Utes head coach Craig Smith talks to the team during a men’s college basketball game between the University of Utah and Washington State University at the Jon M. Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, Dec. 29, 2023. | Megan Nielsen, Deseret News

This week, the Runnin’ Utes will be playing a pair of road games, their first matchups outside of the state of Utah since the Monday after Thanksgiving.

The road trip is coming in a state, Arizona, where Utah has struggled to win during its Pac-12 era.

The Utes will face Arizona State on Thursday (9 p.m. MST, ESPN2) before taking on No. 10 Arizona on Saturday (6 p.m., Pac-12 Network).

Utah (11-2, 2-0 Pac-12) heads to Arizona on an eight-game win streak and unbeaten in Pac-12 play after beating Washington State and Washington to kick off league play last week.

“This has been a very difficult road trip for the Utes historically and we’re going to have to play awfully well,” Utah coach Craig Smith said.

The Utes last won at Arizona State in 2019 and have dropped three straight in the series.

Utah has never beaten Arizona in Tucson during the Pac-12 era.

Next year, all three schools will be joining the Big 12.

While this is Utah’s first game outside the state of Utah in over a month, ASU, which is also unbeaten in league action after winning at Stanford and Cal, is playing at home in Desert Financial Arena for the first time in four weeks.

“(Arizona State coach) Bobby Hurley always has guys that are going to compete their tails off and play really, really hard,” Smith said. “We’ve had a couple very difficult losses to them the last two years. Both came down to the last minute (in) one-possession games and they found ways to win and we didn’t.”

Arizona has wins over Duke, Michigan State and Wisconsin and has been ranked as high as No. 1. The perils of conference play caught up to the Wildcats last Sunday, though, when they lost by 18 at Stanford when the Cardinal hit a school-record 16 3-pointers.

Smith described what makes Arizona so difficult.

“Arizona, I mean, being ranked top 10 in the country and all year, No. 1 in the country at one time, elite home court with that fan base and obviously incredibly talented,” he said.

The Wildcats will host Colorado two days before playing Utah.

“It’s going to be a very difficult road trip,” Smith reiterated, while adding, “at the same time, we’re coming off a great month and we just need to continue to play well.”

How to follow Utah basketball this weekend

  • Utah at Arizona State 

Thursday, 9 p.m. MST,

Desert Financial Arena (Tempe, Arizona).

TV: ESPN2.

Radio: 700 AM.

Live stream: Watch ESPN.

Live stats: StatBroadcast.

  • Utah at No. 10 Arizona

Saturday, 6 p.m.

McKale Center (Tucson, Arizona).

TV: Pac-12 Network.

Radio: 700 AM.

Live stream: Pac-12.com Live.

Live stats: StatBroadcast.

Players to watch

Utah — Branden Carlson, center. The Utes’ fifth-year senior leader came up with two career highs — 34 points and seven assists — in Sunday’s win over Washington and is averaging 18.4 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game.

“He’s a hard matchup, right,” Smith said of Carlson. “He can put you in a lot of tough positions.”

Arizona State — Frankie Collins, guard. The junior Collins has carried the Sun Devils this season while averaging 13.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game.

Arizona — Caleb Love, guard. Utah will get its first look at the North Carolina transfer, who is averaging a team-high 17.4 points to go with 5.0 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.4 steals.