The University of Utah played its best game of the year. The Utes took care of the ball, put the ball in the net, rebounded and played defense in the most complete effort of the season. The result was an 80-48 win over Colorado.
"I would say it was the best 40 minutes we've played," said Utah coach Ray Giacoletti.
The Buffaloes entered Thursday night's game with a five-game winning streak, but it was clear right from the start that streak was in jeopardy; Tim Drisdom and Andrew Bogut took care of that. Drisdom hit three 3-pointers in the first five minutes while Bogut scored and cleaned up nearly every miss inside. The duo scored 22 of Utah's first 24 points, and the pair had 32 points by the break.
While Utah was using a balanced attack, Colorado seemed content to fire away from the outside. The Buffaloes' first five shots came from behind the arc, and 15 of their 29 shots before halftime were of the 3-point variety. With Colorado firing away from the outside, there was also a wide margin in free throws. Utah was a perfect 14-for-14 in the half while Colorado did not have an attempt. The final statistics showed Utah shot 24 free throws compared to Colorado's 12.
The halftime statistics showed clearly who was in control. Utah outrebounded Colorado 25-12, committed only five turnovers to the Buffaloes' eight, shot 47 percent to Colorado's 31 percent and took a 48-21 lead into the locker room.
The second half saw much of the same. Utah dominated the play and saw the lead balloon to 36 points before the bench was emptied. The play was not as crisp or clean as the decisive opening 20 minutes, but the effort continued.
Bogut, the reigning Mountain West player of the week, is making a strong bid to keep the award. He tallied 25 points and 15 rebounds to go along with 22 points and 17 rebounds Tuesday. Colorado had no answer for him.
"I don't know what else you could expect out of him," said Giacoletti. "You look like a pretty good coach with a guy like that."
Drisdom's 16 points on five of nine shooting were a nice way to come back from his three point, no assist night against Weber.
"We told him to play to his strengths, when you get an open look to shoot it," Giacoletti said.
Drisdom added that his shooting the ball was an important part of the game plan. "They played the pick-and-roll the same way every time, and if I don't shoot it, I hurt the team," he said. "I took it upon myself that when the opportunity was there, I took advantage of it."
Bryant Markson continued his stellar play in place of the injured Richard Chaney.
"There were some opportunities for guys to step up," added Giacoletti. "Bryant Markson out there, for him to go out and get eight rebounds." Markson 14 points, eight rebounds and five steals.
Jonas Langvad contributed off the bench. He scored a career-high 11 points and had three rebounds in his 18 minutes of action.
With L.S.U. coming to town for Monday night's 8:00 tipoff, the Utes are now winners of five-straight games and are gaining momentum.
"This is what we needed," said Giacoletti. "Hopefully we can learn from it and build on it."
E-mail: mblack@desnews.com