Another road trip, another milestone for the better-than-expected University of Utah men’s basketball team.
The Runnin’ Utes swept the Bay Area road trip for the second-straight season over the weekend, downing California and Stanford in fairly convincing fashion, although Stanford did get hot late in Saturday’s matinee at Maples Pavilion to trim a 14-point lead to two.
What does it all mean?
“I mean, the team is feeling good. We know we are a lot better than last year, so we just come into each game ready to compete. This team works hard every day in practice, then we come into (games) ready to go and get better and we come out and compete hard each game.” — Utah center Branden Carlson
Perhaps lost in the elation over the football-playing Utes’ second-straight appearance in the Rose Bowl on Monday is the fact that second-year coach Craig Smith has the Runnin’ Utes playing at a really high level entering the new year.
“Those first nine minutes of the second half, we were really playing,” Smith said. “We were really playing defensively, getting stops. We were really playing in transition, making the right reads. It was a potpourri of everybody scoring and making plays for one another.”
It was also a clear message that this Utah team plans on staying in the conference race for quite some time, and might — might — be headed towards an NCAA Tournament bid if it continues on its upward trajectory.
Utah (4-0, 11-4) sat alone atop the Pac-12 standings before UCLA and USC, both 3-0 before Sunday games at Washington and Washington State, played, and is 4-0 in league play for the first time since the 2014-15 season.
“I mean, the team is feeling good. We know we are a lot better than last year, so we just come into each game ready to compete,” said star center Branden Carlson, an early contender for Pac-12 Player of the Year honors. “This team works hard every day in practice, then we come into (games) ready to go and get better and we come out and compete hard each game.”
Carlson and sixth man Lazar Stefanovic both deserve consideration for Pac-12 Player of the Week honors. Carlson had 11 points and six rebounds in the 58-43 win over Cal and 18 points, four rebounds in the 71-66 win over sinking Stanford, which could be looking for a new coach soon if Jerod Haase doesn’t get the Cardinal to the Big Dance.
Announced attendance at Maples was 2,759, but there couldn’t have been more than 500 people in the building as heavy rains and street flooding in the Bay Area made travel difficult.
Stefanovic had 11 points and a plus-16 plus-minus when he was on the floor against Cal, and followed that with a game-high 20 against Stanford.
“I thought (Stefanovic) really controlled the game,” Smith said after the Stanford win. Now the coach has a tough decision to make: Does he nominate Carlson or Stefanovic for player of the week?
Meanwhile, Carlson became the 41st Ute in program history to join the 1,000-point club, and now has 1,002.
“Congrats to him — 1,000 points, that is hard to do,” Smith said of the fourth-year senior from Bingham High. “You better be talented, you better have work ethic, you better have toughness, better have good teammates. So congrats to him.”
After the game, Utah guard Gabe Madsen told Carlson to keep the game ball.
“I had no idea (about the milestone),” Carlson said. “Gabe comes up to me with the ball and says, ‘take this, take this.’ I asked why. He is like, ‘you scored 1,000 points.’ It feels great to be a part of the Utah basketball legacy and be a Ute for these last three and a half years now. I am just grateful for my time here.”
Technically, Carlson has another year of eligibility remaining if he wants it (the COVID “extra year”) but he is playing some of the best basketball of his four-year career and is certainly deserving of some NBA attention.
The Utes, meanwhile, deserve a bit more national attention. They have moved from No. 39 to No. 35 in the NET rankings, and are No. 41 in KenPom.com. They are 1-3 in Quad 1 games and 2-1 in Quad 2 games.
“We have great chemistry, great vibes, on this team,” Carlson said. “Everybody is a bunch of friends. We are (genuinely) excited to spend time with each other … hang out with each other.”
Outstanding defense has been a given for the Utes this year, but last weekend the offense joined the party. The Utes shot 57.5% against Stanford, their highest single-game field-goal percentage since a 59% outing against Arizona State on March 6, 2021, which turned out to be Larry Krystkowiak’s final home game as Utah’s coach.
Smith is gradually tightening his rotation, playing the same 9-10 guys the past two games.
Backup point guard Mike Saunders, the highly touted transfer from Cincinnati, didn’t leave the bench against the Bears or Cardinal, while freshmen Wilguens Exacte, Luka Tarlac and Keba Keita saw time, Tarlac fewer minutes than the other two.
Asked why Saunders isn’t playing as much as the other reserves, Smith took a diplomatic approach.
“It is big picture (thinking),” he said. “We are 11-4, so we are almost to the halfway point. A lot of season left. We still have a little over two months to go. So there is a lot of time, and guys grow at different levels.
“Guys gotta consistently show up every day and keep getting better.”