SALT LAKE CITY — By now it’s evident the Utah basketball team plays much better at home than it does on the road. In true road games, the Utes are 1-7 and they haven’t won a road game in more than three months since an early November victory at Nevada.
At home it’s been a different story, as the Utes have won nine of 10 games, including their 64-56 overtime victory over Stanford Thursday night at the Huntsman Center.
“I don’t think it’s some mystical road woes we’ve been having. Our guys play better at home, that’s a little bit normal.” — Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak
Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak gets a little weary of being asked about his team’s road woes and expressed it when asked about it after Thursday’s victory.
“Life on the road in the Pac-12 is hard,” he said. “The tendency is to create something up there in the clouds that’s the root of our problems. I don’t think it’s some mystical road woes we’ve been having. Our guys play better at home, that’s a little bit normal.”
For now the Utes are happy to revel in their latest victory, which came against a Stanford team that came in with a 16-5 record and a place in everyone’s bracketology for the NCAA Tournament.
By beating the Cardinal, the Utes added another important “Quad 1” victory to their resume, which already includes wins over BYU at home and Kentucky at a neutral site. Quad 1 wins are at home against teams ranked in the top 30 in the NET rankings, at neutral sites against teams in the top 50 and on the road against teams in the top 75. Stanford came into the game ranked No. 21 in the latest NET rankings, while Kentucky was No. 24 and BYU No. 26.
So what was the difference in Utah’s play Thursday night?
Well, you can’t say it was their shooting, which has been dismal in almost every road game this year. Once again the Utes failed to shoot above 40%, finishing at 36.8% on the night. Free-throw shooting was below average at 69.6%, although they made 5 of 6 in the overtime period.
It wasn’t taking care of the ball as the Utes had 18 turnovers on the night, including several of the “mindless” variety as Krystkowiak likes to call them.
One of the big keys was the fast start as the Utes came out executing precisely, jumping out to a 24-11 lead with most baskets coming off assists (Utah had 15 to Stanford’s 7), which gave them some breathing room when the inevitable swoon came later in the half.
Then it was the grit of the young team after Stanford came back to take the lead late in the game. Like they did at Nevada, when the Wolf Pack came back late in the game to take the lead and like they did against Kentucky when the Wildcats came back from a 17-point deficit to tie the game, the Utes were able to push through when it counted to get the victory.
“The analogy I like to use, it’s like a heavyweight fight, survival of the fittest,” said Krystkowiak. “You try to outlast some people; fortunately we had just enough.”
The hero of the game was 7-foot freshman Branden Carlson, who finished with a career high in points with 15, tied his career high in rebounds with 10 and was a defensive force with a career-high eight blocked shots. By the end of the game, Stanford players were noticeably hesitating when they got near the rim, after seeing so many of their shots swatted away by Carlson.
Riley Battin had a solid outing with 10 rebounds and 11 points, including a big follow basket off a missed layup by Jaxon Brenchley early in the overtime to put the Utes ahead for good.
Timmy Allen had another rough night from the field, going 3 for 10, and he had a chance to win the game in regulation when he missed a free throw with 3.9 seconds left. However, he came up big in the overtime, making 4 of 4 free throws and also had four steals.
Rylan Jones also was off in his field goal shooting, going 3 for 11, but he handed out six assists and came up with three steals in playing just under 44 minutes of the overtime game.
Brenchley, getting his third straight start in place of the injured Both Gach, on consecutive possessions in the overtime coolly knocked down a corner 3-pointer, then dished off to Carlson for a dunk to push the Ute lead to six.
With the win, the Utes moved up to a tie for ninth in the Pac-12 standings at 4-6 along with Washington State and they can leapfrog 4-5 Cal with a victory Saturday night (6 p.m.).
The Utes aren’t likely to get into the top four for the conference tournament for the fourth straight year. But if they can play like they did for much of Thursday’s overtime victory, the Utes will keep climbing the Pac-12 standings and have a chance to make their mark in the conference tournament March 11-14 in Las Vegas.