3 keys in the Utah Utes’ 98-59 win over the Arizona State Sun Devils

Utah heads into the postseason with some momentum after the Utes pounded Arizona State 98-59 at the Huntsman Center on Saturday in the regular-season finale for both teams.

Here are three takeaways from the game:

Utah’s offense rolls

A game that looked like it would be a competitive game was anything but, as the Utes (11-12, 8-11 Pac-12) took control behind a balanced offensive effort that included 59.1% shooting from the field and going a perfect 12 of 12 at the free-throw line. After Utah’s Riley Battin hit a 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer to take a 41-28 lead into the break, the Utes built off that momentum and led by as many as 39 points.

Five Utah players finished in double-figures, led by 15 points each from Mikael Jantunen (6 of 8 shooting) and Alfonso Plummer (three 3-pointers). Timmy Allen added 13 points and a team-high eight assists, Branden Carlson scored 11 and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds, and Ian Martinez came off the bench for 12 points, five rebounds and three assists.

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Sun Devils struggle

Arizona State (10-13, 7-10 Pac-12) looked disinterested during the afternoon matchup, shooting 37.5% and getting outrebounded 41-30. The Sun Devils’ Remy Martin, who entered the game leading the Pac-12 in scoring averaging 20.5 points per game, scored just eight points and was scoreless in the first half. Seven of his eight points came after Utah had already built a 30-point lead.

The Utes’ bench comes up big

Utah, which will be the No. 7 seed in next week’s Pac-12 tournament with the win, got strong play from their bench. In addition to Martinez’s effort, Battin added eight points and three rebounds and Lahat Thioune scored nine points on 4 of 4 shooting and added an assist. Utah’s bench outscored Arizona State’s 39-11, and the Utes had a 48-32 edge in points in the paint.