Utah’s first matchup with a power conference opponent ended up giving the Runnin’ Utes a taste of what Big 12 play could be like.
It’s a lesson that came in a loss, as Utah, which led 39-28 at halftime, was outplayed in the second half as it fell to Mississippi State 78-73 Sunday afternoon in a neutral-site matchup at Landers Center in Southaven, Mississippi.
3 takeaways
Utah locked down Mississippi State’s top scorer, Josh Hubbard, in the first half, but he broke loose in the second half. Utah held the Bulldogs’ star guard, Hubbard, to just 3 points in the first half on 1 of 7 shooting, but Hubbard got Mississippi State cooking on a 22-5 run to start the second half, as he had 11 points in that stretch. Hubbard finished with a game-high 23 points and made 5 3-pointers, while teammate KeShawn Murphy scored a career-high 18.
Keanu Dawes and Ezra Ausar had breakout games. Utah’s post game, which is still missing Lawson Lovering and Zach Keller, showed growth as Dawes and Ausar paced the Utes, with Gabe Madsen (9 points) having an off shooting night. Dawes nearly had a double-double at halftime in his best game in college — he finished with 13 points, 12 rebounds, one steal and a block before fouling out with just over a minute to play. Ausar added a team-high 15 points while shooting 7 of 10 from the free-throw line, while adding four rebounds, two assists and a block.
Foul trouble and free throw disparity doomed the Utes. Mississippi State shot significantly more free throws than the Utes, making 24 of 33 free throws while Utah was 8 of 14. Foul trouble hovered over the Utes throughout the second half, as Dawes, Mike Sharavjamts (both who fouled out in the final 1:15) and Jake Wahlin all battled foul trouble for much of the final 20 minutes. Ausar also had three fouls at halftime, and that impacted the lineup and rotations for the Utes. For the game, Utah was called for 11 more fouls.
What’s next
The Utes (3-1) will return home to host Utah Tech on Friday, with tip at 7 p.m. MST. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.
The Trailblazers are 1-3 on the year, with a win over Bethesda and losses to Oregon State, New Mexico State and Wyoming.
That will kick off a six-game home stretch for Utah at the Huntsman Center.