3 takeaways from Utah’s win over Cincinnati

Utah’s matchup with Cincinnati at the Huntsman Center late Tuesday night was filled with big second-half runs, lots of offense in the first half and plenty of physical defense in the second half.

In the end, the Utes won a grind-it-out game, 69-66.

3 takeaways

Two big runs defined a large part of the second half. Utah had a game-high eight-point lead at 44-36 early in the second half before going cold.

Over the next six minutes, Cincinnati forged a 14-0 run and moved ahead by six, as it used a physical defensive effort to force six Utah turnovers and five straight misses.

Utah, though, responded well and went on an 18-4 run of its own after the basket finally opened back up.

Keanu Dawes and Hunter Erickson sparked the start of the run, as the Utes moved up by eight again with five minutes to play.

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Utah owned the boards. Utah held a 20-9 edge in rebounding during the first half, limiting the number of second chances for Cincinnati.

The Utes also made a pair of putbacks late in the first half — from Dawes and Mike Sharavjamts — that helped them take a six-point lead into halftime.

The Utes ended up with a 41-23 rebounding edge and owned a 36-22 advantage in points in the paint.

Utah shot out the lights in the first half, but it was a defensive struggle in the second. The Utes shot 66.7% in the first half, making 18 of 27 shots from the field. That included making 4 of 7 from 3-point range, as Utah was able to move the ball and led 40-34 at the break.

Then, in the second half, defense dominated the game.

Utah shot 36.4% after halftime, while Cincinnati was 33.3% from the floor in a back-and-forth game.

The Utes had 11 of their 19 turnovers in the second half, and the Bearcats turned that into a 21-10 edge in points off turnovers.

Ultimately, the Utes outshot their visitors 53.1% to 39.3% and made the plays in an ugly final minute to win.

Gabe Madsen, who scored a team-high 18 points, made 3 of 4 free throws in the final 15 seconds to wrap up the victory.

Utah, who’s struggled mightily at the free-throw line this season, ended up making that an advantage against Cincinnati.

Led by Madsen going 7 of 8 from the charity stripe, the Utes finished 12 of 17 from the free-throw line, while Cincinnati was 14 of 22.

What’s next

The Utes (12-8, 4-5 Big 12) hit the road and will face Oklahoma State on Saturday (1 p.m. MST, ESPN+) at Gallagher-Iba Arena. The Cowboys (10-9, 2-6 Big 12) play at Kansas State on Wednesday before hosting Utah.