Utah fell three games below .500 in Big 12 play again after dropping an 85-75 decision at Cincinnati Tuesday to wrap up a two-game road swing.
Behind a 28-point effort from Gabe Madsen against his former school, the Utes were able to stay around all game but were bitten by poor execution at the end of both halves in falling at Fifth Third Arena.
3 takeaways
Both teams hit big 3-pointers, but the Bearcats’ were bigger. And there was a huge free-throw disparity. Far too often, Utah’s defense wasn’t in the right spots against a suddenly offensively resurgent Cincinnati team, and it was especially evident at the 3-point line.
The Bearcats made 11 of 22 from 3-point range, led by three from Josh Reed. All of Reed’s 3s came in the first half and helped spark a run for Cincinnati to push the Bearcats into a 42-36 halftime lead.
Jizzle James led the Bearcats with 25 points, while shooting 10 of 15 from the floor.
The Utes actually made more 3-pointers, hitting 13 of 32, led by eight from Madsen. They made three critical ones early in the second half to go on an 11-2 run to force their way in front.
The 37.5% percentage behind the 3-point line just wasn’t good enough for Utah, though, in a game it only shot three free throws — and missed all three.
Cincinnati, meanwhile, made 14 of 19 from the charity stripe, including 12 of 16 after halftime in a game wherein Utah had a chance.
Utah was burned on the boards. The Bearcats had a 41-29 edge in rebounding, and it was especially damaging for Utah on the offensive glass.
Cincinnati had an 11-3 advantage in offensive rebounding in the first half and 14-9 for the game, leading to a 16-13 edge in second-chance points, though it was 10-2 at halftime.
The biggest offensive rebound of the night came with under three minutes to play, and it led to a Day Day Thomas 3-pointer with the shot clock running down to give Cincinnati a 77-72 lead.
That ended up being a big part of an 11-0 Bearcats run after the game was tied at 72-72 with 3:55 to play.
Upperclassmen stepped up after being called out. Following Utah’s loss at West Virginia last Saturday, coach Craig Smith said he’d like to see better games out of his upperclassmen, as sophomores Keanu Dawes and Jake Wahlin led Utah in scoring against the Mountaineers.
Madsen ended up tying his season high in scoring Tuesday while shooting 10 of 26 from the floor and 8 of 22 from 3-point range. His eight 3-pointers also tied his career high.
If there’s a nitpick, it’s that Utah seemed to rely too much on Madsen’s shooting down the stretch, and he wore down in the game’s final minutes.
Lawson Lovering also answered Smith’s challenge. He finished with 14 points on 7 of 9 shooting to go with four assists, three rebounds and a block.
What’s next
Utah (13-11, 5-8 Big 12) returns to the Huntsman Center for its next two games, starting with its premier home matchup of the season against blue blood and No. 17 Kansas on Saturday (8 p.m. MST, ESPN).
Following the game against the Jayhawks, the Utes have a quick turnaround with a home game against a hard-charging Kansas State program on Monday (7 p.m. MST, ESPN2).