Utah is finding ways to win in the Big 12.
On Monday night, that meant outrebounding its opponent — by a wide margin — as the Runnin’ Utes fended off Kansas State 74-69 at the Huntsman Center.
That also meant turning a weakness into a strength — Utah has been a weak free-throw shooting team most of the year, but against the Wildcats, the Utes buoyed up that part of their game.
That gave Utah a sweep of the Kansas schools over the past three days, after the Utes knocked off then-No. 17 Kansas last Saturday.
“That’s a great win for us. Kansas State is a very, very, very talented team. They’ve got a lot of weapons all over the floor, and you really saw that the last three and a half minutes of the game. I mean, they were just throwing them in from everywhere. But I’m really, really proud of our guys,” Utah coach Craig Smith said.
“Obviously, it was a great week.”
It was the most successful weekend of Utah basketball’s brief Big 12 tenure.
While the Utes have had a longer winning streak in league play — when they took down Oklahoma State, TCU and BYU in consecutive games — this winning streak had a different feel.
It felt like the Utes can compete in the Big 12, at least against everyone outside the top brass like Houston, Iowa State, Texas Tech and Arizona.
Utah has the talent and cohesiveness — now — to play against that second tier in the league.
“We’ve got five games left. I’m just worried about finishing the season strong,” Utah forward Ezra Ausar said.
In the win over blue blood Kansas, Utah outrebounded the Jayhawks by 10, with that edge all coming on the offensive end.
The Utes, who showed some weariness playing their second game in three days, pushed that rebounding edge even further against Kansas State.
Utah ended up with a 51-28 rebounding advantage, including an utterly dominant 21-6 on the offensive end, which led to a 14-7 edge in second-chance points.
In a five-point contest, that was huge.
“We just find ways to win through different ways — getting more opportunities, taking care of the ball, getting to the glass. In any sport, there’s different ways to win. And good teams find different ways to win, if that makes sense,” Smith said.
“... We’ve been inconsistent. We’ve been a pretty good offensive rebounding team here for quite some time, we haven’t always been a great defensive rebounding team. I thought we took a big step in that direction this weekend. So you’ve just got to be able to find different ways to win, and then everybody’s got to be ready to go.”
The Utes also took advantage of their ability to attack the rim, as they ended the night making 23 of 30 free throws, including 13 of 15 in the first half.
While usual solid free-throw shooter Gabe Madsen hit 5 of 6, the free-throw efforts of front court players Ezra Ausar and Lawson Lovering stood out.
Ausar was a perfect 7 of 7, with five of those coming in the final three minutes, while Lovering was 7 of 12 and 5 of 6 in the first half.
Lovering, who’s shooting below 40% from the free-throw line on the year, made several big shots from the line during the first half to help Utah enter the break tied at 32-32.
This came after he shot 1 of 9 from the free-throw line against Kansas.
It’s been an issue that fans have gravitated towards, but when Lovering had two trips where he hit back-to-back free throws in the first half, the fans showed their appreciation by giving him some of the loudest cheers of the night.
Smith said Lovering, the 7-foot-1 center who’s been so critical to Utah’s success this year, can be his own critic, and just needs to give himself some grace.
“Yeah, you have a lot of thoughts after the Kansas game, you know, it’s a little too close and you miss a lot of free throws, right? Because we would have separated ourselves if I would have hit some more of those shots,” Lovering said. “So it makes you think about your game a little bit and readjust your mental process, because I don’t think it was a mechanic issue. It was just something mental that I’m dealing with right now. It feels good to kind of see over the hump a little bit.”
By dominating the boards and winning the free-throw battle — Kansas State was just 6 of 10 from the free-throw line — the Utes (15-11, 7-8 Big 12) gave themselves the chance to win and move within one game of .500 in Big 12 play.
Utah had a tough night shooting from the floor, making 38.1% of its field goals to 43.3% for the visitors. Kansas State also held the edge from 3-point land, as the Wildcats made 11 of 25 from deep, led by five 3-pointers from Brendan Hausen, while Utah was a cold 3 of 19.
The Utes’ only two 3s of the second half, though, came at critical times, and both were made by Madsen, who finished with 13 points, three rebounds and an assist.
First, Madsen hit a 3 with 5:22 to play, extending Utah’s lead out to 57-50.
While the Utes never trailed in the second half, they also had a hard time putting away a tough Kansas State squad that had won six straight before losing to BYU on Saturday, and then the Utes on Monday.
The Wildcats (13-13, 7-8 Big 12) countered the Madsen 3 with seven straight points, making it a tie game going into the final three minutes and change.
Ausar — who had a team-high 21 points, eight rebounds, two assists and a steal — helped lead the Utes’ efforts in those final few minutes.
The score was tied again at 59-59 after two Ausar free throws, then a quick layup from the Wildcats.
But then Utah’s offense, which had been grinding out points all night, ran a pair of successful drawn-up plays on consecutive possessions, getting Miro Little a jumper and Madsen’s second 3-pointer, as he splashed in a long bomb off an assist from Lovering, who set a screen to get Madsen open.
With under 1:30 to play and Utah nursing a 64-61 lead, Ausar again made a big play, rebounding a Utah miss, then hitting a putback as he was fouled. He made the free throw, and it was a six-point lead.
Kansas State never went away, though, as Hausen drilled a long 3-pointer not far from midcourt to make it a two-point game, and then Utah turned it over as the visitors pressed, giving the Wildcats a chance to tie or take the lead.
But a Kansas State miss and a travel called on the Wildcats after an offensive rebound gave Utah the ball back.
This time, Utah beat the press — Smith credited Mason Madsen for an expert ball fake and pass on the play — and it resulted in a Mike Sharavjamts slam to push the lead to 61-57.
Kansas State managed to again have another shot that could tie the game — after a Kansas State quick bucket and Gabe Madsen hit 1 of 2 free throws to make it 72-69 — but Hausen, the Wildcats’ hot hand who led them with 17 points, missed another 3-point attempt.
“I know if he has his legs under him, he’s got a chance,” Kansas State coach Jerome Tang said of Hausen’s last 3-point attempt. “I thought it was a really good look, just a little short.”
Ausar got Utah’s 51st rebound of the night, made two free throws, then stole the inbounds pass near midcourt, and the Utes celebrated their two-game win streak.
From Ausar to Lovering to Little to Madsen, there were big-time efforts across the board for Utah.
Ausar scored 15 of his points after halftime.
Lovering posted his first double-double as a Ute, with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Madsen hit two of Utah’s three total 3-pointers in the game’s final five and a half minutes.
And Little provided a spark off the bench, finishing with six points, four rebounds and four assists as he helped the Utes fight through some tough offensive stretches, particularly in the first half, and had Smith calling this “maybe his best game as a Ute.”
It sets Utah up well heading into a two-game road swing, when the Utes will have some time to rest before playing at UCF on Sunday and then facing No. 19 Arizona in Tucson in nine days.
“We’ve certainly had some ups and downs, but it’s just consistency for us,” Smith said. “It’s incredibly rewarding for our guys, because the things that we emphasize and the things that we really try to do to win, and so guys learn how to win, right?
“You’ve got to learn how to win — toughness and discipline, but playing for one another, and I don’t think we have any selfish guys. It’s just how every play matters. You can’t take possessions off at this level, you can’t do it.”