The first Utah basketball game of the post-Craig Smith era was a blowout, as the Runnin’ Utes were overwhelmed by No. 22 Arizona 83-66 Wednesday at the McKale Center in Tucson, Arizona.
With interim head coach Josh Eilert leading Utah, the visitors never seriously threatened a Wildcats team that was trying to bounce back from a loss to BYU last weekend.
3 takeaways
Turnover troubles put Utah behind early. It’s been a constant theme this season. The Utes have lost the turnover battle in many of their Big 12 games, and in turn, their opposition has turned those takeaways into a sizable advantage in points off turnovers.
That happened again against Arizona, particularly in the first half.
The Wildcats turned 12 Utah turnovers into 19 points. Most of that damage was done in the first half, when Arizona turned nine Utah turnovers into 17 points.
The Utes, meanwhile, turned seven Arizona turnovers into 12 points for the game.
Caleb Love shined like only he can, pacing the Wildcats. Caleb Love, the Wildcats’ star guard, led the way for Arizona against Utah, scoring a game-high 23 points.
He scored 17 of those points before halftime and made four 3-pointers in the first 20 minutes, while also finishing with seven assists, four rebounds and a steal on the night.
That led a balanced effort for the Wildcats, who also got double-figure scoring from Jaden Bradley, Henri Veesaar and Tobe Awaka, who all had 12 points each.
Arizona outshot the Utes from the field, 41.3% to 33.9%, while the Wildcats had two more 3-pointers than Utah (nine to seven).
Keanu Dawes had another solid night for the Utes. Utah sophomore forward Keanu Dawes has shown flashes this season, and that was again on display Wednesday night.
Against the Wildcats, he scored a career-high tying 18 points on 6 of 8 shooting, while making one 3-pointer and hitting 5 of 5 free throws.
Dawes also had 10 rebounds for his third double-double of the season, while adding a block and an assist.
Ezra Ausar showed well against Arizona, too, with 18 points, five rebounds and a steal.
Gabe Madsen added 10 points, seven assists, three rebounds and two steals, while Lawson Lovering put up six points and 10 rebounds.
What’s next
The Utes will return for their final home stand of the season.
That begins with a matchup against Arizona State Saturday (5 p.m. MST, ESPN+), before Utah hosts West Virginia next Tuesday (7 p.m. MST, ESPN+) on Senior Night.
The Sun Devils hosted BYU later Wednesday night.