Stifling Defense Leads Utah To 73-58 Victory Over Arizona

Less than one week after taking down Colorado in a come-from-behind victory, Utah returned home and thrashed Arizona on Thursday night. It's the first the Utes have won back-to-back games in Pac-12 play, and could be a sign of greater things to come

When Utah came from 19 points down in the second half to beat Pac-12 rival Colorado last weekend, there were whispers that it was the victory was just a fluke, a blimp in the radar of who the Utes truly were.

But after what Utah did to Pac-12 nemesis Arizona on Thursday night, that victory over the Buffaloes — and the one over the Wildcats — proves that maybe the Utes are finally beginning to realize their potential.

Behind a stifling defense and five players in double figures, Utah ran away from the Arizona in the second half en route to a 73-58 win. 

“That proved we can compete with anybody,” Utah head coach Larry Krystkowiak said. “That’s the focus for us is to try to put complete games. We discussed that before Colorado. It’s a two way game, you’ve got to be solid at both ends of the floor, you can't be deficient, glaringly in any area, and I thought we really checked an awful lot of the boxes.”

Final stats📊 from tonight's W vs Arizona. pic.twitter.com/OKZuDIb8TD

— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) February 5, 2021

Timmy Allen led the way with 18 points and nine rebounds as his athleticism proved to be way too much for Arizona to handle. Despite the Wildcats size and length advantage, it was Allen who consistently got to the hoop and helped carry the offense.

Pelle Larsson had arguably his best game of the year as he was a huge problem for Arizona on both sides of the court. Offensively he scored 14 points and dished out three assists, while defensively he grabbed four rebounds and had four steals.

Alfonso Plummer and Riley Battin paced the scoring off the bench, combining for 22 points on 8-of-19 shooting from the floor, each knocking down two three-pointers. Branden Carlson was the other Ute to put up double figures, scoring 10 points.

🎥 Big 𝗪𝗜𝗡 last night!💪#GoUtes🏀🔴 pic.twitter.com/MqSkvNU2AR

— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) February 5, 2021

With the offense taken care of, it was the defense that proved to be the most impressive part of Utah's game last night — and specifically that of point guard Rylan Jones.

A lot of talk has been made this season about Jones' struggles shooting the ball — and they're warranted. But as to why he remains in the starting lineup, that answer was made extremely clear last night. His ability to defend Wildcats point guard James Akinjo, one of the best in the conference, completely befuddled the Arizona offense and never allowed it to get going.

Akinjo finished the game with 10 points and three assists, but finished 2-of-9 from the floor as most of those points came when the game was out of reach in the final minutes.

"Our back court did a terrific job of making him fight for everything he got, and that was the proverbial head of the snake for them," Krystkowiak said regarding Akinjo. “Everything started for us defensively. ... The key for us was outstanding defensive play from all of our guys.”

"We knew this was gonna have to be our best defensive outing," Allen added. "It's a really good talented team, and they can score from a lot of different positions and areas. ... We did a good job with Akinjo, and just trying to lock in and lock into the game plan and try to get the ball out of his hands. It was big for us to see it, and see it come to light and get the result we wanted."

The game began with both teams playing good defense and struggling to get going on offense. Arizona wanted to push the tempo but the Utes did a good job of muddying up the game and forcing the tempo to be slowed down.

With Utah (8-7, 5-6 Pac-12) trailing 26-23 at the under-4 media timeout, it appeared the Wildcats were ready to make a run to close the half. But the Utes caught fire over the final 3:37 as a quick 7-0 run eventually led to a 32-27 halftime lead.

Unlike previous games when Utah led at the half only to watch it be taken away over the final 20 minutes, the Utes stuck to their strategy in this one. 

Utah went on a 15-4 run over a three-minute period early in the half, seizing a 51-33 lead with 14:02 to play. Carlson, Allen and Plummer all knocked down three-pointers.

Arizona (13-5, 7-5 Pac-12) made one last effort at a comeback, going on a 6-0 run to cut Utah's lead to 10 with 3:22 left to play. But Larsson ended that run with a layup that came with less than three seconds on the shot clock, igniting a 9-2 run in which he scores seven points.

Utah will have a week off from action before traveling to the Bay Area to face Cal on Thursday, Feb. 11. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. and will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Network.

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