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Wednesday, December 18
Las Vegas, NV
9:00 PM
University of Utah
9-2,0-0Pac-12
69
vs
66
Kentucky
8-2,0-0SEC
1
2
F
Utah
35
34
69
Kentucky
31
35
66
Photo by: Alina Rogers
Runnin' Utes Shine in 69-66 Stunner Over No. 6 Kentucky
12/19/2019 1:11 AM | Men's Basketball
The Utah men’s basketball team shined under the bright lights Wednesday night and stunned No. 6 Kentucky 69-66.
LAS VEGAS – Youthful? Yes. Shy? Not a chance. On a night when the eyes of the entire country, albeit tired for those on the east coast, were on the University of Utah men's basketball team, the young Runnin' Utes team did not shy away and stunned No. 6 Kentucky Wednesday night inside T-Mobile Arena 69-66.
The upset of No. 6 Kentucky is the first AP Top-10 victory since Utah's 70-64 win over No. 9 Arizona inside the Jon M. Huntsman Center on Feb. 27, 2016. It is also the first win over an AP ranked team since beating No. 25 Saint Mary's on the road 67-58 (OT) in the NIT.
In addition, Wednesday night's win extended the Utah win-streak to five while snapping an eight game win-streak for the Wildcats.
Both Gach got off to a blazing-hot start for the Runnin' Utes, scoring 10-straight points on a pair of 3-pointers and gave Utah the 10-4 lead at the 15:26 media break all by himself. Timmy Allen, who followed with six points of his own, and fellow sophomore Riley Battin joined Gach in the scoring column and pushed the lead to 18-9 midway through the half (11:41).
Allen continued to the attack the paint against the Wildcats (8-2) and picked up his 11th points after hitting 1-of-2 from the line before Rylan Jones knocked down a three at the 5:42 mark, pushing the Utah (9-2) lead to 31-23 against the Wildcats.
Moments later, Allen gave The Utes their largest lead of the half (35-23) with a nice floater inside paint with 2:36 left in the half. However, the Wildcats charged back with 8-0 run to cut into the lead as Utah headed into the locker room hanging on to a 35-31 advantage.
The Utes struck first in the second half and opened with a 10-5 run behind a pair of triples, the first from Battin and second coming from Jones for the 45-36 edge at the first media break (15:56). Ahead 47-36, Lahat Thioune gave Utah a huge momentum boost when he denied Ashton Hagans in the paint that led to a fast-break triple from Jones – which forced Kentucky head coach John Calipari to call a timeout with 14:56 on the clock.
The onslaught continued for Utah as Mikael Jantunen made it a 14-1 run and 54-37 lead, the largest of the game, before UK's Keion Brooks Jr. gave the Wildcats their first field-goal in nearly six minutes (5:58) heading into the 11:48 media break.
But, the sixth-ranked Wildcats did not back down and reeled off a 12-2 and got within 58-51 after Nick Richards completed a 3-point play with 6:24 remaining. A few possessions later with 4:52 on the clock, Jones got fouled hard driving to the rack and subsequently subbed out. Thioune came in for the injured Jones and knocked down both free throws to make it 62-56 in favor of the U.
Soon after the Utes were gifted with a basket interference call against Richards with 3:15 on the clock, but the Utes gave it right back with a traveling call just a couple feet after inbounding. Luckily, for Utah, the Wildcats didn't score despite getting the offensive board and led to a huge baseline three from Battin on the other end.
Kentucky's Immanuel Quickley then went down the on the other end and rattled in a long two, making it 66-62 before things got a little dicey for Utah. After Quickley's jumper, back-to-back steals from Kentucky led to two-straight baskets – tying the game up at 66-66 with 1:43 left on the clock.
After a timeout by Utah, Allen came out and sank a step-back floater for the 68-66 lead. Two possessions later, Battin was called for a block that was later changed to a charge after review and gave Utah the ball with 22.7 ticks remaining.
Jones headed to the line with 15 seconds left in regulation and hit the second of his two free throws after the foul, giving the Utes a 69-66 lead that wound up holding despite Kentucky getting two more looks at the basket before the clock hit 0.0.
Allen finished with a game-high 25 points, nine rebounds and four assists in the upset victory while Gach finished with 14 points and six boards. Jones added a dozen points and six assists on the night with Battin chipping in with 10 points of his own.
BY THE NUMBERS
The win is Utah's first win over a No. 6-ranked team in program history; the Utes were 0-5 previously against AP No. 6-ranked teams … Utah is also now 67-144 all-time against AP ranked teams and 19-50 all-time when playing AP ranked teams on a neutral floor … the win also broke the seal and gave Utah its first win inside T-Mobile Center, moving to 1-3 … the Utah starters were effectively offensively, accounting for 61 of the team's 69 points … sophomores Allen, Gach and Battin combined for 49 of the team's 69 points … Utah is now 30-29 all-time in Las Vegas and 9-8 in Sin City under Krystkowiak … the win also gave Utah its first win inside T-Mobile Arena, the Utes were previously 0-3 – all in the Pac-12 Tournament … the win was also Utah's first win over Kentucky since Dec. 18, 1976, a 70-68 win for the Utes in Lexington.
QUOTABLES
Head coach Larry Krystkowiak…
On Rylan Jones' toughness…
"I think you can see Rylan has some poise and some savvy to him. These guys know he's a warrior, and I thought there were a lot of savvy plays out there where he did a good job with foul trouble. That tumble he took with about 5:00 to go in the game, I couldn't believe he came back out of the locker room. It says a lot about his toughness."
UP NEXT
The Utes continue the road swing and now head to Los Angeles for their final game of the non-conference season against undefeated San Diego State (11-0) this Saturday, Dec. 21, on Pac-12 Network inside STAPLES Center. Guy Haberman will have the call as Utah plays its second-consecutive AP Top-25 opponent alongside Don MacLean.
The upset of No. 6 Kentucky is the first AP Top-10 victory since Utah's 70-64 win over No. 9 Arizona inside the Jon M. Huntsman Center on Feb. 27, 2016. It is also the first win over an AP ranked team since beating No. 25 Saint Mary's on the road 67-58 (OT) in the NIT.
In addition, Wednesday night's win extended the Utah win-streak to five while snapping an eight game win-streak for the Wildcats.
Both Gach got off to a blazing-hot start for the Runnin' Utes, scoring 10-straight points on a pair of 3-pointers and gave Utah the 10-4 lead at the 15:26 media break all by himself. Timmy Allen, who followed with six points of his own, and fellow sophomore Riley Battin joined Gach in the scoring column and pushed the lead to 18-9 midway through the half (11:41).
?? Can't spell UPSET without that U. ??@UtahMBB runs away with a MAJOR win over No. 6 Kentucky tonight. #Pac12Hoops pic.twitter.com/qLVR8vHAFR
— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) December 19, 2019
Allen continued to the attack the paint against the Wildcats (8-2) and picked up his 11th points after hitting 1-of-2 from the line before Rylan Jones knocked down a three at the 5:42 mark, pushing the Utah (9-2) lead to 31-23 against the Wildcats.
Moments later, Allen gave The Utes their largest lead of the half (35-23) with a nice floater inside paint with 2:36 left in the half. However, the Wildcats charged back with 8-0 run to cut into the lead as Utah headed into the locker room hanging on to a 35-31 advantage.
The Utes struck first in the second half and opened with a 10-5 run behind a pair of triples, the first from Battin and second coming from Jones for the 45-36 edge at the first media break (15:56). Ahead 47-36, Lahat Thioune gave Utah a huge momentum boost when he denied Ashton Hagans in the paint that led to a fast-break triple from Jones – which forced Kentucky head coach John Calipari to call a timeout with 14:56 on the clock.
The onslaught continued for Utah as Mikael Jantunen made it a 14-1 run and 54-37 lead, the largest of the game, before UK's Keion Brooks Jr. gave the Wildcats their first field-goal in nearly six minutes (5:58) heading into the 11:48 media break.
But, the sixth-ranked Wildcats did not back down and reeled off a 12-2 and got within 58-51 after Nick Richards completed a 3-point play with 6:24 remaining. A few possessions later with 4:52 on the clock, Jones got fouled hard driving to the rack and subsequently subbed out. Thioune came in for the injured Jones and knocked down both free throws to make it 62-56 in favor of the U.
Soon after the Utes were gifted with a basket interference call against Richards with 3:15 on the clock, but the Utes gave it right back with a traveling call just a couple feet after inbounding. Luckily, for Utah, the Wildcats didn't score despite getting the offensive board and led to a huge baseline three from Battin on the other end.
Kentucky's Immanuel Quickley then went down the on the other end and rattled in a long two, making it 66-62 before things got a little dicey for Utah. After Quickley's jumper, back-to-back steals from Kentucky led to two-straight baskets – tying the game up at 66-66 with 1:43 left on the clock.
After a timeout by Utah, Allen came out and sank a step-back floater for the 68-66 lead. Two possessions later, Battin was called for a block that was later changed to a charge after review and gave Utah the ball with 22.7 ticks remaining.
Jones headed to the line with 15 seconds left in regulation and hit the second of his two free throws after the foul, giving the Utes a 69-66 lead that wound up holding despite Kentucky getting two more looks at the basket before the clock hit 0.0.
Allen finished with a game-high 25 points, nine rebounds and four assists in the upset victory while Gach finished with 14 points and six boards. Jones added a dozen points and six assists on the night with Battin chipping in with 10 points of his own.
DOWN GOES KENTUCKY! ??
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) December 19, 2019
Utah takes down the No. 6 Wildcats in Las Vegas behind Timmy Allen's 25pts! #GoUtes pic.twitter.com/Ih1QGDxUEb
BY THE NUMBERS
The win is Utah's first win over a No. 6-ranked team in program history; the Utes were 0-5 previously against AP No. 6-ranked teams … Utah is also now 67-144 all-time against AP ranked teams and 19-50 all-time when playing AP ranked teams on a neutral floor … the win also broke the seal and gave Utah its first win inside T-Mobile Center, moving to 1-3 … the Utah starters were effectively offensively, accounting for 61 of the team's 69 points … sophomores Allen, Gach and Battin combined for 49 of the team's 69 points … Utah is now 30-29 all-time in Las Vegas and 9-8 in Sin City under Krystkowiak … the win also gave Utah its first win inside T-Mobile Arena, the Utes were previously 0-3 – all in the Pac-12 Tournament … the win was also Utah's first win over Kentucky since Dec. 18, 1976, a 70-68 win for the Utes in Lexington.
QUOTABLES
Head coach Larry Krystkowiak…
On Rylan Jones' toughness…
"I think you can see Rylan has some poise and some savvy to him. These guys know he's a warrior, and I thought there were a lot of savvy plays out there where he did a good job with foul trouble. That tumble he took with about 5:00 to go in the game, I couldn't believe he came back out of the locker room. It says a lot about his toughness."
UP NEXT
The Utes continue the road swing and now head to Los Angeles for their final game of the non-conference season against undefeated San Diego State (11-0) this Saturday, Dec. 21, on Pac-12 Network inside STAPLES Center. Guy Haberman will have the call as Utah plays its second-consecutive AP Top-25 opponent alongside Don MacLean.
###
Team Stats
Utah
UK
FG%
.548
.413
3FG%
.533
.118
FT%
.652
.750
RB
31
31
TO
17
12
STL
2
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
25
FGM
8
3FGM
0
FTM
9
Pts
12
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
3
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
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