Runnin' Utes Dominate Arizona State in Pac-12 Tournament Opener

Wednesday, March 13

Las Vegas, NV

9:30 PM

University of Utah

19-13,9-11Pac-12

Arizona State

14-18,8-12Pac-12

Arizona St.

Utah

Runnin' Utes Dominate Arizona State in Pac-12 Tournament Opener

3/14/2024 1:51 AM | Men's Basketball

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The Runnin’ Utes crushed Arizona State in the Pac-12 Tournament opener 90-57 to advance to the quarterfinals.

LAS VEGAS – The Utah men's basketball team led Arizona State wire-to-wire in its 90-57 victory in the opening round of the Pac-12 Tournament Wednesday night inside T-Mobile Arena backed by a career-high 22 points from Cole Bajema and another near triple-double for Deivon Smith.

The 33-point margin of victory tied the tournament record – which was set back on March 13, 2019, by Oregon against Washington State 84-51. The win also snapped Utah's five-game losing skid against Arizona State and gave the Utes their first win in the tournament since 2021.

Utah (19-13) picked up its first win over ASU this season when it mattered most and earned the victory in the first-ever match-up between the Utes and Sun Devils at the Pac-12 Tournament. Utah is now 6-7 all-time in its first game of the Pac-12 Tournament and 3-5 when those first games have been the opening round games. The Utes have now moved onto the tournament quarterfinals in nine of the 13 seasons.

The Runnin' Utes opened the game strong and never looked back against the Sun Devils (14-18), taking a commanding 47-22 lead at the half – which was the largest halftime lead by the Utes at the Pac-12 Tournament all-time. Bajema paced Utah with 14 first-half points on 4-of-6 shooting from 3-point range while Gabe Madsen had 8 points and 4 assists while Smith was just short of a triple-double in the first-half with 7 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists through the first 20-minutes of action.

Utah's largest run of the half came near the end when Bajema led a 15-0 run for the Utes scoring 11 of the 15. That stretch by Bajema and the Utes forced a pair of Arizona State timeouts in hopes of slowing down the sharp-shooter. It did not.

The second-half was similar to that of the first with Utah doubling up the Sun Devils midway through the frame, 64-32, as the lead continued to rise and got as high as 35 with 43 seconds remaining.

Of the 22 points for Bajema, 18 came via the 3-pointer (6-for-9). Smith was just one assist shy of a triple-double, finishing with 15 points, 10 boards and 9 assists while shooting an efficient 6-of-8 from the field. Hunter Erickson had a solid game off the bench for the Utes, scoring 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting while Madsen chipped in with 10 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists.

BY THE NUMBERS
The .704 shooting clip (19-for-27) by Utah in the first half was the most in any half under head coach Craig Smith … Utah's 7 made 3-pointers is tied for the most in the first half this season (vs. St. John's, at Arizona, at Stanford) … Utah has had two other double-digit leads at halftime in the tournament – both in the first round vs. Washington in 2014 and 2021 … Utah is now 4-1 all-time in the Pac-12 Tournament when it makes 10-plus 3-pointers in a game … the 90 points is the second-highest total for Utah at the tournament – trailing the 98 points vs. Washington in 2021 (first round).

UP NEXT
With the win, the Runnin' Utes advance to the Pac-12 Tournament quarterfinals and face off against the third-seeded Colorado Buffaloes on Thursday, March 14, at 8:30 p.m. (PDT) local / 9:30 p.m. (MDT) on FS1. Jason Benetti will have the call alongside Casey Jacobsen while Alison Williams roams the sidelines as Utah looks to split the all-time series against Colorado at the conference tournament with the Buffs taking the lone win 53-41 back in 2012 at STAPLES Center.

For the latest news and information on the Runnin' Utes men's basketball program, fans can stay connected online at www.UtahUtes.com and on social media by following @UtahMBB on Facebook, X and Instagram.

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