AMES, Iowa – The Utah men's basketball team fought valiantly, but Iowa State showed why they are the No. 3-ranked team in the country as it clamped down on defense and handed the Runnin' Utes an 82-59 loss Tuesday night inside Hilton Coliseum.
Gabe Madsen finally got things going on offense and started a 15-2 run with a drive to the rack before scoring 10 of the next 15 points during that stretch to give Utah (8-6, 0-3 Big 12) the 22-20 edge heading into the 7:41 media break.
However, miscues on the offensive end by Utah saw the Cyclones take advantage and answered with an 8-0 run of their own to retake the 25-22 lead – which forced the Utes to call a timeout with 5:47 left in the half.
Mike Sharavjamts finally put an end to the 5:26 scoring drought when he hit the front end of his two free-throws to make it 29-23 in favor of ISU. However, turnovers plagued the Utes in the waning moments of the half as Iowa State (13-1, 3-0 Big 12) finished the remaining time on a 21-3 blitzkrieg to lead Utah 38-25.
The Runnin' Utes came out of the half with renewed energy, jumping out to an 11-4 spurt to get within 42-36 of the Cyclones. However, turnovers and a scoring drought once again saw ISU take advantage with a 14-5 run of its own to push the lead back up to 56-41 before Madsen drilled a corner 3-pointer to make it 56-44 with 10:30 left to play.
From there, the Cyclone defense battened down the hatches to keep Utah at bay the rest of the game and secured their 10th-straight victory.
Madsen finally found his groove on offense to lead the Utes with 20 points to go along with 3 rebounds and 4 assists.
Miro Little was the only other Ute to reach double-figures, finishing with 13 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists off the bench.
POSTGAME NOTES
- Utah moves to 2-2 all-time against Iowa State and now 0-2 when playing in Ames
- Runnin' Utes are now 22-78 (.220) all-time against top-10 AP ranked opponents and 2-25 (.074) all-time against top-10 AP ranked opponents on the road
- Utah is now 1-5 (.167) against No. 3 AP ranked opponents all-time
- 12 first-half turnovers by Utah saw Iowa State convert them into 20 points – which accounted for 53-percent of their offense
- Hunter Erickson tied his career-high with 3 blocks against the Cyclones
- Utah also faced foul trouble midway through the second half with three players playing with 4 fouls in Mike Sharavjamts, Lawson Lovering and Miro Little
UP NEXT
Utah returns home to host Oklahoma State for the third time ever on Saturday, Jan. 11, at 5 p.m. (MST) on
ESPN+ as part of a double-header with women's basketball – who will square off against Houston at 1:30 p.m. first. Lowell Galindo will have the action alongside former Oklahoma State guard Bryndon Manzer as the Utes and Cowboys duke it out for sixth-time in program history.
Men's Basketball ticket = FREE entry to Women's Basketball game
Women's Basketball ticket = FREE entry to Men's Basketball game
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. Fans can also stay connected on their mobile devices or tablets with the Utah 360, the official app of Utah Athletics, through the
Apple Store or
Google Play.
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