SALT LAKE CITY – Special night for Utah guard
Gabe Madsen as he hit a dagger 3-pointer with 1:58 left in the game to break the school's all-time record for career 3-pointers and hand #17/20 Kansas the 74-67 loss Saturday night inside a raucous Jon M. Huntsman Center.
Utah (14-11, 6-8 Big 12) came out of the gates ready to play, taking a quick 10-3 lead that was capped off by a thunderous alley-oop dunk by
Ezra Ausar from
Mike Sharavjamts to force an early Kansas timeout 3:16 minutes into the contest.
Kansas kept things close until the Utes built up a double-digit lead, 32-21, with 7:07 remaining in the first half after Madsen hit his fourth triple of the night. However, the Jayhawks battled back to tie things up at 32-32 at the 2:13 mark before Utah headed into the locker room with a narrow 39-37 lead.
Like the opening minutes of the game, Utah was locked in out of the break and slowly built up its lead once again behind an 8-2 spurt to go up 60-49 out of the 11:37 media break. However, a 7:17 minute scoring drought saw the Jayhawks (17-8, 8-6 Big 12) reel off an 11-0 run to tie things up at 60-60 with 4:31 to play – which forced a timeout by the Utes.
Utah would not back down, however, and answered right back with a 7-0 run that lasted 2:22 minutes capped off by signature step-back three from Madsen to give the Runnin' Utes an extended lead. That three by Madsen also happened to be the record-breaking 3-pointer for the 6-6 guard – and cementing himself into Utah basketball lore.
The Runnin' Utes would clamp down the rest of the way and closed out the game knocking down 5-of-6 from the foul line to secure the 74-67 upset over No. 17 Kansas.
Madsen finished with a game-high 24 points on 5-of-13 from deep. Ausar added 12 points and 8 boards of his own.
Jake Wahlin picked up his first-career double-double with 10 points and a career-high 12 boards – three of which were on the offensive glass.
Keanu Dawes also had a solid game off the bench for the Utes, pulling down 10 boards to go with his pair of points from the line.
POSTGAME NOTES
- With 1:58 remaining in the game, Gabe Madsen became the program's all-time leader in 3-pointers made when he drained his fifth triple of the evening to pass Nick Jacobsen (2000-04; 287) for his 288th career 3-pointer at Utah
- Utah moves to 71-166 (.300) all-time against AP ranked opponents after its 74-67 upset of #17 Kansas on Saturday
- The Utes are now 41-45 (.477) all-time at home against AP ranked opponents after its win over #17 Kansas
- It was also Utah's first win over a ranked opponent at home since defeating #14 BYU 73-69 on Dec. 9, 2023
- The win was Utah's first win over an AP ranked conference opponent since Dec. 1, 2022, when it toppled No. 4 Arizona 81-66
- Utah is now 6-10 (.375) all-time against No. 17 AP ranked opponents
- Utah snaps a four-game losing-streak against No. 17 AP ranked opponents with its win over Kansas Saturday
- Utah picked up its first win over a No. 17 AP ranked opponent since defeating Oklahoma 67-58 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on March 19, 2005
- Jake Wahlin recorded his first-career double-double Saturday night with 10 points and 12 rebounds
- Utah dominated #17 Kansas on the offensive glass 16-6
- Utah also limited its turnovers to just 7 while forcing 12 miscues for the Jayhawks that led to a 22-7 differential in point off turnovers
UP NEXT
A quick turnaround awaits Utah as it has one day of prep for a surging Kansas State team that comes to town on Monday, Feb. 17, for a 7 p.m. (MST) tip-off on ESPN2. Roxy Bernstein will be on-site to call the action alongside Sean Farnham as the Runnin' Utes square off against assistant coach
Josh Eilert's alma Mater inside the Jon M. Huntsman 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
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