Men's Basketball Falls to Top-Ranked Arizona at Home

Saturday, January 3

Salt Lake City, UT

2:00 PM

University of Utah

8-6,0-1Big 12

Arizona

14-0,1-0Big 12

Arizona

Utah

Men's Basketball Falls to Top-Ranked Arizona at Home

1/3/2026 5:33 PM | Men's Basketball

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Trio of Runnin’ Utes reached double-figures in Big 12 opener against No. 1 Arizona at home.

By: Austin Eames

SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah men's basketball team opened its conference schedule with a 97-78 loss to the No. 1-ranked Arizona Wildcats inside of the Jon M. Huntsman Center Saturday afternoon.

After an opening Utah (8-6, 0-1 Big 12) score, the Wildcats answered with a 14-2 run heading into the first media timeout (15:38).

Despite Arizona building a 27-10 lead midway through the game, the Runnin' Utes continued to fight and cut the deficit down to single-digits twice – first at the 7:41 mark (34-26) and then once again with 6:26 left in the half (36-28).

However, the Wildcats (14-0, 1-0 Big 12) showed why they are the top-ranked team in the country in the final minutes of the period—hitting 9 of their final 10 shot attempts and sent the Utes into the locker room down 58-39.

Utah came out of the half with a strong push, cutting the Arizona's advantage to 62-46 after a high-flying fastbreak dunk from Terrence Brown. Minutes later, a 12-3 scoring run that that lasted 2:06 minutes got Utah within 73-58 of the Wildcats – its closest margin of the second half.

Arizona kept the Utes at bay the rest of the way and walked away with a 97-78 victory against Utah in the Big 12 opener.

Brown led the game with 26 points to go along with 6 assists and 4 rebounds. Brown was 1-of-3 Utah players to score in double-figures, with Don McHenry and Keanu Dawes each netting 15 in the contest.

BY THE NUMBERS

With 26 points, Terrence Brown has recorded five-consecutive 20-plus point games
Utah hit 11-of-12 free throws in the contest, good enough for their highest free throw shooting percentage of the season (.917)
Utah played Arizona much better in the second half, matching the Wildcats with 39 points apiece in the frame

UP NEXT
Utah hits the road for the first time in Big 12 play against Colorado on Wednesday, Jan. 7, starting at 7 p.m. on ESPN+ inside the CU Events Center with Mark Johnson and Scott Wilke on the call.

SEASON TICKETS & MINI PLANS
Fans can choose between two mini plans; the Saturday ONLY Plan starts at $125 while the Conference ONLY plan starts at $150. Single-game tickets for conference games are also on-sale starting at just $10 per ticket.

Fans interested in buy season tickets, mini plans or single-game tickets (non-conference) can do so by going online at UtahTickets.com or by phone at 801-581-UTIX (8849).

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 app.

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