Utah v Oregon Game Thread

Game Notes:

We all need to take a deep breath after that one. After a heartbreaking loss in the Rose Bowl, believe it or not, another Utes team is in action tonight as Utah travels to Oregon to take on the Ducks at Knight Arena at 8:30pm MT on the PAC 12 Network. Needless to say the Utes have not had the best record against the Ducks. Our last win against Oregon on the road came in 2017. This year expectations were high for Oregon as they began the season ranked #13 in the AP rankings. Then, they hit a brick wall and lost to BYU 81-49. Since that loss their season has gone downhill quickly. Oregon currently has a 7-6 record overall and is 0-2 in conference play. Their last game was a 68-59 win against Pepperdine. The Utes are 8-5 overall with a 1-2 record in conference play. They are coming off a 88-76 loss on the road to Oregon State. The Utes should have a relatively healthy lineup available with Branden Carlson returning against Oregon State but will still be missing Boystyn Holt for the season and Dusan Mohorcic until mid January.

First Half:

15:00- After I got myself oriented to Oregon’s “interesting” floor design I was able to get to the analysis for the game. A pretty forgettable start to this game so far. Utah is shooting 25% compared to Oregon’s 12.5%. Utah leads 5-4 early.

12:00- Offense has picked up a bit and Utah’s defense has looked good early. Last game out for Utah, Oregon State shot 55.7% from the field so it’s clear that Craig Smith stressed defense coming into the game tonight. Utah is contesting every shot so far and has a built a slight lead. Utah leads 12-6.

9:00- I definitely shouldn’t have said anything about our defense, just like that Oregon has a 9-0 run in the last 1:30 and Oregon leads 17-14.

4:00- An extremely balanced performance from the Utes so far as Marco Anthony is the leading scorer with 5 points and every starter has scored so far. Utah is out-rebounding the Ducks so far 17-13 and now leads the Ducks 24-22.

0:00- Branden Carlson hits a crazy quarter court shot at the buzzer and Utah leads 35-29 at the half. Oregon’s offense came alive after a slow start and is now shooting 46.2% from the field as Utah shoots 39.4% from the field. Branden Carlson (Utah) and Jacob Young (Oregon) lead all scorers with 9 points.

Second Half:

18:00- Largest lead of the game for the Utes as they come out firing to start the second half. Utes lead 40-31.

15:00- It has definitely been a game of runs. Oregon now goes on a 15-2 run and leads 45-42. Jacob Young has 16 points to lead all scorers. Utes need to toughen up and be more consistent across the board to get the win tonight.

12:00- The Utes were down by as many as 6 until they clawed back into the game and trail the Ducks 52-49. Lazar Stefanovic leads the Utes with 12 points and Jacob Young leads the Ducks’ with 19 points. It was looking pretty bad for the Utes until the defense tightened up and they closed the gap. Keep fighting, let’s go Utes!

8:00- Utah’s offense has looked especially flat in the last few minutes and Utah trails 58-53. David Jenkins Jr. who had 22 points against Oregon State Thursday night has 0 points tonight on only 1 shot attempt and 4 personal fouls. The Utes could definitely use a spark to get back into this game.

3:00- The game is quickly slipping away for Utah as Oregon leads 71-61. Jacob Young leads the Ducks with 22 points along with Will Richardson with 20 points. The Utes are struggling offensively and defensively down the stretch as the Ducks are shooting 52.9% from the field.

Final Thoughts:

Another disappointing loss in the state of Oregon for the Utes in PAC 12 play. The Utes lose 79-66 to Oregon and fall to 8-6 overall and 1-3 in conference play. Branden Carlson leads the Utes with 15 points and Will Richardson leads the Ducks with 26 points. The Utes led by 6 at the half but just couldn’t hang on and Oregon went on yet another run in the second half and never looked back. The Utes will have to play better defensively as Oregon shot 55.6% from the field. Certainly some positives from the Utes as they had the lead for lengthy stretches of the game but the Utes will be looking for a complete performance in their next match up.

Next Up: Thursday 1/6 Washington @ Utah 7:30pm MT on the PAC 12 Network