Branden Carlson's 40 points not enough to lift Utah over Oregon State

The Utah Runnin' Utes continue to falter on the road

With a chance to extend their win streak to three, while also helping bolster their NCAA Tournament resume, the Utah Uttes came up short in the first leg of their Oregon road trip.

The Beavers ended up taking down Utah 92-85 behind the hot hand of Jordan Pope who finished with 25 points as well as Tyler Bilodeau who sunk five threes and added 20 points of his own. The Runnin' Utes didn't go down without a fight either, as big man Branden Carlson ended the night with 40 points on 16-of-26 shooting (61%).

Feb 29, 2024; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Utes center Branden Carlson (35) and guard Deivon Smith (5) react to a play against the Stanford Cardinal during the first half at Jon M. Huntsman Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports / Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports

The Utes were unable to chip away at the lead all the way, but at one point following a mini-run by Carlson that saw him throw down a huge dunk and drill a three, the lead did get cut to seven. That was until the Beavers were able to ice the game from the free-throw line.

HUGE block for @ballerbranden35 on the defensive end and is rewarded on the other end with a 3-ball for a new career-high 37 points to cut the OSU lead down to single-digits!! pic.twitter.com/XuKbrXW8g0

— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) March 8, 2024

Utah will head to Eugene on Saturday to take on Oregon, as they continue to be abysmal on the road, sporting a 2-8 record. The loss also puts them two games back of the No. 4 seed in the Pac-12 Tournament, and with a loss to Oregon and a UCLA win, they could drop even further.

Utah is viewed as a team right on the cusp of making the tournament, so a loss to the bottom team in the conference certainly won't help their case. They need to win a couple of games in the Pac-12 Tournament at least, in order to help solidify their chances.