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MBB: Utah vs. No. 19 USC Live Thread: Utes Upset Trojans 71-61

Led by a combined 34 points from Timmy Allen and Alfonso Plummer, Utah comes out on fire in the second half and never lets up, picking up its biggest win of the season and ending the four-game losing streak

Ryan Kostecka

The road just keeps getting tougher for Utah.

Two days after suffering its fourth consecutive loss in a 76-61 defeat to first-place UCLA, the Utes will now face off with whom many believe is the best team on the west coast not named Gonzaga.

Seeking to break its season-long losing streak, Utah will have to do it against the best team in the conference when it hosts No. 19 USC at the Jon M. Huntsman Center in front of a national audience. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. MT and will be televised on ESPN2.

The bad news for the Utes are that they don't exactly come into the game on a hot streak.

They appeared to be in phenomenal shape when the second half of the conference schedule began, getting consecutive victories over Colorado, Arizona and Cal to reach .500 in conference play.

But things then took an ugly turn as losses to Stanford, Oregon State, Oregon and UCLA now have the Utes at 6-10 in conference play. 

The losses were particularly brutal as Utah found a way to lose each game in tough fashion. The comeback attempt came up short against Stanford, they were outclassed by the Beavers, a questionable call doomed them against the Ducks and they had no business being on the same floor as the Bruins.

Feb 25, 2021; Salt Lake City, Utah, UCA; Utah Utes forward Timmy Allen (1) walks off the court after their loss to the UCLA Bruins at Jon M. Huntsman Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Swinger-USA TODAY Sports

But despite the losses, there is reason to be hopeful for Utah. 

For the first time in weeks, the team should be at full strength with the expected return of starting forward Mikael Jantunen. He missed the past three games after heading overseas to play for his native Finland in the 2022 EuroBasket qualifiers. After starting and recording 11 points and six rebounds in Finland's victory, he returned to Salt Lake City a week ago and should be good to go tonight.

The Utes already got back starting point guard Rylan Jones against the Bruins. Although he didn't score, Jones finished with seven assists in 17 minutes of action.

Utah is also hoping for a better performance from Timmy Allen and Alfonso Plummer. The duo, who entered Thursday's game averaging 30 points per game, were held in check as Allen finished with 8 points (4-of-13 shooting) while Plummer was pressured all night into finishing with seven points (3-of-9 shooting).

One person who's been on a tear lately has been center Branden Carlson, who finished with a team-high 17 points on 8-for-14 shooting from the floor (1-of-3 from beyond the arc), adding in six rebounds and four blocks. He's scored in double figures in six straight games and nine of his past 11.

Feb 25, 2021; Salt Lake City, Utah, UCA; Utah Utes center Branden Carlson (35) shoots over UCLA Bruins guard Jaylen Clark (0) in the second half at Jon M. Huntsman Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Swinger-USA TODAY Sports

Follow this live thread for updates and analysis. You can also follow @Ryan_Kostecka and @UtahUtes_SI on Twitter for up-to-the-second action.

PREGAME
*After winning three straight, Utah is currently on a four-game losing streak

*Timmy Allen leads Utah with 16.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.3 steals per game on the season 

*Branden Carlson has been as equally impressive for the Utes over his past 11 games, really coming into his own on both ends of the court. He's averaging 12.9 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.3 blocks over that span, but has scored in double figures in six straight games and nine of his past 11

*Alfonso Plummer is the only other Ute averaging double figures on the season, posting 12.7 points per game. He's been inconsistent the past four games, scoring 17 and 14 points in games against Oregon and Stanford while being held to four, nine and seven points against the Beavers, Golden Bears and Bruins

*Utah could get back starting forward Mikael Jantunen, who has been in quarantine after suiting up for his native Finland last Saturday

*Allen and Plummer, who entered Thursday's game averaging 30 points per game, were held in check as they combined for 15 points on 7-of-22 shooting from the floor

January 30, 2020; Los Angeles, California, USA; Utah Utes forward Timmy Allen (1) shoots against the Southern California Trojans during the second half at Galen Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

*USC is led by Pac-12 Player of the Year front runner Evan Mobley, a freshman who's in the running for the top overall pick in the upcoming NBA draft. He's averaging 16.7 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 3.0 blocks per game.

*Tahj Eaddy is second on the team — and the only other Trojan averaging double figures — with 14.2 points per game by knocking down 39.2% from three-point territory

*Isaiah Mobley — Evan's older brother — is averaging 9.3 points and 7.6 rebounds per game, combining to make a dominant duo down low with Evan

USATSI_15614474_168386753_lowres
Feb 22, 2021; Los Angeles, California, USA; Evan Mobley (4) dunks the ball in the second half of the game against the Oregon Ducks at Galen Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

*It appears Utah will be fully healthy tonight as Jantunen is going through pregame warmups...

*Starters for tonight...

*Jantunen is back and starting while Jones will come off the bench for the second straight game

FIRST HALF
*Utah showing a lot of fight early as a Larsson alley-oop from Allen and two free throws by Carlson has the Utes out front early

Utah 6 - USC 8
15:01 left 1H
Both teams sloppy in the opening five minutes with three turnovers apiece. USC's athleticism on the glass already looking like a problem...

*Allen looks very disengaged again, second game in a row he appears to not want to be on the court. Gave up a three-pointer and failed to box out the shooter, who got his own rebound for an easy outback dunk

*Utes decimated on the glass early, trailing 8-3 as USC just wants the ball more... 

*Carlson just picked up his second foul with 13 minutes left in the opening half — really bad sign considering what USC is doing on the glass

Utah 8 - USC 16
1H | 11:51
USC the superior team physically as they've scored all 16 points in the paint and have a 9-3 rebounding advantage

*Hello Ian Martinez… He throws down a massive dunk in transition and the Utes are showing signs if life midway through the first half

*Still an ugly game thus far as Utah has 6 turnovers and USC with 5 and we are barely past the 10-minute mark of the opening half

*Utah on a 7-0 run after forcing three USC turnovers during that span

Utah 20 - USC 22
1H | 7:31
Plummer with a game-high 8 points as the Utes are on a 10-2 run to get back into the game. Martinez and Jantunen working hard on the glass despite the height disadvantages

*Have to imagine that leaving Plummer wide open is not a good look for the Trojans. He's the one guy for the Utes who can win the game by himself if he gets hot...

*Utah being decimated on the boards, trailing 17-8. Yet tough defense over the past 5-6 minutes is the only reason they’re still alive

*Jones has not checked back into the game, and I doubt he'll play the rest of the way with the shoulder injury. Brenchley getting some early run...

*Really ugly game so far as Utah-USC have combined for 17 turnovers, including a brutal stretch where there were 3 turnovers over a 10-second span

Utah 23 - USC 25
1H | 3:28
Utes showing a lot of fight to battle back into the game. The next couple minutes will be huge for Utah finishing off the half strong

*Martinez is such a talented athlete. He's clearly earning more minutes and will have a larger role the rest of the game with Jones out

*While the game may be close, Utah is very lucky to have it be this close. Utes fighting for everything and the Trojans just aren't hitting open/free shots. Not a good recipe for what the future may hold...

Utah 27 - USC 29
Halftime
Utah very lucky to have this game close despite being out-rebounded by eight and committing 10 turnovers in the opening 20 minutes. Plummer with a game-high 8 points

Screen Shot 2021-02-27 at 6.54.49 PM
Utah MBB vs. No. 19 USC — Halftime Stats

HALFTIME
*Jones is not out with the team warming up.

*Expect USC to hit more shots (0-for-6 from deep, 3-for-7 from charity stripe) — so the Utes have to counter with better rebounding and limiting second chance opportunities

*Allen needs to get his offense going, but games like this are difficult for him without a lack of a consistent outside shot.

*Carlson, who only played 7 minutes before picking up his second foul, needs to be big in the post for Utah

*Who will emerge as a scorer to help spread the floor for Plummer and allowing him to hit?

SECOND HALF
*Larsson with a 3-pointer and Allen with an and-1 as Utah leads by 4 early in the second half

Utah 35 - USC 29
2H | 17:56
Utah opens up the second half with 8 points, Allen with five of them. Carlson with a block that led to Allen's bucket forces a Trojans timeout

*This is not what Utah typically does to begin halves… but knock shooting from behind the arc opened things up for Allen down low, and Carlson making his presence felt on the other end. Still early, yet encouraging

*Allen with another alley-pop to Larsson, who this time lays it up. Another point of explosion from the unexacting Larsson…

*Utah starting to enter foul trouble territory as Jantunen has three while Carlson and Battin have two each. Those are the only serviceable big men the Utes have

Utah 41 - USC 33
2H | 15:30
Allen really coming alive, being much more active on the offensive end and looking for his shot. Up to a game-high 11 points and 6 assists. Carlson with 2 blocks in the opening 4 minutes

*After their first offensive possession of the half, which was atrocious, the Utes are 6-of-6 since then

*That's the version of Carlson that Utah needs. Grabbed the pass and went right at Mobley, overpowered him for the bucket

*Battin knocks down a three-pointer and the Utes have their largest lead of the game at 13...

Utah 53 - USC 42
2H | 10:53
Utes on fire to start the second half, knocking down 11-of-13 from the field (3-for-3 from deep). Trojans are just 4-for-17 (1-for-5 from deep)

*While Allen is playing superb in the second half, Martinez is the real x-factor. 8 points and 2 rebounds in 12 minutes, but his defense and fight have really ignited the Utes and caused issues for USC

*At some point the law of averages will take over and Utah will come back to earth shooting the ball — but will the defense be strong enough to hold the lead...???

Utah 55 - USC 49
2H | 7:36
Trojans beginning the comeback as Peterson has a game-high 16. Utes look lackadaisical the last few possessions... curious which version of the team shows up the rest of the way

*Massive three-pointer by Carlson to make it an 8-point game with 6:55 to play...

*Great play by Jantunen who tapped Allen’s missed three-pointer out to Plummer, who knocked down the open three-pointer, his first shot of the second half

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*Huge change of events. USC missed the front end of a one-and-one and Plummer knocked down a three-pointer on the other end, followed by back-to-back USC turnovers

Utah 64 - USC 54
2H | 3:47
Plummer hits back-to-back three-pointers, staving off a USC comeback each time. Utes in a good position but now it'll come down to taking care of the ball and rebounding, two things they haven't been good at tonight

*Plummer with 8 straight points for Utah, coming alive after being shutout for most of the second half. Now up to a team-high 16 points

*DAGGER!!! Jantunen with an offensive rebound that leads to a Plummer three-pointer, over a closing-out Mobley. Utes up 13 with 1:58 to play

*Utah leads by 10 with 1:08 to play… very impressive performance on both ends of the court for the Utes in the second half

Utah 71 - USC 61
FINAL
Allen and Plummer come alive in the second half and combine for 34 points as a phenomenal defensive effort leads to Utah's biggest win of the season

Screen Shot 2021-02-27 at 7.59.54 PM
Utah MBB vs. No. 19 USC — Final Stats

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