Utah's Win-Streak Ends With Loss Against Arizona State

After a whirlwind month of victories in December, Utah starts the new year with a loss, ending the team's impressive eight-game win-streak

The Utah men’s basketball team suffered a tragic 82-70 loss at the hands of Arizona State that saw their eight-game win streak end in the team’s first game of the new year.

Playing in a late-night game at Desert Financial Arena in Tempe, Arizona, the Runnin’ Utes struggled to keep up with a Sun Devil offense that played some of its best basketball of the season.

The Runnin’ Utes managed to hold their own through most of the contest’s first half. The most exciting moment of which came from Deivon Smith, who slammed down a monster dunk off an offensive rebound on his own missed three-pointer. Smith’s dunk put Utah up 33-32 with 3:36 left in the half.

His name says it all... @sneakgod with the O Board and JAM‼️‼️

📺 ESPN2 pic.twitter.com/zlxw6cASSN

— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) January 5, 2024

With 1:19 left before entering the locker room, both teams sat tied at 36 points a piece. However, the final minute wouldn't be good to Utah, as the Sun Devils scored five unanswered points to put the Utes down 41-36 at halftime.

Utah’s best performance of the first half came from Branden Carlson who had 11 points to go along with seven rebounds. 

The second half proved to be far more difficult for the Runnin’ Utes who struggled down the stretch. After shooting 41.7% from beyond the arc in the first half, Utah went 2-10 (20%) from downtown after coming back from the locker room.

Despite shooting struggles, Utah kept the game tight and trailed by only two points (55-53) with 10:33 left in regulation. This would be the closest Utah would come to the lead, as the team missed five straight field goals and saw ASU’s two-point lead become a large eight-point gap.

The game would only get more out of reach for Utah as ASU led by as many as 17 points before the final buzzer rang. Utah fell 82-70, losing their first game since the team's Nov. 19 contest against St. John’s.

“I thought they played outstanding, probably the best game of the year,” Utah head coach Craig Smith said of ASU. “Some of that’s us, but credit them, they played unbelievable. I mean, they played really, really well.”

Despite suffering a demoralizing loss, there were some bright spots for the Runnin’ Utes. The brightest of which being Deivon Smith, who with 13 points, had his best performance thus far playing with Utah. 

Carlson also finished strong despite the team’s overall struggles in the second half. He put up a respectable stat line of 19 points, eight rebounds, and two blocks, as Utah’s player of the game. Moreover, Carlson's performance against ASU was his first since earning USBWA Oscar Robertson National Players of the Week honors the day prior (Jan. 3rd).

While the loss puts a damper on Utah’s hopes of entering the NCAAM Top 25, all hope is not lost. The team has one of their biggest games of the season coming up against No. 10 Arizona on Jan. 6th.

A victory against the Arizona Wildcats in Tucson would be exactly what Utah needs to get back on track and potentially enter the Top 25 for the first time since the 2015-2016 season.