The Runnin’ Utes improved to 11-2 (2-0 Pac-12 play) on Sunday with a 95-90 statement-making comeback victory over the 8-5 (0-2 Pac-12 play) Washington Huskies. Down 15, senior leader Branden Carlson led the Utes on a furious second half rally on way to 34 points—a new career high.
Here are the takeaways from the victory:
A tale of two halves of shooting
Carlson was held to seven points in the first half as the Huskies led 46-35. It was a half in which Utah struggled shooting, and Carlson was no different. The team as a whole in the first half shot 39.5% from the field, 33.3% from deep, and 25% from the free-throw line. Carlson was 3-9 for the half. The only Ute with a solid first half was former Husky Cole Bajema who ended it with eight points on 50% shooting.
The second half however, proved to be a completely different story.
Utah came out on absolute fire after halftime, slowly chipping away at Washington’s lead in the opening minutes. They’d go on to shoot 66.8% for the closing half, going 22-32 from the field and 58.3% (7-12) from deep.
Utah took the lead 67-66 on a Keba Keita layup with 9:31 remaining in the game. However, the game remained in reach for the Huskies due to continued poor free-throw shooting. The Utes shot 9-18 on free-throws in the second half and 45.5% for the entire game.
Carlson threw the team on his shoulders
With 2:04 left in the first half, the Huskies were up by 15 points. It looked like a blowout was coming. The Utes would get the lead down to 11 by halftime and ride the hot shooting of Carlson to the comeback win.
Playing the entire second half, Carlson scored 27 of his career high 34 points. In that half he went 11-14 shooting and 3-4 from deep. He also finished with seven rebounds and seven assists.
With Gabe Madsen, Rollie Worster, and the emergence of Keba Keita, Carlson remains Utah’s most vital piece to their “Core Four.”
Worster finished with 14 points, five assists, and six rebounds. Madsen and Keita had 11 and nine points, respectively. However, from thunderous dunks to making it rain from deep, and impressive defensive effort, Utah’s final game on the 2023 calendar was the Branden Carlson Show.
Up next
The Utes now hit their Arizona road swing, taking on Arizona State on Thursday and facing an Arizona Wildcats squad that’s bound to be playing angry and with a point to prove after a 100-82 blowout loss to Stanford. Prior to the loss, the Wildcats were No. 4 in the country.
