Hole Too Deep: Utah Unable to Overcome Mistakes in Potential Q1 game vs. Saint Mary’s
Utes cut 21 point deficit, but it was too little too late.
Confronted with a chance to bolster their potential NCAA Tournament resume, the Utah Utes fell to visiting Saint Mary’s 72-63 on Saturday. The host Utes came out flat and Saint Mary’s capitalized, extending their lead to as much as 21 points by taking advantage of silly turnovers, missed bunnies, and poor defensive rotations. The Utes clawed their way back in with some invigorated energy from the bench, shrinking Saint Mary’s lead to as little as two before the under four minute timeout. Still, Utah fell just short, and the efforts of a spirited second half fell in vain to the disastrous first half - the hole was simply too deep to emerge from when playing a team the caliber of Saint Mary’s.
KEY 1: DEFENSE
The story of the majority of the game was Saint Mary’s defensive effort. Utah missed plenty of layups in the first half, but holding a Utah offense who was averaging 90 points per game to 22 first half points is an impressive feat regardless. The Gaels defense was suffocating, disrupting any rhythm that Utah could muster, goading Utah into difficult shots. Adjustments were made in the second half, and the roles flipped - Utah now playing with a renewed fire and causing disruption, forcing deflections and rushed shots from Saint Mary’s, and hitting tough shots on the other end. Gabe Madsen led the charge, hitting a 3 pointer, then forcing a steal which led to an and-1 layup, cutting SMC’s lead to single digits with 13:55 to play. Caleb Lohner, playing in his first game for Utah after transferring from Baylor, brought a fire and tenacity to the court that was infectious to his teammates and completely switched the momentum of the game. In the end it wasn’t quite enough, as Saint Mary’s forward Paulius Murauskas hit big shot after big shot down the stretch to propel the Gaels to a win.
KEY 2: DOING SIMPLE BETTER
Some teams are such direct reflections of their coach that you can’t miss it - their identity pops off the screen. In his 24th season at Saint Mary’s, Randy Bennett’s fingerprints are all over how his team plays. The cohesion, communication, and discipline that the Gaels play with explains why they have garnered a 5 seed in back-to-back NCAA Tournaments. There are no 5 stars or lottery picks on this roster; there are, however, 9 guys who can play together as one elite unit. The difference in the game was Saint Mary’s disciplined play; crisp passes and ball movement, communication on defensive rotations, making the unselfish basketball play. Utah matched these principles in the second half, but making too many mistakes in the first half became a burden too great to overcome.
INDIVIDUAL STANDOUTS
Miro Little (Utah): With his vision and basketball IQ, Little fits the ideal point guard role for Utah. Always poised, Little was able to keep the team in the game emotionally after a slow start on offense. Little hones a unique skillset as a strong rebounder and pass-first player; he’s a triple-double threat every game, and his unselfish nature is tailor-made for prolific shooters like the Madsen brothers, and for rim-running threats like Utah big men Ezra Ausar, Lawson Lovering, and others. Little will be an X-factor for Utah in Big 12 play.
Paulius Murauskas (Saint Mary’s):
The Arizona transfer entered Saturday’s game shooting 6/27 from 3 on the season - he followed that up by going 6/10 on Saturday. Murauskas came out aggressive and hunting shots. When a few went through the hoop early, it was all he needed to get himself going and play like the West Coast Conference POY candidate that he is. Only a sophomore, Murauskas should be garnering more NBA buzz as a 6’8” wing. His shotmaking and well-roundedness shined, especially in the game’s biggest moments. After Utah cut Saint Mary’s lead to two with 4:04 to play, the Gaels scored on six of their last seven possessions, with Murauskas as the engine.