The scene is getting all too familiar for Utah.
Away from the Huntsman Center, the Utes have shown the ability to stay close and fight hard, but eventually they fall at the end. That trend continued Thursday night as Utah dropped to 0-4 on the road in a 79-75 loss to Arizona State. The Utes have now lost their four away games by a combined 11 points.
Utah’s calling card this season has been its ability to defend. In the Utes’ previous losses it was their offense that failed them, but that script was flipped on Thursday. Down 41-37 at halftime, the Sun Devils came out and attacked Utah in the second frame. Arizona State opened the half on a 9-4 run to take the lead 46-45. Led by guard Jahii Carson, the Sun Devils relentlessly pushed the ball up the court and the Utes had no answer.
“They were pushing at us and we weren’t getting back on missed shots,” Utah guard Delon Wright said on the ESPN 700 postgame show. “They were just pushing it down our throats.”
It wasn’t just the transition game that was killing the Utes. Arizona State used swift ball movement in its half court sets, which allowed for the Sun Devil shooters to get open. Arizona State’s Jonathan Gilling broke out of a recent shooting slump by going 5-for-5 from the field, including 3-for-3 from the 3-point line. Gilling hit a back-breaking three with a minute and a half remaining to open the Sun Devil lead to six at 73-67. On the night, he finished with 13 points and six rebounds.
As for ASU’s star Carson, he had his way getting to the bucket and seemingly always came away with a layup or a foul called in his favor. Carson finished with 23 points, seven rebounds and three assists and was able to make play after play down the stretch to keep the Utes at bay.
“He was using some of the ball screens to get around our bigs,” Wright said. “He was getting some calls that were questionable in my opinion.”
Utah’s defense did not play up to its normal standard for the majority of the game, but that was masked by a hot offensive start. The Utes opened the game by hitting 5-of-7 from behind the arc. Guards Brandon Taylor and Wright, along with forwards Jordan Loveridge and Dakarai Tucker, all got in on the long-range action as the Utah used the three to built up a 28-19 lead with 8:49 remaining in the first half.
Both Arizona State and Utah suffered from foul trouble, as the referees weren’t shy in making calls. In the first half, all of the Ute bigs racked up fouls. Jeremy Olsen had three, while both Dallin Bachynski and Marko Kovacevic had two.
“We got into a little foul trouble and had to switch some matchups,” Utah assistant DeMarlo Slocum said on the postgame show.
With the Sun Devils on the ropes early, Utah was once again plagued by its inability to close out halves. Leading 41-33 with just over a minute to go in the opening session, the Utes allowed Arizona State to go on a quick 4-0 run and cut the deficit in half going into the break.
That same problem got the Utes at the end of the game, as they were once again unable to pull out the road victory.
“We’re really close,” Slocum said. “More than anything it’s mental with our guys. They’re young. They just have to understand a little more what it takes to compete on the road.”
Utah will look to recover and get its first road win when it travels to Tucson to play No. 1-ranked and undefeated Arizona on Sunday.
“It’s a great opportunity,” Slocum said. “Not many times do you get a chance to compete against the number one team in the county. The most important thing is putting this one behind us.”