Washington puts Utah on blast, 98-73
Jan 20, 2024; Stanford, California, USA; Washington Huskies head coach Mike Hopkins watches the play against the Stanford Cardinal during the first half at Maples Pavilion. credits: Robert Edwards-USA TODAY Sports Keion Brooks Jr. scored a game-high 27 points and Washington hit 57.4 percent of its field-goal attempts in a 98-73 Pac-12 Conference rout of Utah in Seattle on Saturday night.
Rutgers transfer Paul Mulcahy added 18 points, his highest-scoring game for the Huskies (12-9, 4-6 Pac-12), while Moses Wood chipped in 17 points. Sahvir Wheeler contributed 12 points and 10 assists as Washington rolled up advantages of 18-4 in fastbreak points and 23-13 in points off turnovers.
Deivon Smith scored 20 points for the Utes (14-7, 5-5), who were blown out for the second time this week on the road. They fell apart down the stretch on Wednesday night during a 79-57 setback at Washington State and trailed for all but 57 seconds of this one.
Not only did Utah play poor defense, but it also couldn't make up for it with anything else. It hit 46.8 percent of its shots from the field, requiring a late surge to get there, and committed 14 turnovers. Ben Carlson added 13 points for the Utes, but leading scorer Branden Carlson was held to nine points on nine shots in 30 mostly fruitless minutes.
Brooks set the tone on the Huskies' first possession, nailing a 3-pointer late in the shot clock. He later dunked and canned a midrange jumper during a 9-0 run that erased the only Utah lead of the game.
Two first-half foul shots by Mulcahy with 10:46 on the clock gave Washington its first double-digit advantage at 21-10. The margin reached 15 on two occasions before the Utes delivered their only pushback of the night, climbing within 37-30 at the 3:30 mark when Keba Keita converted a layup.
But the Huskies pulled away for good in the final three minutes of the half, as Mulcahy converted a layup and later canned a 3-pointer as part of a 9-0 run, making it 46-30 at intermission.
Any thoughts of a Utah rally in the second half disappeared with an 11-1 Washington burst to open the period. Mulcahy made a layup with 17:37 remaining for a 57-31 cushion, and the game's remainder was a race to the final horn.
—Field Level Media