Some random comments:
No Gach. No Thioune. Utes only played 7 guys. On the road this would have been a loss, but it seemed the altitude got to Stanford at the end which offset the Utes short bench. Both teams really looked gassed during the last 5 minutes, and the OT.
The refs let 'em play, which helped the Utes. Stanford is deeper that Utah. Without Gach, the Utes would have had a big problem if they had any foul trouble. Stanford’s clumsy backup center fouled out, but he had to commit 15 fouls to get called for 5.
Carlson continues to blossom. He’s been gaining confidence every game and playing more aggressively. His trend is UP UP UP! The refs are rewarding his aggression, and calling him for fewer fouls. I have visions of a new Poeltl dancing in my head. Fingers are crossed.
Carlson neutralized da Silva, and without him Terry becomes their only reliable threat, so Stanford struggles to score.
Utes continue to switch defenses from zone to M2M in mid possession. It really seems to work vs teams that play good half-court offense. They have to reset, which runs down the shot clock.
Utes nearly lost the game at the FT line. They shot 50% in regulation. Then went 5/6 in the OT. That really made a difference.
Allen has to be smarter with the ball. He dribbles in to trouble and turns it over way too often. 7 turnovers last night. Utes had 18 turnovers (AAACK!) which can be a killer, but Stanford had 20 so it all cancelled out.
Utes opened the game shooting 11/15. Then shot 10/42 the rest of the way. Actually, both teams shot poorly. Not only did they shoot poorly, I thought a few of those shots might break the backboard! It was an exhibition in bricklaying! There were some comical misplayed fast breaks by both teams.
This was a huge Q1 win. Hold court at home (won’t be easy with USC and Colorado coming), sneak out 1-2 road wins (at CAL? at OSU?), and win a game in Vegas and the Utes go dancing!
My 2 cents.