Great, great win!
The foundation of this victory was getting beat by Sam Houston State, IMO.
We have grit, and we have versatility.
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laat time Utah defeated a top 5 team was #1 Alabama in 2002
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The SHS and miss st game definitely won As this game. Werenāt affected by the physicality of AZ like we normally were.
Carlson stepping up was huge. Worster with a near triple double for the 2nd time in his career. Great team win!
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Theme of the weekend: Utes knock off the #4 team in the nation.
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And they passed the test. I think thatās a pretty big thing for this crew.
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That was an awesome game. Thanks to @LAUte , I was able to see it in person with a relative from overseas ā it was his first Utes MBB experience. A positive start. Haha
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You beat me to it ! But I love the sound of that.
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Nice win on the 10th anniversary of Big Ricks death! The Sweater lives on
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The last 2 minutes of the game, the entire crowd (sans the visiting Zona fans) gave the Utes a standing ovation. Great result last night and one we can hopefully build on.
During the early second half when Wildcats made a brief rally, started hearing that obnoxious familiar U of A chant, which thankfully was squashed as Utes steadied themselves and held on for our best win in a long time.
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That is only surpassed by the Southern Cal bandā¦
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I was the first to say letās hire Craig Smith. When I got push back that it should be Alex Jensen, I said letās see how well Patric Ewing has worked out for Georgetown.
Nobody has thanked me.
Also, people poopooed Smithās first recruiting class. Itās starting to look like a haul.
The Utes are back!
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I wouldnāt say the Utes are ābackā just yet. Last night was a huge step for the program, and it was wonderful to see Utah beat such a quality opponent. But letās see how the next few games go. Consistency will be the next hurdle.
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Last night was a good win. Letās see if they can keep it going. We have seen āone offā wins like this before that turned right around into a string of losses to lesser teams, AKA the WTF.
To use a version of a Yogi Berra, we arenāt back until we have proved it with a championship and a trip to March Madness. For 2023 we have a long way to go before we get to those benchmarks.
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To me, as long as Utah finishes the season mid-pack in P12 and competitive in all games, then I think it would a meaningful progress.
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What? This is what LAUte calls a Signature Win.
One thing I forgot aboutā¦Pelle Larsson transferred to Arizona. Makes this win even better. I donāt hate on players who transfer out, but if we play their new team, I want to beat them.
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Nope. But yours is a signature SU post.
Credit, brother. I remember thinking he would be a good hire, I liked what he did in Logan. (Alex Jensen is having a great career in a different sport.)
One marquee victory over a conference blue blood does not a season make, but thereās reason to think we can fight our way into the top half of the league, this year.
Smith also has the benefit of getting the ugly ball out while FB is making Ute fans very happy, so while the crowds start coming back, for all of us in Ute nationā¦ success in hoops is all gravy.
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First step in the return to competence is to GET TOUGH AT HOME. Maybe that has been accomplished?
Step 2 is to start winning some road games. Donāt expect to win them all (nobody does that) but itās a good sign if you can beat the bad teams on the road, and win a few against decent teams. WSU isnāt great, but they are OK. This next game will be a good test. Maybe weāll find out if the AZ game was a fluke, or an indication that the Utes are ready to compete for a spot in the post season.
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My sense is it was a bit of both. AZ didnāt have their best game, probably underestimated what weād bring.
But weāre clearly better, too. Keita and Exacte are newcomers that present serious problems, along with Ben as another solid, fundamentally sound big.
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