Utes are a 20 point underdog.
This begins a ‘death march’ of 4 games in 8 days without Carlson, and with Mahorcic clearly hobbled. 3 of the games are vs ranked teams. Any win in these 4 would be a pleasant surprise.
Tonight at #6 Arizona, 6 PM MT time on PAC-12 network
Monday at ASU, 2 PM MT time on PAC-12 network
Thursday home vs UCLA, 9 PM MT time on FS1
Saturday home vs USC, 4:30 PM MT time on PAC-12 network
Yeah, this isn’t going to be pretty. I should send a message to my UofA buddy and concede now.
Oddly, Utah has a history of playing Arizona tough in Tucson, though they haven’t won there since joining the PAC-12. In 2012, Utah’s first season in the PAC-12, they won just six games all year. Yet Utah led at Arizona much of the way before the Wildcats pulled away late to win by 9.
The next year third-ranked Arizona beat Utah by 3 in Tucson when Utah missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer. In 2014, Arizona was #1, but the game was back and forth before Arizona again made a late run to win by 9. Utah also lost by 1 at UA in 2018 and then lost by 3 in overtime there in 2019.
And 12 minutes into this game and Utah is up 5. I don’t expect this to continue, but I like the effort.