Utah Runnin’ Utes basketball stuns No. 4 Arizona Wildcats

Utah won in an upset 81-66, possibly the greatest moment of Craig Smith’s coaching tenure to date.

With the clock ticking away at the Huntsman Center, Lazar Stefanovic stepped onto the frontcourt. His sophomore Utah Runnin’ Utes smiled broadly and flapped his arms up and down to tell us that the crowd was bigger than before. They were joined by junior guard Laurie Wooster and senior center Branden Carlson.

When the buzzer sounded, the entire Runnin’ Utes team huddled, jumping and cheering. Coach Craig Smith rushed into the stands to thank members of his student section and the university’s Greek row, then sharing time with his wife and kids.

Inside the tunnel, a Utah state official handed Smith a phone and said that college president Taylor Randall was on the phone. After the call ended, I heard the players and coaches in the locker room chanting “Heeyyy, what’s up what’s up.”

It was a fitting celebration for the team selected as 10th in the Pac-12. It’s a fitting celebration for a coach who ended up with just his 11 wins in his first season at the helm after earning his NCAA Tournament appearance in his three consecutive seasons at Utah State.

When Utah defeated the No. 4 Arizona Wildcats 81-66 in front of 6,495 fans on Thursday, it made the conference, and perhaps even the country, aware.

“Don’t doubt us,” Carlson said when asked what message Victor had sent to Pac-12. “Don’t count us.”

Utah gave defending Pac-12 champions Arizona their first loss of the season. The Wildcats were also 6.5-point favorites to win Thursday, but the Running Youth accepted the prophecy and sent them home in disgrace.

When asked what this win meant for him, Smith turned his attention away from himself. focused. Because there are few opportunities to do so.

“I think this is a big win for our program, a big win for our fan base,” Smith said.

Carlson led the way in the running Utes with 22 points. He shot 5 of his 9 from his line from 3-pointer, had 5 rebounds and he added 2 blocks. After the Wildcats cut a 19-point deficit in the first half to just six, his 3-point make, perhaps his most meaningful, came in under his 14 minutes in the second half.

Carlson’s shot gave Utah a nine-point lead, culminating in senior guard Marco Anthony’s layup to give the team a 70-50 lead with less than eight minutes remaining.

Carlson is Utah’s leading scorer and one of the most experienced players. But when the team needed a star performance on Thursday, he saw the time on the call sheet, showed up early and delivered an award-worthy performance.

“He looked like you’d expect an All-League player, a fourth-year player,” Smith said of Carlson. “Everyone wants to be a man until it’s time to be a man. And when you’re a man, you have to show up every day and you’re going to get everyone’s best punch. But , he just looked wide-eyed.”

Not only did Carlson score and have to do so in some key moments, he also had to defend Arizona big men Ąžuolas Tubelis and Ourmar Ballo. They scored 42 points in total, but Carlsson physically linked up with them, blocking one of Tubulis’ shots in the opening minutes of the game.

“I had to be ready and go out and play physical,” Carlson said. “My team did the same.”

Wooster, whom Smith coached at Utah State, nearly had a triple-double with 12 points, 11 rebounds, and nine assists. Running he was arguably the best game of his college career on a night when the Youths needed his play strong guards on both ends of the floor. He made two free throws to give Utah an 11-point lead.

It remains to be seen how well the Runnin’ Utes will compete with the rest of the Pac-12 for the rest of the season. But for at least one night, they deserved to smile, cheer, jump, and have fun like kings.

“It was very exciting,” Carlsson said of how he felt after the match. “It was a battle all the way through.