Craig Smith preached about it for weeks.
Utah has struggled with physicality. The Runnin' Utes offense has lacked flow and efficiency.
But, on Saturday night, they finally put it all together in an 83-62 blowout win over Oklahoma State in Salt Lake City, its first victory in Big 12 play.
“It’s been a bit, but our guys have hung in there,” Smith said. “Mentally and it physically kept showing up. ...When you can get off to a good start, I think it gives you confidence.
“You see the ball go through the hole. That stuff can be contagious a little bit. I think our guys had a real edge to us tonight, and a real confidence to us going into tonight’s game.”
After struggling to find consistency on offense during its four-game losing streak, the Utes had a renaissance night against the Cowboys.
They shot 55.6% from the field and 40% from 3-point range. Smith’s unit had 23 assists and only 11 turnovers.
Forwards Jake Wahlin, Keanu Dawes and Ezra Ausar each scored in double figures. The Utes even made their free throws, finishing 17 of 24 from the charity stripe.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Utes center Lawson Lovering (34), dunks over Oklahoma State Cowboys forward Abou Ousmane (33), in Big 12 basketball action between the Utah Utes and the Oklahoma State Cowboys at the Jon M. Huntsman Center, on Saturday, Jan 11, 2025.
“I think we took a big step,” Ausar said. “I’m not gonna say that we’re 100% there, but we took a big step, taking the game by name, executing every week’s game plan. We’ve just been, really, taking it one game at a time and not looking ahead. We just executed this week’s plan. We won. So now it’s really onto the next.”
The next step for Utah is finding consistency. And, it’s next slew of games provides an opportunity to do just that.
The Runnin' Utes will hit the road to face TCU at 7 p.m. on Wednesday before returning home to face in-state rival BYU at 7 p.m. on Saturday.
The Cougars and Horned Frogs are a combined 3-5 in the Big 12 so far this season. If Utah wants to climb out of its 1-3 hole, next week is a prime opportunity to turn the 2024-25 season around.
“This a good League, and it’s our first time going through this league,” Smith said. “You’re learning. Every league’s different. This league is definitely different than the Pac-12 in a multitude of ways.
“I thought we just kept control and kept our poise, and just took what they gave us. I’m really proud of that. As long as we take care of the ball, we knew there was going to be open shots.”
