Craig Smith shook his head and looked down at the hardwood in disappointment, as the buzzer sounded inside of the Jon. M Huntsman Center.
Once again, his Runnin' Utes were outmatched and outclassed by a top-tier Big 12 program. This time it came at the hands of No. 25 Baylor in a 76-61 loss on Saturday evening in Salt Lake City.
It extended Utah’s losing streak to two games and their overall Big 12 record to 3-5. The Utes struggled to find a scoring option outside of junior forward Ezra Ausar, who had a team-high 19 points, and sophomore guard Miro Little, who had 12 points.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Utes forward Ezra Ausar (2) as Utah hosts Eastern Washington, NCAA basketball in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024.
The Runnin' Utes finished the game shooting 40% from the field and 21.7% from 3-point range.
Utah’s head coach said that’s been one of themes in Utah’s losses this season.
The Utes haven’t been able to find a consistent scoring identity outside of Ausar. He isn’t exactly an offensive dynamo, either. Ausar’s points come hard. He bumps and contorts his body in the paint until he can find room for a layup. Oftentimes Ausar gets fouled. On Saturday, he was 5 of 11 from the free-throw line.
Clearly, Utah’s offense could use a boost.
“I think about that all the time,” Smith said after the game. “What’s your identity, and who are you playing through? And so that’s something that we’re thinking about, obviously, all the time. Ezra has been pretty consistent, and then it’s kind of been a different guy on any given night.
“We have to have more production. We have to be able to stretch teams out from the 3-point line on a more consistent basis and keep evolving.”
Gabe Madsen’s struggles certainly haven’t helped.
The senior guard finished with five points on a 2-of-10 night from the floor. He was also 1 for 7 from 3-point range.
Madsen is averaging 9.25 points per game through eight games in conference play. He hasn’t had a double-digit scoring night since Utah’s win over TCU on Jan. 15.
He dipped and dodged through screens, hoping to find an open crevice in Baylor’s defense on Saturday. A few times Madsen found himself with room to let it fly. Instead of his usual sweet stroke, the ball too often clanked off the hoop.
Smith felt the life being sucked out of the Huntsman Center every time Madsen missed a shot. It’s been that kind of stretch for the sharpshooter.
And it’s one Utah needs to end very soon.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Utes guard Gabe Madsen (55) as Utah hosts Eastern Washington, NCAA basketball in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024.
“It’s just one of those funks,” Smith said. “It’s hard to explain. He told me that he’s never been in this kind of a situation, regardless of level he’s played at. So a lot of times you can draw back on experiences. But when you’ve never, maybe, been through something like that, it’s probably a little bit harder.
“I’m hoping it’s just a funk. We need him. We have to be better, and we have to keep supporting the man and putting in the time and encouraging him and helping him the best that we can.”
In contrast, Baylor had three players score in double figures, including Norchad Omier and V.J. Edgecombe who combined for 43 points.
Utah jumped out to an early lead in first half, taking advantage of Baylor in transition.
The Bears adjusted by using a full-court press and forcing the Runnin' Utes into tough shots.
“Transition gave us that head start when we were running the floor, pushing, scoring and converting,” Ausar said. “They played seven guys. I don’t believe that it’s hard every night. I believe it’s a challenge, and we have to accept the challenge and overcome the challenges.”
Little added: “For us, we weren’t finishing around the rim in the first half. I think we didn’t continuously apply pressure in transition [like we did] when it gave us the run in the beginning. Obviously defensive stops, I think that was a big key.”
The good news for Utah is that it has another stretch of winnable games coming up. The Runnin' Utes' next three opponents — Cincinnati, Oklahoma State and Colorado — have a combined 4-18 record in conference play.
First up is the Bearcats at 8 p.m. MT on Tuesday in Salt Lake City. If the Utes want to get back on track, a win against Cincinnati would be a good start.
“There’s always going to be times like this in the season where guys lose their rhythm and confidence, whatever it might be,” Smith said. “We just have to keep chipping away.”
