The University of Utah basketball team opened up the Pac-12′s Bay Area trip by outlasting Cal, 76-75, at Haas Pavilion on Thursday afternoon. Here are three quick takeaways.
1. Utah blew another double-digit halftime lead, but this was different: Cal made up its entire 10-point halftime deficit, taking a 57-55 lead inside 9:00 to play, but Utah did not fold. This game felt similar to a couple of weeks ago at Washington, the Utes in control most of the way, but needing to grind it out down the stretch on the road. Utah was not able to close out the Huskies in Seattle, but they were able to close out the Golden Bears in Berkeley.
2. Despite foul trouble, Branden Carlson played well: The 7-foot sophomore center picked up his third foul with about 18:00 to go. He sat, but Larry Krystkowiak went back to him with 14:42 to play and it paid off. Carlson finished with 13 points on 6-for-10 shooting in 28 minutes, but what stood out was his defense. Carlson took a few chances on that end, cracking back to help at the rim, but he was smart about it, not getting too aggressive.
3. Rylan Jones is injured: The junior point guard was in street clothes, complete with a sling, Thursday afternoon with what the Pac-12 Network broadcast called a right shoulder injury. Alfonso Plummer started for the first time in nine games, while Pelle Larsson took over much of the ball-handling duties. Losing Jones is not ideal, but Utah’s backcourt has enough depth to overcome that. Ian Martinez handled the ball some, as did Timmy Allen in a point-forward role.
The Tribune will update this story
