Utah Men's Basketball Wraps Up Bay Area Swing at Stanford
PALO ALTO, Calif. – Winners of its last three, the Utah men's basketball team will look to complete a sweep of the Bay Area road swing this Saturday, Feb. 13, when it battles Stanford at 8 p.m. (MT) on Pac-12 Networks.
Ted Robinson will once again have the call on the P12N while UCLA Hall of Famer Don MacLean serves as the analyst in the 38th meeting between the Utes and Cardinal.
SCOUTING THE CARDINAL
Stanford sits at 12-8 overall and 8-6 in league play when the Utes come to town on Saturday and will host the final game of its three-game homestand. The Cardinal have gone 4-4 in their last eight games, winning two of their last three after a 69-51 loss to Colorado this past Thursday. Saturday's game will also
Oscar da Silva continues to pace Stanford, averaging 19.5 points and 7.2 rebounds while dishing out a team-high 47 assists with 23 blocks. Jaiden Delaire is averaging 12.7 points and 4.1 rebounds while freshman standout Ziaire Williams is right behind him averaging 12.1 points and 5.5 boards. Spencer Jones paces the team from 3-point late, knocking down a team-best 28 triples.
As a team, Stanford is sixth nationally and second in the Pac-12 with 328 made free throws. Da Silva has made it to the line 124 times this season, which ranks ninth nationally, while his 98 made free throws ranks 12th nationally and tops the Pac-12. The senior forward is also ninth in the NCAA in field-goals made (140) and ninth in total points (390).
LAST TIME OUT
The Utes needed some luck on the road and the basketball gods answered as Andre Kelly's second free-throw hit iron allowed Utah to secure the 76-75 win over Cal on Thursday. The back-and-forth game saw nine lead changes and four ties, including a foul as time expired that put the Golden Bears on the line to shoot two with Utah on top 76-74.
Timmy Allen led the Utes in scoring for the second-straight game and the eighth time this season with 18 points and four rebounds while freshman Ian Martinez had a breakout game with 16 points and five rebounds on 5-of-7 shooting – including nine of Utah's final 18 points. Branden Carlson was solid in the post for the Utes with 13 points and three blocks on 6-of-10 shooting. Meanwhile, Pelle Larsson had 11 points with a couple rebounds and three assists while operating the team's offense with Rylan Jones out.
Thursday was also the fifth-straight game Utah had shot 50-percent or better from the field and have won four of those five – including three straight.
UP NEXT
Utah continues their road swing the following week as it travels to the Pacific Northwest to take on Oregon State (Feb. 18) and Oregon (Feb. 20). Both games in Corvallis and Eugene are set to air on Pac-12 Networks.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Utes return home from their four-game road swing to host their final homestand starting with Oregon State on Monday, Oct. 22, at 5 p.m. bore welcoming in UCLA (Feb. 25) and USC (Feb. 27). Utah still has two games to make up against Arizona State.
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