The Utah Utes are headed to the Sweet 16 after a 75-64 win over the Georgetown Hoyas.
After getting by #12 seed Stephen F. Austin in the Round of 64, the Utes faced the #4 seed Georgetown Hoyas on Saturday night in a fascinating and intriguing 4-5 matchup. The Hoyas beat the nation's leading scorer Tyler Harvey and #13 seed Eastern Washington in the first round, despite being questioned about a possible first round exit.
This Round of 32 game started off with an even first half that ended in a 32-32 tie. The Utes took control of the second half after 7-point leads were gained with 17:18 remaining and with 10:36 left in regulation. Those leads were relinquished following solid counter-attack basketball from the Hoyas.
Finally, after a Utes timeout with 2:18 remaining and a five-point Utah lead, the Utes went on a run that put them up by 10 with 1:28 left and iced the game. Utah made some free throws to end the game with an 11-point victory.
Utah played a very solid team game, and won the assists battle as a result. Guard Brendan Taylor led with 14 points and also dropped 5 dimes. Deion Wright scored 12 points and racked up 5 boards and 5 assists. Jakob Poeltl added 12, Dakarai Tucker 11, and Jordan Loveridge 10. This came with an impressive field goal percentage of 57.9.
The Hoyas duplicated their first half output in the latter period, scoring 32 in the second as well as the first. L.J. Peak had a game-high 18 points, and Isaac Copeland had 14. D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera recorded 12 points and 6 assists, coupled with Jabril Trawick's 10 points.
The major separation point of this game was the comparison of bench production between the two teams. Georgetown had a mere 2 bench points on the game, and the Utes had 23, including 11 from Tucker.
Georgetown will now have to go home and improve on their shortcomings in this contest. Utah, on the other hand, will enter the Sweet 16 and face the winner of the Duke-SDSU game in that round.