This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
All signs leading to tipoff pointed to the Utes getting into a dogfight, but by the end of the first half California's bark had proven much worse than its bite.
Utah kept its hopes of landing the fourth seed in the Pac-12 tournament alive with a 74-44 victory over the Bears on Thursday at the Huntsman Center. The 44 points were a season-low for California.
"I truly sense that things are starting to get a little bit clearer," Utah head coach Larry Krystkowiak said. "We're doing a nice job defensively. We played every possession of tonight's game man-to-man, and guys locked in and took a lot of pride in defending."
California (19-10, 10-7 Pac-12) came into the night with a chance to lock up the fourth seed in next week's conference tournament. A win over the Utes (19-10, 10-7) and Cal could have secured a first-round bye, but the Utes' victory assures the seeding will come down to the final day of the regular season.
Four players scored 11 points or more for the Utes, who shot 51 percent from the floor. Sophomore guard Sedrick Barefield scored a game-high 14 points, while junior forwards Kyle Kuzma and David Collette added 12 points apiece and while senior guard Lorenzo Bonam scored 11 points. Barefield hadn't scored in double figures since Jan. 18 against Washington State.
The Utes held Cal to season-low 23.5 percent shooting for the game. Cal's top perimeter scoring threat, senior guard Jabari Bird, came into the night averaging 14.7 points per game but was held to six points on Thursday. Grant Mullins led Cal with 11 points.
"The first game we really sat a lot in zone because we were worried about foul trouble and guarding [Ivan] Rabb, because he's a great player," Kuzma said, referring to an overtime loss in Berkeley on Feb. 2. "We knew coming in that we could really guard them. It showed today. We were all dialed in."
The Utes' lead reached 22 points in the first half after Parker Van Dyke's steal led to a Kuzma dunk, followed by a Bonam steal which set up an old-fashioned three-point play by Jojo Zamora that made the score 39-17 with 2:32 left before halftime. The Utes led 42-22 at intermission.
Cal has the Pac-12's top defense and 12th-ranked defense in Division I, but the Utes shot an eye-popping 52 percent in the opening half. The Utes spread the scoring around with seven players scoring three points or more in the first half.
Cal didn't make a field goal for the first six minutes, 10 seconds of the second half. Despite Bonam getting into foul trouble in the second half, the Utes lead stretched to 30 points on a Jayce Johnson putback with 5:12 remaining, and led by as many as 32 points in the second half.
The Utes can get the fourth seed with a win on Saturday and a Cal loss to Colorado.
"That was big time for us," Collette said. "That's what we were looking for. We'll just hope that everything falls in place on Saturday."
Twitter: @LWorthySports —
Storylines
R The Utes keep their hopes of a first-round bye in the Pac-12 tournament alive with a win over California.
• Four players score 11 points or more for the Utes.
• The Utes hold California to a season-low 23.5 percent shooting for the game.