Utes advance to NIT Final Four after beating VCU
SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4 Sports) – Deivon Smith recorded his fifth triple-double of the season, as the Utes basketball team advances to the NIT Final Four with a dominating 74-54 win over VCU at the Huntsman Center Wednesday night.
The Utes will face top-seeded Indiana State at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis Tuesday, April 2 at 5:00 p.m. MST.
“That’s a great win for the Runnin’ Utes,” said head coach Craig Smith. “I’m so happy, so proud of our team. Just the way we competed today, tt was just tremendous in so many facets.”
Gabe Madsen made 6 of 11 three-pointers to finish with a team-high 18 points, while Branden Carlson scored 17 points in his final game at the Huntsman Center.
Utah (22-14) finishes the season 17-2 at home.
Madsen, Smith lead Utes into NIT quarterfinals
Smith finished with 15 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists. His five triple-doubles passes Cal’s Jason Kidd for the most ever in a season by a Pac-12 player.
“Honestly, before game, [the record] didn’t mean anything,” Smith said. “But tonight, I really wanted to break it, especially at home. I really wanted it tonight. My teammates make my job way easier.”
The Utes stormed out to an 18-2 lead to start the game, but the Rams came back to cut the deficit to 23-20. Madsen’s 100th three-pointer of the season, setting a school record, and Smith’s three-ball at the buzzer gave the Utes a 36-26 lead at the break.
The second half was all Utah. They opened the half on a 16-6 run and led by as many as 29 points. VCU never got closer than 17 points in the second half. Utah led for all but 20 seconds of the game.
“I thought we had a great mindset coming out tonight,” said Carlson. “Everyone competed really hard, and VCU is a great team. So we knew we had to be ready to go.”
Keba Keita added eight points, while Lawson Lovering pulled down nine rebounds.
The Utes made 13 of 33 three-pointers, and held the Rams to just 32.8 percent shooting from the field.
Former Utah State star Sean Bairstow led the Rams with 13 points. He was the only VCU player to score in double figures.
Indiana State (31-6) advanced to the NIT Final Four with an 86-61 win over Cincinnati on Tuesday.
Utes ‘deeply troubled and shaken’ by racist incident
This is the first time Utah has made it to the NIT Final Four since 2018, when the Utes lost to Penn State in the semifinals.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC4 Utah.
