Southern California guard Kobe Johnson (0) shoots as Utah center Keba Keita (13) defends during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024, in Los Angeles.
Mark J. Terrill, Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — Even though Utah had been outplayed by sub-.500 USC through much of the night late Thursday at the Galen Center, the Runnin’ Utes had a couple chances to pull out a rare road win.
That didn’t happen, though, as the Trojans handed Utah its third straight loss — and fifth in the last six games — in a 68-64 defeat.
It’s a loss sure to put the Runnin’ Utes’ already shaky NCAA hopes even more in doubt thanks to the recent slump.
“It’s hard,” Utah coach Craig Smith said. “Those are really tough losses.
“… We just kind of kept chipping away and got that lead, and then we had that tough two- to three-minute stretch there where they were able to stretch it back out to eight. But again, we found a way to give ourselves opportunities — those last three possessions — but we just didn’t take advantage of it,” Smith said.
Utah unearthed a tough, gritty defensive effort to crawl within striking distance late and went into the final minute with a chance.
After the Utes (15-10, 6-8 Pac-12) earned a defensive stop, Utah took possession with 38 seconds to play down 66-64.
Following a timeout, though, an interior pass from Gabe Madsen to Keba Keita ended up in Utah’s 13th turnover of the night, as Keita couldn’t corral the pass and it went out of bounds.
Officials originally gave Utah possession but after a review, they reversed it and gave the ball back to USC (10-15, 4-10 Pac-12).
“The most important thing you can do, and it’s easier said than done sometimes, but the No. 1 thing you can do, you’ve got to get a shot up,” Craig Smith said of that possession. “We’ve got to get a shot up, gives you an opportunity to get an offensive rebound, but we just can’t afford a turnover in that scenario.”
That forced the Utes to foul, though Boogie Ellis missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 11 seconds to play.
Deivon Smith corralled the rebound and sprinted upcourt, with the opportunity to tie the game.
He was met at the hoop, though, by Joshua Morgan, who swatted the potential game-tying layup away and teammate DJ Rodman quickly snatched up the block and raced upcourt for a game-clinching layup with less than a second left.
Just like that, the most promising chance for Utah to win away from the Huntsman Center in conference action had evaporated.
“I just tried to open it,” Deivon Smith said of his decision to attack on the Utes’ final possession. “I think I had it on the glass. I think it was goaltending, but I can’t argue with the referees. Just next play.”
There will be other chances — the Utes play four of their final six league games away from home — but Thursday night’s disappointment won’t go away anytime soon.
Utah rarely led against USC and multiple times, the Utes rallied to make it a one or two-score game.
There were two promising turns: Utah outscored USC 8-3 in the final two minutes of the first half to make it 34-29 at the break after a mostly listless first-half effort.
Then, after the Trojans pushed that lead back out to as many as nine in the first five minutes of the second half, Utah played perhaps its best two minutes on the road in league play, going on a 10-2 run to take a 51-49 lead with 13:05 remaining.
Stingy defensive and a couple rare 3-pointers from Branden Carlson and Cole Bajema sparked that run.
The game’s next eight minutes, though, were a microcosm of the road struggles that have plagued Utah this year.
The Utes missed 10 straight field goals — and 12 of 13 at one point — and had three critical turnovers in a four-minute span as USC slowly built its lead back up before enduring another late Utah run that made it a one-score game heading into the game’s final minute.
“It was a back and forth game after that first half,” Deivon Smith said. “It was just up and down, we just didn’t get enough stops.”
Smith (19 points, nine rebounds, seven assists, five turnovers) and Carlson (15 points, seven rebounds, two blocks) paced Utah on a night where it shot just 36.7% overall and a dismal 4 of 21 from 3-point range.
“We missed so many clean looks,” Craig Smith lamented.
Isaiah Collier had 15 points, six assists, five rebounds and three steals to lead a more balanced Trojan attack, while Rodman added 12 points, seven rebounds and four assists while Ellis put up 11 points on a poor shooting night for the veteran.
USC ended up shooting slightly better overall, at 40.6%, while going 5 of 25 from 3-point range.
Yes, Utah saw a noticeable improvement from the free-throw line, making 16 of 21 and showing more assertiveness in getting to the lane, but two other factors really hurt the Utes against USC.
While Utah held a 39-34 rebounding edge, including 11-10 on the offensive glass, the Trojans took much better advantage of those extra opportunities, outscoring Utah 14-4 in second-chance points.
And while both teams ended up scoring 11 points off turnovers, the Utes’ 13 turnovers felt more costly than USC’s eight.
“Turnovers really hurt you no matter when you play, but they really hurt you on the road,” Craig Smith said.
It leaves Utah searching for answers with a date against UCLA waiting on Sunday.
The Bruins (14-11, 9-5 Pac-12), who Utah beat 90-44 in Salt Lake City last month, have won eight of nine since then and six straight, including a four-point victory over Colorado on Thursday.
“We’ve got to stay together, we’ve got to keep fighting because we’re right there,” Craig Smith said. “You know, if it’s the other way around, we’ve got a lot of momentum to finish the season, but we don’t and so we’ve got to find a way against a very good UCLA team.”