Runnin' Utes' scoring balance helping team find early success
Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
SALT LAKE CITY — It was a relatively quiet night for senior Branden Carlson Monday night.
Over the last few seasons, a quiet night for the Runnin' Utes' leading scorer on the road (or at home) often spelled trouble for Utah and indicated a loss was imminent — sometimes by large margins. But Monday night, Carlson's 7 points was enough.
The veteran big still filled the stat sheet with seven rebounds, three assists, two blocks and one steal — and Utah went on to beat Saint Mary's on the road with three players finishing with double digits.
The last time Carlson has been held to single-digit scoring was on Dec. 4, 2022, in a overtime game on the road against Washington State, and Carlson fouled out of the game. It's a rare occurrence for Carlson to be held to single-digit scoring; it's happened four times over the last two seasons and 12 times over the last three seasons (out of 61 games).
Though Utah will gladly welcome Carlson's scoring, Utah head coach Craig Smith is happy to finally see some balance on his team, where the workload isn't fully on his big's shoulders, even if he continues to be a leading focus on the offensive side of the ball.
"I think that's one of the things that this team has is we have a lot of balance," Utah head coach Craig Smith said. "And there's different guys that have proven it over time that they can step up to the plate and be a guy that can score 18 or more on any given night."
Having that scoring balance — whether it's Rollie Worster, Gabe Madsen, Cole Bajema, or some other player — has helped Utah position itself to build a resume worth considering in March when the NCAA Tournament rolls around.
Utah is not a complete product and there's still a long stretch before a return to the Big Dance is even a real consideration, but having that scoring balance provides the potential to make a difference in similar games the Runnin' Utes lost the last few seasons.
Already, Utah has two potential Quad 1 wins over Wake Forest and Saint Mary's, and a No. 38 rank on KenPom.com. And four of the team's five starters average double-digit points, with Lawson Lovering just a half-point shy of making it the full starting unit.
"I just think we have more guys up and down our lineup that really know how to play and have good feel for the game, and are selfless players," Smith said. "There's an old adage: Good passing teams are good shooting teams. I think we have a good passing team, which lends to being able to make more shots at a consistent basis."
Branden Carlson and Deivon Smith practice with the Utah Runnin’ Utes at the Jon M. and Karen Huntsman Basketball Facility in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2023. (Photo: Kristin Murphy, Deseret News)And though the scoring balance has Utah potentially in the mix for a postseason destination — the first since the 2017-18 season (NIT or NCAA Tournament) — Smith isn't worried about where it will take his team just yet.
"I just feel like prepare your team, let's build great habits, let's build winning habits, let's go out there and perform at a very high level and control what we can control," Smith said. "And then if we're good enough, we're going to make it; if we're not good enough, we're not going to make it. I'm really oversimplifying it, but that's the truth."
Nobody qualifies for postseason play in November.
But building upon the early successes is a good starting point. Utah now turns its focus to a seven-game stretch of games played in Salt Lake City, where the successes have the potential to be magnified by not having to travel for the next month.
The first games comes against an undefeated Hawaii team at the Delta Center Thursday (7 p.m. MST, Pac-12 Networks).
"We're gonna have our work cut out for us," Smith said. "They're playing with a ton of confidence. They're 5-0, and anytime you're 5-0 you start learning how to win, you develop a little bit of a swagger to you, and you gain a lot of confidence; and certainly they're playing with that. So it's gonna be a great test for us, and I know our guys are excited."
Utah hopes to add to its already balanced roster with the addition of transfer Deivon Smith and sophomore Wil Exacte Jr., but the team continues to be in a holding pattern as it waits for the NCAA to rule on Smith's waiver request and Exacte to return from injury.
On Wednesday, Smith said the team is "getting closer" to learning whether dynamic guard Deivon Smith will be cleared by the NCAA, but there hasn't been any movement in his case. Smith continues to practice with the team and is getting "a ton of reps" to stay "in a rhythm, staying in tempo" as he continues to learn the playbook.
If cleared, he'll be immediately inserted into the lineup to give Utah another guard that takes the team to a different level.
Exacte remains out as he recovers from injury for the foreseeable future, or as Craig Smith described the sophomore guard's status "very undetermined."
"He's had some things done and we've just got to see how he responds," Smith said. "So I don't know. We're really just taking it day-by-day to see where we're at. He's doing everything he possibly can. Nobody's more frustrated about it than Wil. Wil's a competitive guy, had a great summer, and got better."
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Josh Furlong
Josh is the Sports Director for KSL.com and beat writer covering University of Utah athletics — primarily football, men’s and women's basketball and gymnastics. He is also an Associated Press Top 25 voter for college football.
