Utah sits on the NCAA Tournament bubble as it heads into its final two games of the Pac-12 regular season.
And now comes one of the toughest weeks of the season.
Heading to a state where they often have issues, the Utes must sidestep disaster when they visit Oregon State on Thursday night in Corvallis, Ore.
Utah (18-11, 9-9 Pac-12) has won just four of its past 18 games at Oregon State. On Saturday, the Utes finish the regular season against Oregon in Eugene.
The Utes have been swept on the road by the Oregon schools in seven of the past 12 campaigns.
Utah was 46th in the all-important NCAA NET rankings when play began Wednesday. The Utes also are in the fight for a top-four finish and first-round bye in the upcoming Pac-12 tournament, needing to win both games in Oregon and get some help.
Utes coach Craig Smith understands the situation and is hopeful his squad will successfully process being on the bubble.
“Some teams really handle that well in the thick of it,” Smith said. “Some people can’t help but just stare at it every day. And some can’t handle it.”
Utes star big man Branden Carlson recorded 30 points and 10 rebounds on Saturday in an 88-59 rout of visiting Cal. Carlson was the first Utah player with a 30-10 game since Jakob Poeltl had 32 points and 11 rebounds against Temple on Nov. 22, 2015.
The big outing came in the final regular-season home game of Carlson’s five seasons at Utah.
“I love this program and my time here,” Carlson said. “Just to be able to get another win with this team, knowing that we’ve still got more to go and accomplish.”
Carlson leads the Utes with averages of 16.7 points and 7.0 rebounds. He also has a team-high 45 blocked shots.
Carlson had 17 points and 10 rebounds when Utah routed Oregon State 74-47 on Jan. 18 in Salt Lake City. The Beavers shot just 29.1 percent from the field.
Oregon State (12-17, 4-14) is coming off a 78-71 road loss to Oregon on Feb. 28. It was the Beavers’ eighth defeat in the past nine games.
Tyler Bilodeau matched his career best of 26 points and Jordan Pope added 22. Overall, though, Oregon State coach Wayne Tinkle was not happy with his club’s offensive execution.
“There was a key stretch in the second half, which has reared its head multiple time throughout the year, where we just got too much tunnel vision,” Tinkle said. “You penetrate to pass and we were penetrating and turning it over.”
Pope leads the Beavers with a 17.6 scoring average. Bilodeau is second at 14.2.
–Field Level Media