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2023–24 Utah Utes men's basketball team

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2023–24 Utah Utes men's basketball
NIT, Semifinals
ConferencePac-12 Conference
Record22–15 (9–11 Pac-12)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaJon M. Huntsman Center
(Capacity: 15,000)
Seasons
2023–24 Pac-12 Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 11 Arizona 15 – 5   .750 27 – 9   .750
No. 23 Washington State 14 – 6   .700 25 – 10   .714
Colorado 13 – 7   .650 26 – 11   .703
Oregon † 12 – 8   .600 24 – 12   .667
UCLA 10 – 10   .500 16 – 17   .485
Utah 9 – 11   .450 22 – 15   .595
California 9 – 11   .450 13 – 19   .406
Washington 9 – 11   .450 17 – 15   .531
USC 8 – 12   .400 15 – 18   .455
Stanford 8 – 12   .400 14 – 18   .438
Arizona State 8 – 12   .400 14 – 18   .438
Oregon State 5 – 15   .250 13 – 19   .406
† 2024 Pac-12 tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2023–24 Utah Runnin' Utes men's basketball team represented the University of Utah during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by third-year head coach Craig Smith. They played their home games at the Jon M. Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Utah started the season with strong non-conference play, winning landmark games on the road against Saint Mary's and at home against then #14th-ranked BYU. Prior to their final out-of-conference game against Bellarmine, Utah received the 29th-most votes in that week's AP poll and were projected to be a 9th-seed in that year's NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.[1] Despite being dominant at home, even giving UCLA their second-worst loss in program history,[2] the Runnin' Utes failed to win all but one conference road game, scoring a last-second basket to beat the same team in Pauley Pavilion.[3] After home losses to Arizona and Arizona State, Utah was considered to be on the bubble for an NCAA tournament bid.[4][5] After a road loss to Oregon State in which Branden Carlson scored a career-high 40 points, it was reported that "Utah’s NCAA tournament hopes were all but extinguished".[6]

This season, Branden Carlson broke the all-time Runnin' Utes blocks record, finishing the season with 241 blocks.[7] Incoming transfer Deivon Smith was unable to play until December due to double-transfer eligibility rules, but was able to debut in Utah's game against Utah Valley University after judge John P. Bailey extended a temporary restraining order in a lawsuit against the NCAA to the end of the season.[8] After becoming eligible, Smith would go on to score five triple-doubles in the rest of the season, breaking the all-time Pac-12 record that was previously held by Jason Kidd.[9]

In the 2024 Pac-12 men's tournament, Utah won their first round game against Arizona State before falling to Colorado in the quarterfinals.[10] The team played in the 2024 National Invitation Tournament, being the only Pac-12 team to accept one of two automatic bids for teams in the conference.[11] This marked the program's first appearance in a postseason tournament since the 2018 NIT six years prior. Utah advanced to the semi-finals before being eliminated by the Indiana State Sycamores.[12]

This was their final season as members of the Pac-12 Conference after 12 years before they will join the Big 12 Conference in the 2024–25 season.[13]

Previous season

[edit]

The Utes finished the 2022–23 season 17–14, 10–10 in Pac-12 play, to finish in 7th place. They lost in the first round of the Pac-12 tournament to Stanford.[14]

Offseason

[edit]

Departures

[edit]
Name Num Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departure
Gavin Baxter 0 F 6'9" 224 Senior Provo, UT Retired from basketball due to injuries[15]
Mike Saunders Jr. 2 G 6'0" 184 Junior Indianapolis, IN Transferred to McNeese State
Bostyn Holt 3 F 6'6" 193 Senior Portland, OR Graduate transferred to South Dakota
Jaxon Brenchley 5 G 6'5" 195 Senior Providence, UT Graduate transferred to Denver
Marco Anthony 10 G 6'5" 223 RS Senior San Antonio, TX Graduated
Lazar Stefanovic 20 G 6'7" 185 Sophomore Belgrade, Serbia Transferred to UCLA
Eli Ballstaedt 32 G 6'5" 198 Senior Midway, UT Walk-on; graduated

Incoming transfers

[edit]
Name Num Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous school
Hunter Erickson 0 G 6'3" 195 Junior Provo, UT Salt Lake CC
Cole Bajema 2 G 6'7" 190 GS Senior Lynden, WA Washington
Deivon Smith 5 G 6'1" 172 Senior Loganville, GA Georgia Tech
Lawson Lovering 34 C 7'1" 225 Junior Cheyenne, WY Colorado

Recruiting classes

[edit]

2023 recruiting class

[edit]
US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Jake Wahlin
#42 PF 		Provo, UT Timpview High School 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 180 lb (82 kg) May 22, 2023 
Recruiting star ratings: Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN:3/5 stars   ESPN grade: 75
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2023 Utah Basketball Commitment List". Rivals.com.
  • "Utah Utes 2023 Player Commits". ESPN.com.
  • "2023 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

2024 recruiting class

[edit]
US college sports recruiting information for 2024 recruits
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
David Katoa
#43 SG 		Salt Lake City, UT Real Salt Lake Academy 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sep 26, 2023 
Recruiting star ratings: Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars   ESPN grade: 75
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

Roster

[edit]
2023–24 Utah Utes men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Hunter Erickson 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 194 lb (88 kg) Jr Salt Lake CC Provo, UT
F 1 Ben Carlson 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 228 lb (103 kg) Sr Wisconsin Woodbury, MN
G 2 Cole Bajema 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 194 lb (88 kg) GS Washington Lynden, WA
G 3 Jayden Teat (W) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 178 lb (81 kg) Fr Capital Christian School Sacramento, CA
G 5 Deivon Smith 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 172 lb (78 kg) Sr Georgia Tech Loganville, GA
F 10 Jake Wahlin 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 206 lb (93 kg) Fr Timpview Provo, UT
G 11 Wilguens Exacte Jr. 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 233 lb (106 kg) So NBA Academy Latin America Montreal, QC
C 13 Keba Keita 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 235 lb (107 kg) So Wasatch Academy Bamako, Mali
G 14 Brandon Haddock (W) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 178 lb (81 kg) Jr Carroll HS Southlake, TX
G 21 Luka Tarlac 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 224 lb (102 kg) So International School of Belgrade Belgrade, Serbia
G 25 Rollie Worster 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 204 lb (93 kg) Sr Utah State Missoula, MT
F 32 Ayomide Bamisile (W) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 198 lb (90 kg) Fr Montverde Academy Lagos, Nigeria
C 34 Lawson Lovering 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 244 lb (111 kg) Jr Colorado Cheyenne, WY
C 35 Branden Carlson 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 223 lb (101 kg) GS Bingham HS South Jordan, UT
G 45 Jerry Huang (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 187 lb (85 kg) Fr Wasatch Academy Taipei, Taiwan
G 55 Gabe Madsen 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 203 lb (92 kg) Sr Cincinnati Rochester, MN
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: April 8, 2024

Schedule and results

[edit]
Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
November 1, 2023*
6:00 p.m. 		Westminster W 84–61  –
  18 – Bajema   9 – Be. Carlson   4 – Bajema  Jon M. Huntsman Center (–)
Salt Lake City, UT
Non-conference regular season
November 6, 2023*
7:30 p.m., P12N 		Eastern Washington W 101–66  1–0
  20 – Madsen   11 – Keita   8 – Worster  Jon M. Huntsman Center (7,632)
Salt Lake City, UT
November 10, 2023*
8:00 p.m., P12N 		UC Riverside W 82–53  2–0
  18 – Lovering   7 – tied   7 – Worster  Jon M. Huntsman Center (7,565)
Salt Lake City, UT
November 16, 2023*
7:00 p.m., ESPNU 		vs. Wake Forest
Charleston Classic quarterfinals 		W 77–70  3–0
  31 – Br. Carlson   7 – Be. Carlson   9 – Worster  TD Arena (2,745)
Charleston, SC
November 17, 2023*
2:30 p.m., ESPN2 		vs. No. 6 Houston
Charleston Classic semifinals 		L 66–76  3–1
  29 – Madsen   8 – tied   6 – Worster  TD Arena (3,029)
Charleston, SC
November 19, 2023*
3:30 p.m., ESPN 		vs. St. John's
Charleston Classic third-place game 		L 82–91  3–2
  22 – Br. Carlson   8 – Br. Carlson   3 – tied  TD Arena (3,841)
Charleston, SC
November 27, 2023*
9:00 p.m., ESPNU 		at Saint Mary's W 78–71  4–2
  17 – tied   8 – Worster   3 – Br. Carlson  University Credit Union Pavilion (3,500)
Moraga, CA
November 30, 2023*
7:00 p.m., P12N 		vs. Hawai'i W 79–66  5–2
  17 – Br. Carlson   9 – Worster   3 – Worster  Delta Center (4,686)
Salt Lake City, UT
December 5, 2023*
7:00 p.m., P12N 		Southern Utah W 88–86  6–2
  23 – Keita   10 – Be. Carlson   10 – Worster  Jon M. Huntsman Center (7,161)
Salt Lake City, UT
December 9, 2023*
5:00 p.m., P12N 		No. 14 BYU
Rivalry 		W 73–69  7–2
  17 – Madsen   8 – Br. Carlson   8 – Worster  Jon M. Huntsman Center (15,648)
Salt Lake City, UT
December 16, 2023*
2:00 p.m., P12N 		Utah Valley W 76–62  8–2
  26 – Br. Carlson   11 – Lovering   9 – Worster  Jon M. Huntsman Center (8,349)
Salt Lake City, UT
December 20, 2023*
7:00 p.m., P12N 		Bellarmine W 85–43  9–2
  17 – Lovering   9 – Be. Carlson   4 – Worster  Jon M. Huntsman Center (7,310)
Salt Lake City, UT
Pac-12 regular season
December 29, 2023
6:30 p.m., P12N 		Washington State W 80–58  10–2
(1–0) 		 20 – Madsen   11 – Keita   7 – Worster  Jon M. Huntsman Center (8,235)
Salt Lake City, UT
December 31, 2023
4:00 p.m., P12N 		Washington W 95–90  11–2
(2–0) 		 34 – Br. Carlson   11 – Madsen   7 – Br. Carlson  Jon M. Huntsman Center (7,468)
Salt Lake City, UT
January 4, 2024
9:00 p.m., ESPN2 		at Arizona State L 70–82  11–3
(2–1) 		 19 – Br. Carlson   8 – Br. Carlson   5 – Madsen  Desert Financial Arena (6,259)
Tempe, AZ
January 6, 2024
6:00 p.m., P12N 		at No. 10 Arizona L 73–92  11–4
(2–2) 		 18 – Madsen   6 – Be. Carlson   5 – Worster  McKale Center (14,688)
Tucson, AZ
January 11, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPN2 		UCLA W 90–44  12–4
(3–2) 		 14 – tied   14 – Br. Carlson   8 – Smith  Jon M. Huntsman Center (8,934)
Salt Lake City, UT
January 14, 2024
3:00 p.m., P12N 		at Stanford L 73–79  12–5
(3–3) 		 16 – tied   10 – Smith   11 – Smith  Maples Pavilion (3,037)
Stanford, CA
January 18, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPNU 		Oregon State W 74–47  13–5
(4–3) 		 18 – Keita   15 – Keita   8 – D. Smith  Jon M. Huntsman Center (8,063)
Salt Lake City, UT
January 21, 2024
1:00 p.m., ESPN 		Oregon W 80–77  14–5
(5–3) 		 24 – Smith   9 – Smith   8 – Smith  Jon M. Huntsman Center (7,919)
Salt Lake City, UT
January 24, 2024
8:00 p.m., P12N 		at Washington State L 57–79  14–6
(5–4) 		 20 – Br. Carlson   9 – Keita   3 – tied  Beasley Coliseum (2,605)
Pullman, WA
January 27, 2024
8:00 p.m., ESPN2 		at Washington L 73–98  14–7
(5–5) 		 20 – Smith   7 – Keita   3 – tied  Alaska Airlines Arena (7,419)
Seattle, WA
February 3, 2024
3:00 p.m., P12N 		Colorado
Rivalry 		W 73–68  15–7
(6–5) 		 21 – Madsen   11 – Smith   9 – Smith  Jon M. Huntsman Center (9,294)
Salt Lake City, UT
February 8, 2024
6:00 p.m., P12N 		No. 8 Arizona L 99–105 3OT 15–8
(6–6) 		 27 – Br. Carlson   15 – Br. Carlson   10 – D. Smith  Jon M. Huntsman Center (10,944)
Salt Lake City, UT
February 10, 2024
6:00 p.m., ESPN2 		Arizona State L 77–85  15–9
(6–7) 		 25 – Br. Carlson   11 – Br. Carlson   9 – Smith  Jon M. Huntsman Center (8,235)
Salt Lake City, UT
February 15, 2024
9:00 p.m., FS1 		at USC L 64–68  15–10
(6–8) 		 19 – Smith   9 – Smith   7 – Smith  Galen Center (5,122)
Los Angeles, CA
February 18, 2024
5:00 p.m., FS1 		at UCLA W 70–69  16–10
(7–8) 		 17 – tied   7 – Br. Carlson   10 – Smith  Pauley Pavilion (9,537)
Los Angeles, CA
February 24, 2024
7:00 p.m., P12N 		at Colorado
Rivalry 		L 65–89  16–11
(7–9) 		 18 – Madsen   6 – tied   5 – Smith  CU Events Center (9,075)
Boulder, CO
February 29, 2024
6:30 p.m., P12N 		Stanford W 90–68  17–11
(8–9) 		 21 – Bajema   10 – Smith   10 – Smith  Jon M. Huntsman Center (8,833)
Salt Lake City, UT
March 2, 2024
7:00 p.m., P12N 		California
Senior Night 		W 88–59  18–11
(9–9) 		 30 – Br. Carlson   10 – tied   10 – Smith  Jon M. Huntsman Center (8,841)
Salt Lake City, UT
March 7, 2024
9:00 p.m., ESPNU 		at Oregon State L 85–92  18–12
(9–10) 		 40 – Br. Carlson   7 – Br. Carlson   10 – Smith  Gill Coliseum (3,362)
Corvallis, OR
March 9, 2024
5:00 p.m., P12N 		at Oregon L 65–66  18–13
(9–11) 		 19 – Br. Carlson   6 – Smith   4 – Lovering  Matthew Knight Arena (8,668)
Eugene, OR
Pac-12 tournament
March 13, 2024
9:30 p.m., P12N 		(6) vs. (11) Arizona State
First Round 		W 90–57  19–13
  22 – Baejma   10 – tied   9 – Smith  T-Mobile Arena (10,133)
Paradise, NV
March 14, 2024
9:30 p.m., FS1 		(6) vs. (3) Colorado
Quarterfinal/rivalry 		L 58–72  19–14
  13 – tied   6 – tied   5 – Smith  T-Mobile Arena (11,428)
Paradise, NV
NIT
March 19, 2024*
9:00 p.m., ESPN2 		(2) UC Irvine
First Round – Villanova bracket 		W 84–75  20–14
  21 – Br. Carlson   11 – Br. Carlson   10 – Smith  Jon M. Huntsman Center (3,137)
Salt Lake City, UT
March 24, 2024*
7:00 p.m., ESPN2 		(2) (3) Iowa
Second Round – Villanova bracket 		W 91–82  21–14
  31 – Madsen   10 – tied   10 – Smith  Jon M. Huntsman Center (3,804)
Salt Lake City, UT
March 27, 2024*
7:00 p.m., ESPN2 		(2) VCU
Quarterfinals – Villanova bracket 		W 74–54  22–14
  18 – Madsen   11 – Smith   12 – Smith  Jon M. Huntsman Center (6,008)
Salt Lake City, UT
April 2, 2024*
5:00 p.m., ESPN 		(2) vs. (1) Indiana State
Semifinals 		L 90–100  22–15
  28 – Smith   7 – Smith   6 – Smith  Hinkle Fieldhouse 
Indianapolis, IN
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Mountain Time.

Source:[16]

Rankings

[edit]
See also: 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
Week
PollPre123456789101112131415161718Final
AP—————RVRVRVRVRVRVRVRV—
Coaches—————RVRVRVRV———RV—

*AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Judd, Brandon (January 31, 2024). "3 things we learned about Utah basketball during nonconference play". Deseret News. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
  2. ^ "Utah puts historic beat-down on UCLA". Reuters. January 11, 2024. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
  3. ^ Bolch, Ben (February 19, 2024). "Utah shocks UCLA on last-second basket, ending Bruins' six-game winning streak". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
  4. ^ Coles, Joe (February 12, 2024). "Where Utah's NCAA Tournament résumé stands after sweep by Arizona schools". Deseret News. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
  5. ^ "Bubble-riding Utah makes dreaded trip to Oregon State". CBSSports.com. March 7, 2024. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
  6. ^ Coles, Joe (March 8, 2024). "Utah's NCAA Tournament hopes all but extinguished after 92-85 loss at Oregon State". Deseret News. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
  7. ^ Bodkin, Michelle (February 10, 2024). "Branden Carlson Makes More History As A Runnin' Ute". KSL Sports. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
  8. ^ Coles, Joe (January 31, 2024). "Deivon Smith makes debut in Utah's 76-62 win over UVU". Deseret News. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
  9. ^ Bodkin, Michelle (March 27, 2024). "Deivon Smith Breaks 30-Year-Old Pac-12 Record Held By Jason Kidd". KSL Sports. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
  10. ^ Judd, Brandon (March 15, 2024). "Utah's likelihood of missing NCAA Tournament again hits home after loss in Pac-12 tournament quarterfinals". Deseret News. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
  11. ^ Daschel, Nick (March 20, 2024). "Did Oregon State turn down an invitation to play in the NIT?". Oregon Live. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
  12. ^ Judd, Brandon (April 4, 2024). "What Utah said about its run to the NIT semifinals". Deseret News. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
  13. ^ Cobb, David (August 5, 2023). "Arizona, Arizona State, Utah join Big 12: Programs follow Colorado departing Pac-12 before 2024 season". CBSSports.com. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
  14. ^ "Stanford 73-62 Utah (Mar 8, 2023) Game Recap". ESPN. Retrieved April 8, 2024.
  15. ^ Bodkin, Michelle (December 9, 2022). "Gavin Baxter Announces He Is Medically Retiring From Basketball". Philadelphia Media Network. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  16. ^ "2023-24 Men's Basketball Schedule". University of Utah Athletics. Retrieved April 8, 2024.
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