Utes rout the Huskies 76-62 to prevent the delayed season

SALT LAKE CITY – Nine months after Alfonso Plummer ignited the Pac-12 tournament with 11 3-pointers – and before COVID-19 changed the country’s sporting landscape – he led Utah to its first victory over the adversary of the Washington conference.

Plummer finished with a team-high 21 on 8 of 17 shots, including 4 of 11 from depth, and four interceptions en route to a dominant 76-62 victory over the Huskies in an empty Huntsman cross Thursday afternoon.

It took Utah (1-0, 1-0) nearly 4 minutes to shake off preseason rust and score its first points of the season – a Plummer layup – against a Washington zone defense (0-3, 0-1) which leaves little for teams to penetrate and score buckets. But the Utes settled in and chose a Huskies team that played three games in five days.

“I think we had a bit of a slow start to the game,” said Utah head coach Larry Krystkowiak. “Sometimes that part of Washington can do that to you, but I think we’ve done a really good job.”

Washington racked up a 7-point lead at the start, its biggest of the game, behind a strong rebound performance that gave the Huskies nine second chance points. But that early effort was short-lived as Utah battled over the glass and gave Washington just four second-chance points in the second half.

“The big key, I thought, in the first half was our inability to secure a defensive rebound,” Krystkowiak said. “They had nine offensive rebounds and 9 points in the first half and sent a lot of guys, a lot of athletes, to the glass. And when we limited them to one shot, we – obviously there was a a number of times we got the numbers going the other way, and it paid off for us. “

Utah used a 15-2 run midway through the first half to erase Washington’s 7-point lead and claim a 6-point lead. The Huskies fought back briefly, but the Utes avoided the race and pulled out in the second half – Utah beat Washington 39-30 in the second – for the dominant victory.

The Utes have had a balanced scoring night, with eight players scoring on a deep roster. Utah junior forward Timmy Allen added 14 points, eight rebounds and four assists; and Mikael Jantunen added 10 points and eight rebounds in Utah’s victory.

Washington’s Quade Green kept the Huskies close for most of the game with his 21 points on 8 of 18 shots, but he needed help challenging Utah. No one else on the Huskies scored in double digits, limiting the team’s ability to fight the multitalented Utah roster.

Utah has a five-day recess before returning to the Huntsman Center to welcome the non-opponent to the Idaho State conference in a 6:30 p.m. MST warning.