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He had just made a floater in the lane, driving into the heart of Stanford's defense, but Delon Wright wasn't done.
Within 15 seconds, he was flying back up the court after slipping past Dorian Pickens with a steal. The sellout crowd got on its feet, and Wright left his own for another layup — one that looked effortless in the senior's hands.
In Utah's toughest Pac-12 home game this season, Wright looked the part of the Pac-12's best player while leading the Utes (19-4, 9-2) with 15 points, five rebounds and four steals in a 75-59 win over Stanford.
He shared the stage with several Utes — including Dallin Bachynski and Jordan Loveridge — but not with a foe some had expected. Wright's fellow Wooden Award candidate and the Pac-12's top scorer, Chasson Randle, took 29 minutes to get his first point, and 33 minutes to get his first basket.
While Wright shined, Randle was invisible. Consequently, Utah rolled.
Utah held Stanford to under 38 percent shooting on the evening, but limiting Randle to 10 points on 2 of 11 from the field was the clear highlight. The Cardinal star had averaged 18.2 points per game in five previous meetings with the Utes, going 4-1 against Utah.
On the sixth and possibly final matchup, they finally figured him out. Sharpshooter Brandon Taylor took a backseat on offense but was the primary pest against Randle, denying him driving lanes and shooting opportunities — even keeping him from catching passes. Plugging up Randle at last, Krystkowiak quipped, offered "an emotional release."
It was a team effort to stop all the prongs of Stanford's high-scoring attack: Top scorers Randle, Anthony Brown and Stefan Nastic were held to 32 combined points.
Krystkowiak gave Taylor a special nod in his postgame news conference.
"[Randle is] going to be a handful all the time, and we've been trying to make him take tough shots," he said. "Brandon's been doing that a lot, if you've been paying attention."
More people than ever are paying attention: The Utes had their first arena sellout since 2005 on Thursday, even if the actual turnout was a few seats short of a full house.
Utah treated fans to another Pac-12 blowout, their sixth by 16 points or more, continuing a string of domination that has them a half-game ahead of Arizona for first place. Playing the team's first home game since last month gave the team a boost.
"When the crowd screams when we do something good, it helps us out," Wright said. "We feed off of it. It helps us do what we do."
Utah didn't always shoot perfectly, but Krystkowiak was more impressed with the team's passing. The Utes had 14 assists on 25 baskets. Taylor led with eight of his own dishes, helping Utah roll out to a 15-2 run to start the second half. Even Jakob Poeltl had three assists in a foul-shortened evening.
Some inside buckets by Bachynski, who had 13 points, and some driving baskets from Loveridge, who had 12, flattened the Cardinal. Stanford trailed by as much as 19 with 15 minutes to go. Bench play was huge: The Utes reserves outscored Stanford's backups 33-5.
Utah started atypically flat, giving up 10 points in the first five minutes, including four offensive rebounds. But Brekkott Chapman sparked Utah's attack with some deep shots, and Wright stirred into action to help lead a 17-5 run in the first half.
The Utes were a little more tepid as the first half came to a close, allowing the Cardinal to tie the game at 27. But Utah finished the first period on a high note, thanks to Bachynski'sa shot-clock-beating floater and an almost identical shot before the halftime buzzer.
Twitter: @kylegoon —
Storylines
R Delon Wright leads the Utes with 15 points, five rebounds and four steals.
• Stanford's Chasson Randle struggles with 10 points on 2-for-11 shooting.
• Dallin Bachynski scores a season-high 13 points.