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Seattle • The look on their faces was torn between confusion and melancholy as they quietly exited the visiting locker room at Alaska Airlines Arena.
What had happened, exactly? What had happened to the No. 13-ranked program in the nation that only last week had battled for first place in the Pac-12?
The Runnin' Utes didn't seem sure of the answer after a 77-68 loss to Washington, a team that had lost 10 of its previous 11 games and took the court with seven healthy players.
"We deserved to lose," Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak said sternly. "We didn't deserve anything else."
The aura of confidence that had been chipped and cracked in the previous week was stripped away completely in Utah's defeat on Saturday afternoon, a game in which a team many thought capable of a deep NCAA Tournament run was outhustled and outgunned by the hard-luck Huskies. The loss dropped Utah (23-7, 13-5) down to the No. 3 seed in next week's Pac-12 tournament, cost it a chance at finishing second place outright in the regular season, and is likely to take a toll on its NCAA tournament seeding as well.
The Utes led 36-31 at half, but the final 20 minutes spiraled out of their control as Nigel Williams-Goss put on a clinic in star performances and Utah's own offense locked up. Washington's super sophomore guard flashed a dazzling variety of drives and pull-up jumpers on his way to 28 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists while shooting 11 for 18 from the field.
It was a continuation of a recent downward slope for the Utes: Following their first home loss of the year to Arizona, they played sluggishly in an eight-point win at Washington State a day-and-a-half before playing in Seattle. In losing to one of the worst teams in the Pac-12, the Utes have provided cause to question whether they're ready for when the losses will cost them their season.
"We lost some pride," Krystkowiak said. "Hopefully it's a nice little damn wake-up call for some guys who have been drinking some Kool-Aid that think we're a lot better than we are."
Williams-Goss delivered the final uppercut with a 3-pointer over Jordan Loveridge's outstretched hand to give Washington a seven-point lead with just over a minute left. The Utes dashed down to their own end, where Brandon Taylor launched an airball that essentially told the 7,386 fans it was permissible to start celebrating a massive upset on Washington's Senior Day.
Utah made a troubling habit of shooting itself in the foot in that second half: The Utes were ou-rebounded 17-4 in that period, even though Huskies starting center Gilles Dierickx fouled out with six minutes to go. The Utes also lost 14 turnovers, including balls that bounced of their hands, or were carelessly tossed out of bounds.
Freshman center Jakob Poeltl had one of his best starts, scoring 18 points while shooting 8 for 8 from the field while exploiting a matchup with Dierickx, pressed into starting duty by multiple departures and injuries. But the Washington defense adjusted and Utah's offense didn't: The Utes hit only 46 percent of their shots in the second half.
Over the same span, Washington blistered shooting 64 percent — not exactly the standard for one of the best defensive teams in the nation.
"It's really, really hard to explain," Poeltl said. "I think there was a lack of energy in the second half, they made a lot of shots, we missed a lot of shots. It's hard to play that way."
The game was a shootout from the start, with both teams combining to shoot for 16 of their first 24 shots. Utah's defense struggled to lock down the perimeter, where the Huskies were 8 for 14 in the game.
Senior guard Delon Wright surged at the end of the first half to help Utah take the intermission lead, but disappeared for a long stretch in the second before finishing with a team-high 21 points. Jordan Loveridge added 11 points, but Taylor was only 3-for-8 from the field for 8 points, and no other Ute finished with more than 4.
Twitter: @kylegoon —
Washington 77, No. 13 Utah 68
UTAH (23-7)
Taylor 3-8 0-0 8, Reyes 1-2 0-0 2, Loveridge 4-9 0-0 11, Poeltl 8-8 2-6 18, D. Wright 6-11 9-9 21, I. Wright 0-0 0-0 0, Chapman 1-3 0-0 2, Tucker 1-3 0-0 2, Bachynski 0-1 0-0 0, Kuzma 2-5 0-0 4. Totals 26-50 11-15 68.
WASHINGTON (16-14)
Williams-Goss 11-18 5-7 28, Anderson 4-6 4-6 15, Andrews 4-10 7-7 16, Jarreau 5-8 1-2 14, Dierickx 1-5 0-0 2, Winters 0-1 0-0 0, Kingma 0-1 2-2 2. Totals 25-49 19-24 77.
Halftime—Utah 36-31. 3-Point Goals—Utah 5-19 (Loveridge 3-7, Taylor 2-6, Kuzma 0-1, Tucker 0-2, D. Wright 0-3), Washington 8-14 (Anderson 3-3, Jarreau 3-4, Williams-Goss 1-2, Andrews 1-5). Fouled Out—Dierickx. Rebounds—Utah 23 (Poeltl 5), Washington 28 (Dierickx, Williams-Goss 6). Assists—Utah 12 (Loveridge 4), Washington 9 (Williams-Goss 3). Total Fouls—Utah 18, Washington 18. A—7,386.