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Portland, Ore. • The world called them the favorite. The Utes saw themselves as underdogs, they said afterward.
At times, they looked the part: missed shots, turnovers against pressure, dragging legs at the end of a game that felt more like a marathon.
But Utah survived.
Riding the hot hand of its 7-foot freshman against an undersized front court, the Utes slid by Stephen F. Austin in a 57-50 victory, the program's first in the NCAA Tournament since 2005.
The 5-seed took all it could from the feisty Southland Conference champion Lumberjacks, who cut Utah's lead to two with 40 seconds left. But a labored final push by the Utes got them to the free throw line and won them rebounds, and plucky SFA missed its final five shots.
Those misses were frequent, actually, against a Utah defense that stood tall when its offense wasn't exactly clinical.
"I was just thinking we were going to find a way to win," said Delon Wright, who made only 2 of his 7 shots on the night. "We were going to find a way to make free throws and get stops, which we did. We were going to win the game."
Jakob Poeltl was the centerpiece on both sides of the ball: With 18 points, 8 rebounds, 5 blocks and a perfect shooting night, the Austrian played up to his size in the biggest game of his life.
He had a way of cleaning up Utah's mistakes: When the Utes missed from outside, he corralled in boards. When a Lumberjack drove by his defender into the paint, Poeltl's massive hands weren't far behind.
But late in the game, even he seemed to be hitting a wall against the Jacks, who were looking to replicate their March success from last season when they pulled an upset. Junior Thomas Walkup seemed determined to bring them to the round of 32 again, pulling off a backdoor layup, poking out a steal and finishing another contested basket with a foul.
Utah managed to find enough answers to keep a step ahead of SFA. Poeltl notched a tip-in and hit two free throws — the weakest part of his game — that proved to be the difference.
Even when Ty Charles nailed a 3-pointer and Trey Pinkney followed up with a free throw to close the gap to two, the Utes managed to get up the floor against a press that bugged them all night and get to the free throw line. Wright and Isaiah Wright sealed up the result with some late buckets, and the Jacks rimmed out on a few desperate 3-pointers.
Utes coach Larry Krystkowiak, who won his first postseason game with the Utes, looked like he had wiped a bucket of sweat off his brow. But his defense, which held one of the nation's most efficient attacks to 33 percent shooting, gave him confidence even in those tense moments.
"I'm not sure we guarded anybody that well all year," Krystkowiak said. "That was a lot better team than 50 points. … Kudos to them for being locked in and doing the job they did defensively."
Utah needed the defense after some of its stars had clunky offensive nights. Delon Wright had 11 points, with 7 at the free throw line, and coughed up three times as many turnovers (6) as assists (2). Brandon Taylor made one shot for two points, though he had 5 assists to offset his 2 turnovers.
Wright acknowledged feeling "gassed" in the first half against SFA's speedy tempo and irritating pressure. Wright, Taylor, Poeltl, Dakarai Tucker and Jordan Loveridge all had a right to feel tired by the end: Each played at least 33 minutes on the night as Krystkowiak and Underwood each kept their best five in the game for almost all of the last 15 minutes.
Twitter: @kylegoon —
Storylines
R The Utes hold Stephen F. Austin to 33-percent shooting.
• Jakob Poeltl has 18 points, eight rebounds, five blocks and a perfect 7-of-7 shooting.
• Jordan Loveridge adds 12 points and five rebounds before fouling out.