This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
It is something less than a mind-blowing revelation that when the nation's No. 12 team shoots 54 percent from the field and 61 percent from behind the arc, it isn't going to lose very often.
But that was Sunday's lesson: When Utah's shots fall, so do its foes.
Facing a 14-4 Washington team that had limited opponents to 61.3 points per game and .306 shooting from distance, Utah had no such trouble.
Junior Dakarai Tucker hit 7 of 8 shots, including 4 of 5 3-pointers, for a career-high 19 points.
Junior Brandon Taylor went 4 for 6 for 3, junior Jordan Loveridge went 2 of 3, and the Utes tied a season-high with 11 3-pointers.
The Huskies had clawed within five early in the second half before the hosts began raining makes.
Tucker punctuated a 17-1 run with a three. A minute later, Tucker struck again — and one.
"When you're getting stops and hitting threes, it adds up pretty quick, and a tight game can get a little bit carried away," said Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak who added that it's helped that Utah has enough in order that it can sometimes spend up to 40 minutes of its 2-hour practice sessions honing players' shots.
"We've kind of been afforded that because things are going pretty well," he said.
And Utah's defense has been stingy enough that when the Utes have hit over 39 percent of their shots, they've won. So when they hit 54 percent? See: Utah 77, Washington 56.
Loveridge has improved his 3-point shooting from 31 percent in 2013-14 to 49 percent. Taylor has gone from 40 percent to 45 percent. Senior Delon Wright from 22 percent to 32 percent.
Tucker is the rare Ute marksman who hasn't shown marked improvement, after missing the first four games with a rib injury. But Sunday, "it just decided to go in on me," he said.
Ball movement sets up the open shots, Krystkowiak said: The Utes assisted on 20 of their makes — compared to six for the Huskies — which was also a season high.
Wright, a Wooden Award candidate, scored just five points while he willingly deferred to his teammates, totaling nine assists.
Victory truly seem to be the only stat that compels the Utes right now: The Utes pass up ill-advised attempts so readily that when Krystkowiak's players take such an attempt, he said, "it sticks out like a sore thumb."
"That helps a shooting percentage."
And a winning percentage, too.
Twitter: @matthew_piper