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It will be dissected. Some will say it was the whistle-happy officiating that ended Utah's upset hopes, and some will say it was the rebounds that bounced Arizona's way.
What's not up for dispute: The No. 13-ranked Runnin' Utes saw a golden opportunity for a win over the Pac-12's best team spin out off the rim on a Brandon Taylor layup attempt in the final minute, and after that, there wasn't much they could do.
Utah's second meeting this season with No. 7 Arizona was closer than the first, but still a 63-57 loss — and this one might've been more heartrending.
"I don't know you can answer how disappointing it was. I think it's going to take some time to truly hit us how close we were."
Close was a two-point lead with 1:39 left, close enough to taste a share of first place in the Pac-12. Taylor, who had been silent for most of the night, nailed a 3-pointer that seemed to promise a win over the one conference foe that Utah has never beaten in coach Larry Krystkowiak's tenure.
But Gabe York turned it around by going to the line on the other end, causing Jakob Poeltl to foul out, and rebounding his own miss on the second attempt for an easy layup.
The one-point Arizona lead held with 43 seconds left, when the Utes got the ball after Taylor took a charge. Officials reviewed a contentious out-of-bounds call that went against the Utes, and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson made the most of it by getting to the line and sinking two free throws.
In the final big possession for Utah, the Utes — as had been the case all night — struggled to find a shot. Taylor finally got to the rim, but the ball spun casually over the iron and into the Wildcats' hands.
Hollis-Jefferson hammered in another notch in the Wildcats' belt seconds later, making a free throw, and Delon Wright couldn't hit a desperation 3-pointer, and the game was Arizona's. Again.
"It was a number of things, it wasn't just one," Krystkowiak said, trying to put a finger on the reason his team had fallen in its 11th straight meeting with the Wildcats. "
The sellout crowd of 15,165 had hoped for something more, but had that hope torn away late. The game was tight all night, with neither team managing a double-digit edge, and with 14 lead changes and 11 ties.
Frustration started early, when the referees chopped up any flow the game had with their whistles, calling a combined 46 personal fouls in the game. Utah was flagged with 26 of them, and Arizona took the most free throws of any Utah opponent this year, finishing 27 for 37 at the line.
But Krystkowiak drew attention to a battle the Utes had circled all week: the glass. Last time out, Utah was outrebounded by 21.
The Utes started the game determined not to be outmuscled on their home floor, fighting for every rebound and loose ball. They even outboarded Arizona, one of the best rebounding teams in the country, by two.
But that edge faded as the game went on. In the second half, Arizona clinched a 26-15 advantage in rebounds, which gave the Wildcats 16 second-chance points. Utah was kept alive by its 3-point shooting, hitting seven shots from deep, but ultimately 16 offensive rebounds bought the 'Cats enough lives to prevail.
Losing a shot at its first Pac-12 regular-season title — barring an unlikely 0-2 performance by Arizona next week — was hurtful enough. But Utah also got stellar contributions from its two seniors, Wright and Dallin Bachynski, playing in their final home game. Wright finished with a game-high 17 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 blocks in another characteristically wide-ranging performance, while Bachynski surged for 8 points and 5 rebounds.
It was also one of Utah's better game's defensively, holding Arizona to only 33 percent shooting. T.J. McConnell and Stanley Johnson, who had torched the Utes in the 69-51 loss in January, struggled from the floor for a combined 5 for 25.
Twitter: @kylegoon —
Storylines
R Arizona takes a lead in the last 2 minutes on Gabe York's layup.
• Utah shoots 31 percent and is outrebounded, 44-35.
• Delon Wright scores a game-high 17 points, adding five rebounds five assists and three steals.