This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated.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.
Everything that needed to be said had been said by the halftime buzzer.
The score told the story: 41-9.
The score told about a team that was coming off a loss and wanted to show its toughness. The score told about a defense that kept visiting Arizona State from the rim with block after block after block.
It said this: Bring on Arizona. It was the statement Utah hoped to make.
The No. 13-ranked Utes defended their home court with extreme prejudice on Saturday, coming out with fire in a eventual 83-41 win over the Sun Devils — a mere apertif of a victory on the way to a top-15 weekend matchup with Arizona.
Utah needed a palate-cleansing reset after a loss to Oregon on the road, and it did so by defending the paint. Led by Delon Wright, who characteristically stuffed the stat sheet, the Utes ran away with it early, getting a head start on resting up for facing the No. 7 Wildcats on Saturday.
"To lose a game like we did against Oregon, I think it really got some of our guys attention," Krystkowiak said. "It was just what we needed. It was a group effort."
It took four minutes for an Arizona State shot to even touch the rim.
Freshman center Jakob Poeltl's reach put many hopeful ASU chances to bed, as he asserted himself with five first-half blocks while becoming the program's record holder for blocks in a freshman season. He helped Utah accumulate more first-half blocks (10) than the Sun Devils' first-half points (9).
"Nine points — people can get that in two minutes," Wright said with a sense of awe.
In the end, Utah shot 63 percent to ASU's 28 percent, had 11 blocks and 8 steals, and had emptied out its bench.
Most in the crowd were wearing black, in solidarity with the evening's blackout promotion, but the mood became light as Utah pulled away early. Even the in-house announcer at Huntsman Center couldn't resist the low-hanging fruit: During a MUSS shooting competition during the break, he quipped, "They've scored more points than Arizona State," setting off ripples of laughter.
Wright, too, was having fun: He ricocheted an inbounds pass off Eric Jacobsen's thigh in the early second half for a pass to himself and an easy layup.
Announced Thursday as a finalist for the Oscar Robertson award, Wright made many difficult plays look like child's play. In one first-half series, he blocked a 3-pointer, threw a midair assist in transition, then got a steal for a breakaway dunk 17 seconds later.
Even before the intermission, Wright was getting regular standing ovations, such as when he swatted a shot off the glass, or when he finished a contested layup with the foul.
"The crowd was there early," Wright said of the energy in the Huntsman Center. "All the guys have been ready to get out there after our loss."
There wasn't much of an encore: Wright played only five minutes in the second half, finishing with 12 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 blocks, 3 steals and well-rested legs.
The last play of the evening was a roommate-to-roommate alley-oop from Isaiah Wright to Kyle Kuzma — the two-fisted dunk summed up the performance.
The second half was as one-sided as the first, as Utah's backups hit nine straight field goals for a 15-0 run. Eight Utes finished with at least 8 points as they increased their home win streak to 18 games dating to last season.
That streak faces its biggest threat yet as Utah takes on Arizona, the last program to leave the Huntsman Center with a victory. The Wildcats trounced Colorado on the road, 82-54.
Twitter: @kylegoon —
Storylines
R The Utes collect 10 first-half blocks to lead 41-9 at halftime.
• Delon Wright earns 12 points, five rebounds, four assists, three blocks and three steals.
• Eleven Utes score, and eight finish with eight or more points.