PORTLAND – Not 15 minutes after he and his teammates advanced to the Sweet 16, Jordan Loveridge indulged in a meal that should only be had on special occasions.
Utah had just beaten Georgetown, 75-64. So what was the junior’s postgame fare?
Buffalo wings and cheesecake.
Utah was in the mood to feast Saturday in the Moda Center. The Utes continued their first NCAA Tournament run since 2009 by advancing to their first Sweet 16 since 2005.
Utah is only three years removed from going 6-25, followed by 15-18. So Loveridge and his Utah teammates were feeling extra rich on Saturday.
“It has come a long way,” Loveridge said. “We feel very grateful to be a part of it. It’s a special moment. We’re trying to enjoy it and keep winning games.”
And no conference has seen its teams pick the bones of its opponents more than Pac-12. A conference many experts didn’t consider among the nation’s five best is now 7-0 in the NCAA Tournament. Oregon can join Utah, Arizona and UCLA in the Sweet 16 today.
Earlier Saturday, Arizona punched its Sweet 16 ticket on the same court as Utah. Utes guard Chris Reyes said facing Arizona was a perfect guide toward navigating the perils of the NCAA tournament.
“Arizona really helped us out with their physicality,” Reyes said. “We knew that Georgetown was going to come out and be physical. Facing Arizona helped us come up with our game plan.”
That game plan included sharing the ball and eliminating turnovers. Utah succeeded on both counts.
Five Utes scored in double-figures, led by Brandon Taylor’s 14 points. Utah had just nine turnovers compared to 17 in its tournament opener Thursday against Stephen F. Austin.
“Our goal was less than ten,” Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak said. “I wrote it on the board. For us to have nine I thought was huge.”
Utah had its resiliency and patience tested by a Georgetown team that started the game on fire.
Long-range shots had the Hoyas hopping early. Georgetown made five of its first seven from 3-point range to take a 21-10 lead.
“I told our guys ‘don’t panic,’ Krystkowiak said. “I’ve been in a lot of games … there gets to be a little bit of complacency on the opponent’s part.”
It wasn’t long before long-range shots had the Hoyas hobbling. Georgetown made one of its next eight and saw the first half end tied at 32.
“We went through a phase towards the end of the first half where we fell in love with shooting those jump shots,” Georgetown coach John Thompson III said. “We didn’t attack the rim enough and didn’t get the ball inside enough.”
Utah, on the other hand, created high-quality looks and shot 57.9 percent from the field.
“We take pride in taking good shots,” Taylor said. “When we take good shots, they tend to fall in.”
Twice, Utah stretched its lead to seven points in the second half. Twice Georgetown fought back and pulled even.
But Utah’s third push put the game away. Utah went on a 13-6 run over a five minute stretch, capped by a Taylor 3-pointer that put the Utes up 64-57 with 2:47 to play.
L.J. Peak led Georgetown with 18 points. But leading scorer D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera struggled, shooting 6 for 15 including 0 for 7 from 3-point range. He finished with 12 points, 4.5 below his season average.
