Call it revenge for last spring if you want to, but Utah's overtime win over No. 6 Duke on Saturday at Madison Square Garden wasn't as big as an NCAA Tournament win in the Sweet 16. Yet, it is an enormous feather in the cap for this group of Utes and an indication of what they might be capable of this season.
With Jimmy Fallon and other famous faces looking on, Utah overcame a gritty effort from Duke, which was playing with a rotation limited to seven players with forward Amile Jefferson out with a foot injury and leading scorer Grayson Allen fighting through illness. The Utes struggled with turnovers for the second consecutive Saturday, but unlike last week at Wichita State, they overcame the sloppiness to prevail 77-75.
They also nearly gave the victory away.
utah led by six with 10.9 seconds left but Lorenzo Bonam fouled Luke Kennard in the act of shooting and making a 3-pointer. Kennard then followed with a made free throw to trim the lead to two with six seconds left. Utah forward Dakarai Tucker then fumbled the inbound pass away to give Duke a chance to win or tie.
Brandon Ingram missed a short finger roll and the Utes survived to enjoy one of the biggest regular season wins in the recent history of its program.
Ingram took an ill-advised 3-pointer with 30 seconds left in regulation and the game tied 60-60, giving Utah a chance to win. Somehow the Utes chose not to put the ball in the hands of Jakob Poeltl and settled for an NBA-range 3-pointer that missed at the buzzer sending the game to overtime.
Poeltl was huge for the Utes late in the second half. He managed to play through foul trouble and provide three blocked shots in the final minutes of regulation giving the Utes a chance at victory. Poeltl scored 19 points and grabbed 14 rebounds before eventually fouling out in the final minute of overtime.
Duke had few answers for Poeltl, especially with Marshall Plumlee playing with four fouls for much of the second half and eventually fouling out and Jefferson not available.
It was evident from the start that Duke would need one of its most determined efforts to overcome its lack of depth and the Utes.
At halftime, Utah led by three and probably would have held a larger lead if it hadn't committed 11 turnovers. The Utes dominated Duke in the post in the first half scoring 12 of its 14 baskets in the paint and holding an 11-rebound advantage in the half.
Duke was playing again without injured forward Amile Jefferson who is out with a foot injurythat will keep him out of the lineup likely for another month. Jefferson was averaging a double-double and was the Blue Devils' best player around the basket this season before the injury. His absence opened up the paint to Utah.
The Utes were probably disappointed they didn't have a larger lead at halftime not just because of the their turnovers but also because Duke's leading scorer Grayson Allen went 0-for-7 with no points or assists in the half.
The Blue Devils started the second half 1-for-9 before Allen responded with a little offensive spark to get them back in the game. But Allen scored only seven points on 3-for-18 shooting and Utah owned the boards with an 18-rebound advantage to secure a win that should help the Utes in myriad ways going forward.
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