Men’s Basketball
Runnin’ Utes Win Three Games in the Huntsman Center to Reach NIT Final Four Big man Branden Carlson leaves legacy as a 1,000-point scorer and career blocked shots leader
Jordan native also became Utah’s all-time blocked shots leader this past season. In his first season with the Runnin’ Utes, Deivon Smith turned heads with his three triple-doubles in Pac-12 play —which was the most since Andre Iguodala (3) did it in 2003-04—to earn All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention accolades. It’s also just the third time in the history of the Pac-12 that a player has had three triple- doubles in a season with Smith and Iguodala trailing Jason Kidd—who had four back in 1993-94. The Decatur, Georgia, product finished the season with nine double-doubles— which is tied for third-most in league play. Going “Mad” From Three Utah flamethrower Gabe Madsen broke the school’s single- season three-point record against VCU. The 6-6 guard drained a straight-away trey and drew the foul with 4:00 on the clock to break Nick Jacobson’s record of 99 set back in 2003-04. He finished the season with 105 made three-pointers and ranked in the top 25 in the country.
The Runnin’ Utes finished their season 22-15 overall. The 22 wins is the most in a season since 2017-18, when Utah advanced to the title game of the NIT. Utah closed out the final Pac-12 regular season 9-11 and advanced to the quarterfinals of the conference tournament. Utah finished the home slate 17-2 on the year - which is the most wins at home since going 17-0 in 1999-2000. The 17 wins is the second-most ever behind the 2013-14 team (18-2). Utah opened NIT play with an 84-75 win over UC Irvine, took down Iowa 91-82, and clinched a berth in the semifinals with a 74-54 win over VCU. The Runnin’ Utes fell to Indiana State at historic Hinkle Fieldhouse in the NIT Final Four.
Postseason Awards
Branden Carlson earned his third All-Pac-12 selection, claiming a second-team honor and back-to-back first-team honors. BC (2022, ‘23, ‘24) becomes the only player in Utah history to earn three All-Pac-12 honors and joins Delon Wright (2014, ‘15) as the only other Runnin’ Ute to earn back-to-back first-team selections. Carlson was also named to the Associated Press All-Pac-12 team for the second-straight season, earning second-team selections after garnering first-team honors last season. In addition, the stalwart also picked up his second NABC All-District selection. Carlson ended his career as the 41st player in school history to reach 1,000 points. The South
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CRIMSON CLUB MAGAZINE APRIL 2024
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