Utah will try to pull off a shocking season sweep when it travels to No. 8 Arizona on Thursday night. The Utes have won five of their last seven games, and they picked up an 81-66 win in the first meeting between these teams. Arizona had its seven-game winning streak snapped in an 88-79 loss at Stanford on Saturday.
Utah got off to a strong start this season, winning nine of its first 11 games. The Utes have struggled to maintain that same level of consistency since then, but they are still sitting near the top of the Pac-12 standings. They are in third place in the conference heading into Thursday’s slate, sitting one game back of Arizona. Utah has won five of its last seven games, beating California and Colorado in its last two contests. The Utes are now going on the road for a pair of games in Arizona, as they will face Arizona State on Saturday.
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— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) February 16, 2023
They are getting set for their fourth game without second-leading scorer Gabe Madsen (high-ankle sprain). Lazar Stefanovic has moved into the starting lineup, scoring 26 points in a loss to Stanford last Thursday before adding 15 points against California. Madsen was averaging 11.7 points and knocking down nearly 38% of his 3-pointers. Utah has not been a strong offensive team, ranked No. 171 in effective field goal percentage (50.7) and No. 155 in turnover rate. It is facing an Arizona defense that is No. 40 in field goal percentage. The Utes are the eighth-tallest team in the country, while Arizona is No. 20 in average height.
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