HUGE WIN for Utah Basketball 80-77 over Oregon! | POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE

HUGE WIN for Utah Basketball 80-77 over Oregon! | POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE

either uh honestly I really don’t know yet um I put in the work my team has helped me it’s been a crazy season you know just with the waiver and stuff like that but my coaching staff and my team just the the work we put in the work I put in uh it’s all showing up as a group so I’m super happy right now Davon Craig said this might be your first time your mom’s been here for to watch you I mean that give you a little extra emotions being able to have her here uh yeah definitely definitely that’s like my best friend so uh just having her here and just to be able to watch me for the first time new location New everything I think it was just super great and she even said like she enjoyed the fans and all the people here so I think it’s just a great environment for for both of us to be in Rand you’ve been a part of a bunch of these Oregon games and it’s obviously gone on their side most of the time what what’s just been the emotions now that you finally kind of broke that losing streak against them I mean it’s good yeah they won the last time we won was the year before I got here um so so uh you know it’s it’s good to to kind of you know get back on on top here you know last season of playing them in the Pack 12 so um it’s good it just shows that this team’s really capable of you know being mentally present and focused for these games um and I thought our team had a great you know preparation leading up to this Brandon could you just talk about um the night that D had today um especially I think he had a 90 run for you guys there near the end of the game to get that lead back and take it yeah I mean it was it was impressive night uh it would have been better if he got one more rebound assist but you know I think I got they they got to do a recount they got but you know Devon’s you know he’s an amazing player you know he really helps our team and uh we just got to we’re lucky to have him and especially you know with the situations of being down a couple players you know Devon’s really going to help us you know and in all these games you know in these close games you know I think you know people people aren’t even scouting him right the people don’t know how to guard Devon yet so it’s going to be it’s going to be interesting to see how things go forward what uh what did you think about Ben’s performance out there as well I mean he hits career four pointers and with CBA being in foul trouble as much as he was he ends up going out there and playing a lot of Defense on B as well I mean Ben you know he had a great night he stepped up in a big way and we’re real proud of him and you know he’s uh he’s put in a lot of work and he continues to continues to show off for him and so uh we’re proud of that and then CBA he’s you know C’s it’s a Dante’s a load you know he’s a he’s a big guy you know K’s big but Dante’s even made be a little bit bigger than C and so it’s just the battle that those two have to go and uh you know Dante’s obviously a fifth year guy and C’s still sophomore and so you know C’s uh I thought K did some great things tonight and you know really help bring some momentum to this team D what does it say about your team that you guys were able to do what you did this week with you know two of your key contributors to the to the team out I think we just have so much depth and everybody plays hard every single player from I don’t know how many you have maybe 13 14 but everybody plays hard everybody pays attention to detail everybody was here this morning at 8:00 a.m. super focused and locked in and I think we just we take everything serious and we’re ready to take the next step forward where did the super focused and locked in energy come from cuz Craig said like it was like 8:00 a.m. and none of you guys were like half asleep still and he couldn’t believe that you know the college boys showed up so where did that was it the losing streak was it the home win streak or is it just the match up tell me about it I think there’s a lot of things I mean we’ve been called out before on the road of getting to to breakfast and looking still sleepy so I think we we were prepared this time not to do that um but as well I think we you know we really kind of emphasized how like uh meaningful this game is in a lot of ways and I think this the team really bought into that and just showed up ready to go go today then how do you feel um just being acclimated now with the youths especially after the whole waiver and all the things but you have that performance just how are you feeling being around you I feel good I feel at home like it’s my third school but I just feel the love and the energy we have super super great fans just even before I was playing so now they’re uh able to see my abilities and everything I bring and then just my teammates it’s just it’s just a super great environment it’s it’s special for us um you know uh Oregon’s a great team and and um they’ve had her number uh clearly when you come into the game in the impact 12 play when you’re two and 25 right coming into it but I I love the look our our guys had we had a great week this week obviously when you win two games but just um you know we faced some adversity this week right uh knowing that lovering wasn’t going to be able to play and and um and Raleigh wasn’t going to be able to play and we’ve had to kind of redefine some things things and play a little bit different and uh but we just had a great look and a great mentality and you know took care of business the other night but just I think tonight we just found a way we just found a way to win and you don’t know exactly how that’s going to go or what it looks like you can prepare all you want you obviously we’re all going to prepare the way we need to but we just found a way to win tonight uh so so proud of so many guys and certainly proud of our team obviously Devon was tremendous tonight with 249 and N um made some huge plays you know I think we were down five and hits back toback threes and then got another one and you know our guys were looking for him and and um just did a really good job I thought he did a great job Guardian again um that’s uh that’s two games in a row I thought he was really really good on the defensive end and uh but they’re good they got a lot of playmaking ability out there and I mean they can hit you in a lot of ways they’re probably the deepest team in the league certainly one of the two deepest teams in the league and so they can hit you in a lot of different ways and just getting in F back you know that’s his third game that was easily the best he had played he’s starting to find his Groove and feeli and he gets what 20 23 on us on 15 shot attempts and we were bringing doubles and weren’t bringing doubles and then bringing doubles back and he almost fed out our whole front line or at least it felt like that for a stretch and then of course kard is just a highlevel dude coming into tonight’s game he had made nine threes the last two games and he certainly um continued his stretch going seven for 10 from the three for 2 six and we just didn’t have a lot of answers for him got he got going early on in that game but L the resiliency made some plays late executed at the very end um except for the free throw box out and uh found a way to win you know at home and so at the end of the day it’s a great win for us um but it’s also whenn we took care of business got a win at home in this league and you see it all around the country so found a way and got a tough road trip coming up this week the free throws obviously been rough for you but Bima hits those last four what what are kind of your emotions in those those moments knowing that it hasn’t been that easy for lately you know it it it’s interesting because everywhere you look now it’s everyone talking about it and it’s like I I feel like we’re a good free throw shooting team we certainly we were for the you know noncon playay uh it was nice to see him go in you know BC gets foued early in the game right on the three makes all three and so I thought we did a good job at the line what I what I’m excited about the most we got fouled like I thought we got aggressive to the rim and we’re in attack mode and and um and then down the stretch we made and wi the count I think we missed one late um was all so you got to be able to finish teams off you got to be able to make those free throws uh special teams took care of the you know 14 turnover was a little high but late in the game for the mo we took care of it we were sloppy there for in transition mainly we just got to take care of the ball better uh in transition um but yeah we we stepped up to the plate we’re I I know our numbers don’t show it I feel good about our free throw shooting we just got to be able to keep pushing forward 11 and0 at home that’s a really crazy statistic I’m just talking about because I saw you also get in the crowd like involved at the end there you’re like let’s hear it just I you alluded to it but what does it mean to play here and and perform like that yeah I think um you know and that that’s what the best teams do right you just you just build this home court advantage where it becomes uh a very difficult place and a VA you know vaunted Place whatever you want to call it where you know everybody’s engaged and excited and it’s an event and everybody impacts winning and you know today’s a tough day meaning a tough day for a Sunday at 1 o’clock right at home that’s a it’s a hard time and it’s a hard day and uh and I am proud because it’s certainly you could feel that crowd the second half no doubt you know I’ve only been here two this is year three obviously 20 games into it now you say we’re 11 and0 kind of hits you that we’re 20 games in already like it’s it’s gone fast and so um but there’s no doubt down the stretch but in and we did get this thing going but our fans and you know them shooting free throws late in the game and the mus and our just doing the whole um thing it makes a difference it impacts winning and so I’m proud of and and grateful for everybody that came out to support the the running Utes today but you know I just think that’s what Elite you know great programs do we’re aspiring to be an elite program and and we’re working you know step by step to get there I feel like Deon is a perfect presentation of a running you because he’s just everywhere at all times and of course you’ve now just integrated him somei recently um just talk about his growth with your guys’s ability on the court yeah clearly I mean he’s a very talented guy as we said he’s he when we recruited him and I told him this when we recruited him whether you get your waiver or don’t get your waiver we really want you to be a running you and just getting to know him and build a relationship with him and what he’s about the things that he says um was really a no-brainer for us and so you know I can’t speak for him I knew he’d fit in well with our Style and what we’re doing it didn’t take a crazy amount of time to figure out just um his numbers from a year ago I didn’t we didn’t think were going to be the case here but you got to go prove it and certainly now I mean he I’m you know I don’t know what his record is for number of minutes played but I’m guessing he played 37 or 38 minutes we got 37 minutes and 40 seconds and he just kept going you know what I mean I was are you okay are you good I’m good you know and and he was good he was really good um but you know what I’m proud of him most is I mean it’s easy to look at the scoring and stuff and and obviously I’m excited because he can make that play I mean even the play where he missed the layup at the end that kind of floer it almost looked like he didn’t even landed to get the offense rebound tip back and obviously he did but um he can make a lot of plays in a lot of ways and you get 24 points but you have nine rebounds and nine assists I mean you’re doing a lot of things right and he was guarding the other team’s best the hot hand so to speak uh depending on uh the time but he’s really fit in well his mom was here tonight and I think that’s his first time his mom had watched him play at the University of Utah um so that was exciting too how encouraging was it to see Ben really just step up offensively oh man he was outstanding in every way I mean obviously four for six from the three um you know teams teams I mean I’ve been doing this a long time teams throw a lot of different defensive coverages at us and so I was a little bit frustrated early in the game because we weren’t executing kind of the way our guys know how to especially with BC and Ben and depending on who they have guarding who so I thought we really settled in I mean the second half on offense we scored we shot 60% like that’s hard to do against these guys they’re just so athletic cover so much ground um but it was a lot of guys obviously Ben D between Devon and Ben we got a lot of things going that way and Ben looked really comfortable and he’s kind of a silent I I mean he’s just kind of that guy he’s always there he’s always ready he’s always prepared he always gives his best and um uh he he was outstanding and he guarded uh uh with CBA being in foul trouble he actually guarded and fall Le Dante a lot because Ben is such a strong sturdy guy and really understands position defense uh but he was outstanding and then another thing you know just simply defensive rebounding like our bigs you know CBA only gets you know eight roughly 18 minutes but Devon gets nine rebounds Cole gets nine and Gabe gets six against this team we felt like our guards have to rebound and our fours and fives got to do a great job boxing them out you know Dante had nine offense rebounds against us on our home court a year ago and we just could not let that happen again you guys head out on the road obviously this week against two teams that you’ve already faced took care of them here yeah what do you need to do to kind of carry over the success you’ve had this week and that energy those Road first of all I think you hit it on the head our energy we haven’t had uh uh we we just got to play with more uh Gusto and spirit and fight uh but we just got to be better we haven’t when we’ve been on the road we have not eliminated losing like we just just uh depending on the night it’s been a popery of things it’s just been a little bit of everything but most of it has been the defensive end of the floor and um and so we have to be better and Washington State I mean has been unbelievable at home uh obviously beating Arizona uh they are they are really really good and they’re and they play a lot of different guys they make it’s just it’s a rot Canal when you play them it’s very very difficult and Washington is a high octane offense uh we haven’t been up there for a couple years it’s going to be a very difficult road trip um and so we’re going to have to play a lot better what was your um right spot briest point of tonight’s game what is something you look back on tonight’s game and you’re like man we had this point I thought we just were super connected all night I just felt it felt like we just had a great look to us every timeout that we came you know the media timeouts or timeouts or whatever when they were calling timeouts or we were calling timeouts we our guys just had a great look to us there was never any doubt there was never any doubt there was never any oh this or that or like there was just a connectivity and a spirit and a look to us and we had shoot around this morning um you know what 8:15 or whatever it was before pregame meal at 9: and we haven’t had many 1:00 games and you know sometimes These Guys these guys are college young men and so the morning isn’t always the best time of day for them and I’m tell when you walked in this morning we just had a great look there was nobody wiping the sleep out of their eyes there was nobody that looked like they had just woke up we came in here and we were ready to roll and I thought we had that look in demeanor all day w

Deivon Smith, Branden Carlson and Head Coach Craig Smith after the Runnin’ Utes topped Oregon 80-77 to move to 14-5 on the season and 11-0 at home in the Huntsman Center. Smith led the Ures with 24 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists while Carlson put in 12 points and grabbed 3 boards. Utah is back in action at Washington State and Washington on the road. Come watch the Utes play! https://www.utahtickets.com

Watch more Utah Basketball Videos! https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL87-w9g0gwyPqYgpJ07rwIv8fZju9y3hy

Be sure to subscribe for all the latest videos on your Utes!

Follow Utah Athletics on Social Media!
Twitter: https://twitter.com/utahathletics
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/utahathletics/
Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/18995940959/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@utahathletics?_t=8VZgDemS3Rr&_r=1

#GoUtes #UtahBasketball