Lynne Roberts stood in front of her bench, arms folded, knowing exactly where the smallest of breakdowns allowed one of the best teams in college basketball to re-center itself. When a defensive rotation wasn’t quick enough, and an Oregon Duck let loose a wide-open 3-pointer that splashed through the net, Utah’s coach remained stoic for a few seconds.
The Utes, through early self-inflicted mistakes and untimely defensive lapses, were nearly run out of their own gym Sunday afternoon at the Huntsman Center. Utah’s second unit bailed out the starters, who struggled to find their footing in the first half, but whenever the Utes came close to pulling even with No.