'It's never over': Gabe Madsen makes history as Runnin' Utes upset No. 17 Kansas at home

SALT LAKE CITY — The Huntsman Center had a different vibe entering Saturday night's late matchup against No. 17 Kansas.

Sure, there were hoards of Kansas fans in attendance to check out one of the blue bloods of the sport, but the energy in the arena was palpable for the home team even before tipoff.

And for the full 40 minutes of game time, the Runnin' Utes never trailed to the ranked Jayhawks.

Kansas had multiple chances to take a lead, including during a seven-minute scoring drought by Utah in the second half, but the Jayhawks could never get closer than tying up the game.

Ezra Ausar hit a game-changing shot to end the scoring drought, and Utah went on to pull away for a 74-67 win over Kansas.

"It's a great win. I'm just so happy for our players, just incredibly happy for our players and our staff," Utah head coach Craig Smith said. "It's a heck of a team, obviously, it's a blue blood, and they're ranked in the top 20, and they're good. They're really, really talented."

No shot was bigger for Utah (14-11, 6-8 Big 12), though, than Gabe Madsen side-stepping his defender and drilling a 3-pointer with 1:54 left in the game. The senior sharpshooter gave the Runnin' Utes a 7-point lead; but more importantly, the shot made him the all-time 3-point leader in program history.

"It's really rewarding. He's such a great kid," Smith said. "All he cares about is winning. That dude doesn't care. Like, is it cool? Yeah. (The) guy's always been about the team; it's all he cares about."

Added Madsen, who said he didn't know about the record until right before game time: "I mean, it's been an up-and-down year for me shooting wise, so to do it tonight and in that fashion is just, it's pretty cool. I mean, that's one I'll remember for a long time."

His shot was a big one, and one that helped keep the Utes ahead for the duration as Kansas (17-8, 8-6 Big 12) had few answers but to hope that Utah would miss from the free-throw line.

And to Utah's credit, the team finished 5-of-6 from the charity stripe in the final two minutes of the game.

Utah shot just 37% from the field but got a star performance from Madsen, who finished with a team-leading 24 points — including five made 3-pointers — and three rebounds. Ausar supplied an additional 12 points and eight rebounds in the win.

Despite the low shooting percentage, Utah had only seven turnovers and outrebounded Kansas 16-6 on offensive rebounds. That, mixed with Utah getting 22 points off Kansas' 12 turnovers was a big reason for the Jayhawks' demise, Kansas head coach Bill Self said.

"They kicked our butt on the glass, and then our turnovers led to points for them, and that was the biggest difference in the outcome; although there was a lot of other things we didn't do well, but rebounding and taking care of the ball crushed us," Self said.

Additionally, Utah did well on defense, utilizing an effective switching defense that limited Kansas from having much success in the post; and for a team that is built to work inside-out, Utah did well to take away the Jayhawks' strength in Hunter Dickinson in the post.

"They switched a lot, and I think that did give us problems," Self said. "We didn't throw the ball inside at all. Hunter was not a post presence at all early; and then when he was late in the first half, I think he missed three bunnies that he'd normally make. ... But I thought they did a good job not letting us drive it get to the paint, and their switches were good. So I think they scouted this pretty well."

The Jayhawks were led in scoring by Zeke Mayo, who finished with 15 points, six rebounds and three assists in the loss. Dickinson finished with 12 points and seven rebounds.

Utah started out the night on a 10-3 run that forced Self to quickly call a timeout in an effort to stop the home team's momentum. Kansas made several efforts to overtake the lead, but Utah had an answer every time — even as Kansas tied up the game four times.

The Utes used that early momentum to build up a 10-point lead in the first half, which helped when the team went on a five-minute scoring drought. But much like later in the game when Ausar ended a long scoring drought, the East Carolina transfer came up big and got the Utes back to scoring and a lead.

The win itself was improbable, especially given Utah's recent loses to Cincinnati and West Virginia, but Madsen credited the team for staying engaged in the season and never giving up despite the challenges.

"I mean, it's just basketball at the end of the day," Madsen said. "So, if you can just figure it out at the right time, who knows what can happen. I think that's kind of what the mindset we're keeping is, like, it's never over."

Jake Wahlin, who contributed 10 points and 12 rebounds, said the team's mantra throughout the game was to "finish." Utah has played many of the top Big 12 teams tough — even holding leads — but the team hasn't been able to finish and have let games slip away.

"Learning to finish a game is a skill, but it feels really good," Wahlin said, who admitted that Saturday's win was a bit emotional for him given everything this season.

Utah has a short turnaround before hosting a Kansas State team that was previously on a six-game winning streak before suffering a loss to BYU in Provo Saturday night. The Utes and Wildcats will resume action Monday (7 p.m. MST, ESPN2).

Related topics