Utah knocked down 13 threes, and the Utes’ work on defense was also key in a 74-54 win over VCU in an NIT quarterfinals matchup on Wednesday night.
Sean Bairstow, led the Rams (24-14) with 13 points.
Deivon Smith recorded a triple double with 15 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds to lead Utah (22-14).
Gabe Madsen buried 6-of-12 from beyond the three-point arc and added 18 points for Utah, which was 13-of-33 from three and shot 44 percent (28-of-63) overall for the game.
VCU fell behind 18-2 at the outset, but whittled the Utah lead to 23-20 on a free throw by senior guard Zeb Jackson with 5:57 left in the first half. Madsen and Branden Carlson buried back-to-back 3-pointers off VCU turnovers to push the Utah lead back to nine. Utah led 36-26 at the break.
The Utes removed all doubt with an 11-0 run, sparked by two Madsen treys, to take a 47-28 lead with 16:13 left in the game.
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Chris Graham
