Utah showed more fight in its matchup with No. 3 Iowa State on Tuesday night at the Hilton Coliseum than it had in its first two Big 12 contests.
That didn’t translate to a victory though. The deeper and more well-rounded Cyclones were simply too much for the Runnin’ Utes as they wore them down in an 82-59 result.
That keeps Utah winless in Big 12 action, as it fell to 0-3 in league play and 8-6 overall with its fourth straight defeat.
Unlike those first two Big 12 Conference games, though, Utah’s more sustained physicality and fight — and a get-right night for Gabe Madsen — left some positive impressions after two straight league games that netted little to build on.
“Obviously we’ve been struggling a little bit coming into tonight, but I thought we took a step forward with some things, and we’re not light on losing, but I thought we took a step forward for our team to where we’re trying to go,” Utah coach Craig Smith said.
Foul trouble and a swarming Iowa State defense that led to a season-high number of turnovers were the Utes’ ultimate undoing in their visit to Ames, Iowa.