Utah falls to Butler on last-second shot in College Basketball Crown – Deseret News

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Utah’s 2024-25 campaign ended in Las Vegas on Monday, and with an 86-84 loss to Butler in the first round of the College Basketball Crown, the Alex Jensen era has officially begun.

The focus moving forward will be on whether Jensen, the Runnin’ Utes legend, can get Utah back to the NCAA Tournament and reliving some of the program’s former glory.

In the present, though, the Utes — who entered the postseason with several players already in the transfer portal but willing to play — gave one final valiant effort that, again, came up short.

Pierre Brooks II drove through the Utah defense and made a driving floater with 3.2 seconds left to play, giving Butler a two-point lead, and after a timeout, the Utes didn’t get an ideal shot — Ezra Ausar ended up taking a running 3-point attempt that was off the mark — as Utah fell at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

We’ve got drama in the @CBBCrown tournament opener!! Butler’s Pierre Brooks puts the Bulldogs ahead of Utah with a drive and finish for the win. A wild conclusion in Vegas as Butler comes back from 11 down. Brooks was a beast, had 17 in the second half. pic.twitter.com/OrHYdAgJmz

— John Fanta (@John_Fanta) March 31, 2025

“It’s been such a great group to be around. And you know, I’ve been been around the college game for a long time, and there’s never been a complete season where I was excited to walk down to practice every single day. So credit to our guys. And love being around these guys, and then they do things the right way. But we just came up short tonight,” said Utah interim coach Josh Eilert.

Monday’s game at the new-fangled College Basketball Crown, where the winning team earns $300,000 of an overall $500,000 NIL package, was a microcosm of the season for Utah.

The Utes (16-17) stayed competitive and even led by double-digits, but a costly drought bit Utah again.

Butler (15-19) found itself down 60-49 just over five minutes into the second half as the Utes attacked the paint and…

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Source link : https://www.deseret.com/sports/2025/03/31/utah-basketball-butler-college-basketball-crown-analysis/

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Publish date : 2025-03-31 23:27:00

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