The lowdown: Julian Jacobs ran the show early for the Trojans, putting up USC’s first six points and a slam dunk.
Emphasis on stopping Jakob Poeltl kept the big man quiet to start while USC enjoyed contributions from the Katin Reinhardt and Jordan McLaughlin.
However, the focus on Poeltl opened up room for others in the Ute line up and the Utes opened things up late in the first half. Brandon Taylor’s three-pointer gave Utah a six-point lead with under two minutes to go. Then Kyle Kuzma’s lay up made the deficit eight as the Trojans’ shots failed to fall.