Brandon Taylor’s 3-pointer helps surging Utah finally beat Arizona
Two of the worst games of Utah guard Brandon Taylor’s basketball career occurred earlier this month within 72 hours of one another.
Taylor scored only one basket at Oregon State on Feb. 4 and cost his team a win with a late blunder, fouling guard Stephen Thompson on a last-second half-court shot when the Utes were leading by a single point. He was even worse at Oregon on Feb. 7, going scoreless for only the second time all season and finishing with more turnovers than assists.
That nightmarish road trip now looks like a turning point for Taylor because he has elevated his play the past three weeks. The senior point guard has averaged 12.5 points and shot 19-for-34 from behind the arc in his past six games while also playing excellent perimeter defense and showing improvement distributing to his teammates off the dribble.
Every element of Taylor’s game was on display Saturday when Utah beat ninth-ranked Arizona for the first time since joining the Pac-12 five years ago. Taylor scored 19 points, tallied five steals and had the biggest basket in the Utes’ 70-64 victory.
With Arizona within two in the final minute and the shot clock melting away, Taylor dropped Gabe York with a step-back dribble, pulled up and drilled a dagger 3-pointer from the right wing. The huge 3-pointer gave the Utes the cushion they needed to earn their sixth straight victory and their 11th in 13 games.
At 23-7 overall and 12-5 in the Pac-12, Utah has suddenly emerged as a contender for a top-four seed in the NCAA tournament. The Utes own quality non-conference wins over Duke, Texas Tech and San Diego State in addition to marquee Pac-12 victories over Cal, Colorado, USC and Arizona.
Utah is undoubtedly in better position than an Arizona team that is still lacking top 50 wins after being swept by the Utes and Colorado at altitude this week. The Wildcats have overcome the departure of four starters from last season and a slew of key injuries this year to go 22-7, but their NCAA tournament seeding may suffer because USC and Oregon State are their only two top 50 RPI wins.
While Arizona seeks to improve its NCAA tournament resume, Utah will hope that Taylor continues to shoot the ball the way he has the last six games rather than the first half of the season.
Taylor was an all-conference guard last season, but his role on offense was markedly different than it is this season. Whereas he could play off ball last season alongside future first-round draft pick Delon Wright and take advantage of open catch-and-shoot opportunities, this year he and Lorenzo Bonam are responsible for creating for themselves and their teammates off the dribble.
The adjustment wasn’t easy for Taylor as his season-long sub-40 percent shooting will attest. Just in time for March, however, he seems to be finally getting it together again.
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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
