NIT Quarterfinals
Score: Utah 74, VCU 54
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah (Huntsman Center)
Records: VCU 24-14, Utah 22-14
 
The short story: Graduate wing Sean Bairstow led VCU with 13 points, but it wasn't enough to slow down hot-shooting Utah in the Quarterfinals of the NIT Wednesday in Salt Lake City.
 
OPENING TIP

• Bairstow, in his final collegiate appearance, connected on 6-of-14 attempts from the field and added four rebounds
• Sophomore forward Christian Fermin added eight points and nine rebounds for the Black and Gold
• Senior guard Max Shulga and redshirt freshman guard Fats Billups III also chipped in six points each for VCU
• Deivon Smith recorded a triple double with 15 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds to lead Utah. Gabe Madsen buried 6-of-12 from beyond the 3-point arc and added 18 points to for the Utes

THE DIFFERENCE

• Utah knocked down 13-of-33 from beyond the 3-point arc and shot 44 percent (28-of-63) overall for the game
• VCU fell behind 18-2 in the game, 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. But 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
• Utah owned a 43-35 rebounding advantage and scored 20 points off 13 VCU turnovers 

NOTABLE

• Wednesday's match-up was the first all-time meetings between VCU and Utah
• The Rams were making their second-ever NIT Quarterfinal appearance
• VCU returned just 12 percent of minutes and nine percent of its scoring from last season, but behind first-year Head Coach Ryan Odom, the Rams led by eight newcomers, recorded the program's 24^th consecutive winning season and reached the Atlantic 10 Conference Championship Game

NEXT UP
VCU's 2023-24 season is complete.