A day after saying he was “jacked” to be part of the competitive Big 12 this season during a postgame interview after Utah lost at UCF on Sunday, Utes coach Craig Smith was out of the league and a job.
Instead, the Utes will be guided into their game Wednesday against Arizona at McKale Center by assistant coach Josh Eilert, who was promoted to interim head coach Monday.
Smith was 65-65 in three-plus seasons at Utah, including a 1-5 record against Arizona, while the Utes are 15-12 overall and 7-9 in the Big 12 this season heading into Wednesday’s game. He is 218-141 overall in 10-plus seasons as a head coach, including stops at South Dakota and Utah State.
“I want to thank Craig for his work and commitment since he arrived in Salt Lake City,” Utah athletic director Mark Harlan said in a statement. “He has led us to special moments and memorable victories and Craig has poured his heart into building our current team.
“However, we have greater aspirations for our men’s basketball program, both within the Big 12 Conference and nationally and our expectation is to regularly compete in the NCAA Tournament. After evaluating our program under Craig’s leadership, I believe a change is needed to get us to where we want to go.”
Utah head coach Craig Smith, center, watches play against Houston during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Houston.
The Utes had surpassed their low expectations so far this season, being picked to finish last in the Big 12 but sitting in tie for ninth place with West Virginia and Kansas State. They carried a two-game winning streak into UCF, having beaten Kansas and Kansas State earlier this month and had beaten rival BYU 73-72 in overtime last month at the Huntsman Center.
However, Utah has not reached the NCAA Tournament under Smith and does not appear likely to this season, especially after losing at UCF, which had lost its seven previous games. The Utes are ranked No. 78 in the NCAA’s NET ratings and No. 78 in KenPom, suggesting an NIT appearance at best.
On Sunday, Utah jumped out to a 12-0 run over the Knights but turned the ball over 19 times in what became a 76-72 loss, including a critical turnover on an inbounds play with three seconds left.
Still, in his postgame news conference, Smith was characteristically upbeat.
“It’s an unbelievable league,” Smith said. “I’m so jacked to be a part of the Big 12. It’s high-level basketball. You’ve got to show up every night you’re playing. … You’ve got to have a great competitive spirit. You got to be physically strong. You got to be mentally strong and in and embrace the travel, embrace the competition, embrace all that.”
Arizona guard Caleb Love (1) swipes the ball from BYU forward Richie Saunders (15) in the first half of their Big 12 game, Tucson, Ariz., Feb. 22, 2025.
Harlan said a national search for Smith’s permanent successor has already begun.
Wildcats slip to No. 22
Arizona slipped three spots to No. 22 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll and to a consensus projected No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament after losing to BYU on Saturday.
The Cougars (19-8, 10-6) entered the poll at No. 25 after beating the Wildcats 96-95 on Saturday at McKale Center.
Arizona (18-9, 12-4) is now projected as a No. 4 NCAA seed in the Bracket Matrix compilation of mock brackets, while CBS has the Wildcats as a No. 5 seed. (ESPN’s bracket projection had not been updated since UA lost to BYU).
Among Arizona’s other opponents this season, Duke moved up from No. 3 to No. 2, while Houston (to No. 4), Iowa State (to No. 9) and Texas Tech (to No. 10) all moved up one spot. Wisconsin remained at 11 and Kansas dropped out from No. 23.
The Wildcats are in a second-place tie in the Big 12 with Texas Tech (21-6, 12-4) behind Houston (23-4, 15-1), while Iowa State (21-6, 11-5) is fourth and BYU (19-8, 10-6) is in fifth place.
The Cyclones will host Arizona on Saturday after they travel to play at Oklahoma State on Tuesday, while the Wildcats face Utah on Wednesday at McKale.
Saunders picks up Big 12 honor
After scoring 23 points against Arizona, including two game-winning free throws with three seconds left Saturday, BYU’s Richie Saunders was named the Big 12 Player of the Week.
Saunders also scored 22 points in the Cougars’ 91-57 destruction of Kansas on Feb. 18.
Texas Tech’s JT Toppin was named the conference’s Newcomer of the Week for the third time. A sophomore transfer from New Mexico, Toppin averaged 18.0 points and 9.5 rebounds between the Red Raiders’ loss to TCU and win over West Virginia.
ESPN promotes Jefferson
Former UA standout Richard Jefferson has been named to ABC and ESPN’s top NBA broadcast team, according to an Athletic report that quoted sources.
ESPN had chosen JJ Redick over Jefferson last season, according to the Athletic, but Redick left this season to take over the Los Angeles Lakers. Jefferson’s contract ends after this season, the Athletic said, and Amazon Prime Video has expressed interest in him.
Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd, right, talks with ex-Wildcat Richard Jefferson at the Red-Blue Game on Sept. 30, 2022.
