The Runnin’ Utes Big 12 era has begun.

And with a grueling schedule on the horizon, Utah head coach Craig Smith was still searching for answers as his team prepared to face No. 25 Baylor on New Year’s Eve.

A week earlier, Utah led Iowa by 11 points at one point, but faltered due to defensive errors in the second half, allowing the Hawkeyes to win by seven points.

The same defensive issues, Smith said, occurred in Utah’s losses to Saint Mary’s and Mississippi State earlier this season.

“Our defense in the second half let us down,” Smith said, “especially in the last 10 minutes of the game. “We have to get better. You need to be able to get stops when you need stops to win these types of games. We’re probably eight to 10 possessions away from being undefeated.

“We are close, really close, but you have to be able to finish these games.”

The Utes’ Big 12 opener revealed even more problems.

Baylor earned an 81:56 victory on the final day of 2024. The Bears took an 11-0 lead when Utah missed its first six shots of the day. The Utes went 1-for-12 from deep in the first half and trailed by 20 points at halftime. They were never able to recover.

Hunter Erickson led Utah with 13 points. Mason Madsen had 10. Gabe Madsen finished the game with just three points on a 1-of-7 performance.

Baylor had four scorers in double figures, led by 19 from guard VJ Edgecombe.

The Utes were already 0-3 in the NCAA NET rankings against Quad 1 and Quad 2 non-conference opponents. But Smith said he is determined to get the Utes back on track.

That makes Utah’s path to the Big 12 even more important if it wants to return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2016.

Nine of the Big 12’s 16 teams are currently ranked in the top 50 in NET. Each of Utah’s first three conference opponents – Baylor, Texas Tech and Iowa State – are all ranked in the top 25. Despite Tuesday’s loss, the Utes still have a chance to make an early splash in their new conference.

That starts with fixing their defensive issues.

“I always feel like everything is fixable,” Smith said this week. “You just have to recognize what it is, right? So at the end of the day, we just didn’t manage to get enough stops late in the game against all three of these teams.

“There is a lot to see. Are certain players playing too many minutes? Do you know, is it a plan? Do we need to mess up any more? The other thing is that we need to focus and focus better than we need to move it forward.”

So far, Smith has already tinkered with his lineups.

At the start of the season, junior guard Mike Sharavjamts started nine straight games before slowly moving to the bench. He averaged 10.7 minutes per game in Utah’s last four contests.

Mason Madsen, Gabe Madsen’s brother, started his first game as a Ute against Iowa and scored a season-high 26 points on 10 of 20 shooting. A game earlier, Erickson was named to the starting spot in Utah’s win over Florida A&M.

“I wouldn’t say anyone has solidified at this point or that,” Smith said. “We can go many different ways. And, you know, it could be a thing that spins around until someone really deals with it

“It could be a thing where certain guys have a great week of training. It could be, or they’re really starting to play great sound. It could be a thing where the matches dictate it.”

The emergence of Caleb Lohner, who played tight end for the Utah football team in the fall, has also impacted the frontcourt rotation.

Rice sophomore forward Keanu Dawes played at least 16 minutes in his first six appearances. He played less than 11 minutes in each of his last three appearances and didn’t even appear against the Hawkeyes.

“He has a very bright future,” Smith said of Dawes. “But you have to consistently prove that. Certainly (Keanus) right in the picture. He just has to keep going, keep getting better and keep pushing forward.”

For now, however, the Utes are still looking for their first big win of the season.

“We have to find a way to get stops,” Smith said. “This is the bottom line. We have to find a way to get regular stops and possession against good teams.”