SALT LAKE CITY -- Jakob Poeltl scored 23 points and Utah held on for a 96-74 victory over Stanford.
The win moves the Utes (17-5, 6-3 Pac-12) a half game behind Oregon and Washington for the conference lead.
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Poeltl caught fire in the second half and the Cardinal had no answer for the 7-foot Austrian. He scored 10 straight and 12 of Utah's 14 points during a second-half stretch that pushed the lead to 14. Stanford never made a significant run afterward.
Kyle Kuzma scored 16 points for Utah, while Brandon Taylor finished with 15 points, seven rebounds and four assists.
Dorian Pickens and Rosco Allen led Stanford (11-9, 4-5) with 16 points apiece.
A Brekkott Champman 3-pointer gave the Utes a 13-point lead in the first half, but the Cardinal put together a run, capped by a Marcus Sheffield layup, and went into halftime trailing 48-39.
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TIP-INS
Stanford: The Cardinal are 0-2 on their current three-game road trip. ... The Cardinal beat Utah in Stanford 70-68 in overtime on New Year's Day. ... Allen entered the game scoring 20-plus point in four of the previous six games. ... The Cardinal entered the game shooting 29.1 percent from 3-point range. They went 3 of 25 (12 percent) in the game.
Utah: The Utes have won five consecutive Pac-12 games after starting 1-3 in conference. ... The Utes had five players score double-figures. ... Poeltl is the reigning Pac-12 player of the week and Oscar Robertson national player of the week. He has scored 20-plus points in three consecutive games for the first time in his career. ... Utah outrebounded Stanford 37-29.
SHOTS DROPPING
The Utes had struggled shooting from long range at just 30.9 percent in conference play, but made 8 of 17 (47.1 percent) from behind the arc on Saturday.
FREEBIES
The two teams combined to shoot 65 free throws, including 42 from Utah. The Cardinal tried to get back in the game by fouling the last 2:43 of the game.
UP NEXT
Stanford travels to face California on Saturday.
Utah travels to face Oregon State on Thursday.