Arizona hosts Utah on Wednesday who will be playing its first game under interim head coach Josh Eilert. Utah fired head coach Craig Smith on Monday. Utah was 65-62 in just under four seasons under Smith. The Utes advanced to the 2024 NIT semifinals in their only postseason appearance under Smith.
Before being hired by Utah, Smith was 74-24 in three seasons at Utah State. Smith led Utah State to two NCAA Tournaments and they were projected to make the 2020 NCAA Tournament before it was canceled because of Covid. Smith was 79–55 in four seasons at South Dakota from 2014-18 with two postseason appearances.
Eilert led West Virginia to a 9-23 overall record and 4-14 in the Big XII during the 2024-25 season as interim head coach after Bob Huggins was fired following multiple offseason incidents. The sole Big XII wins for West Virginia in 2024 were versus number 25 Texas, third-ranked Kansas, Cincinnati and Central Florida.
Eilert is 0-9 as a head coach on the road. Arizona is 11-3 at home this season but has lost its last two home games to Houston and BYU. Utah is 1-7 on the road in 2024-25 with its sole win a 73-65 victory at TCU on January 15. Utah has five consecutive road losses entering the game at Arizona on Wednesday.
Coaching carousel news: Utah has fired coach Craig Smith, a source tells CBS Sports. Smith was hired in 2021. Went 65-61. Utah is 15-12 this season and plays Wednesday at Arizona.
— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) February 24, 2025
Timing is odd, for sure. @GoodmanHoops first with the news.
After consecutive wins over Kansas and Kansas State, Utah lost at Central Florida on Saturday. Utah averages 75.1 points per game which is 143rd nationally. The Utes allow 70.8 PPG which is 142nd nationally. West Virginia averaged 69.8 PPG which was 286th in 2023-24 and allowed 76.8 PPG which was 312th.
Utah is 1-3 this season versus ranked teams. Then number 25 Baylor beat Utah 81-56, third-ranked Iowa State beat Utah 82-59, the Utes lost 70-36 at number seven Houston and Kansas was 17th when they lost 74-67 in Salt Lake City. Arizona cannot afford a loss to Utah on Wednesday.