I'm not saying it makes sense, so much as that it is to be expected.

Imagine the scenario I outlined - Tennessee St scores with 3 minutes in the 3rd to cut it to 20-19. Then Ohio St outscored them 21-3 the rest of the way to win 41-22. It's clear Ohio St beat up on them, no doubt.

But from a sportswriting perspective, trying to draw interest, do you write "Ohio St beats up on MTSU, as expected" or do you write "Ohio St pulls away late from upset-minded MTSU"?

Of course it's the latter. Even though it wasn't really that much of a threat or that late. Because MTSU even being near in score is a huge surprise. Same story with Utah. Because (and I can't emphasize this enough) Utah basketball is really bad