Runnin' Utes v. Trojans 2014

[LA Ute]

Since we have two games this week I thought I'd start a thread for each one. We should blow USC out of the Huntsman center.

[LA Ute]

Received this morning:


Yesterday’s practice focused on our game film versus Washington State. There were many teaching points that were used to help our team move forward. Coach went through each possession to make his point.

USC is coached by first year coach Andy Enfield and is led in scoring by Byron Wesley at 18 points per game. As a whole the team is very athletic and look to push the ball averaging 15.3 seconds per possession, which ranks 14th in the nation. Down low they have 7’2” Senior Omar Oraby who takes up some space at 270 lbs. We are anticipating seeing 2-3 zone where they try and run shooters off the three point line forcing drives into Oraby.

Thursday’s game is our blackout game. Our guys will be wearing the attached shirts during warm ups and are available at the bookstore for purchase.

We are looking forward to being back home and building back some momentum. Thanks again for your support and we will see you on Thursday at 8 pm.


The Men's Basketball Staff



The blackout tee:

1007

[LA Ute]

I wonder if attendance will drop for the USC and UCLA games? I hope the fans still show up and that the team rewards them by playing well winning.

[chrisrenrut]

I wonder if attendance will drop for the USC and UCLA games? I hope the fans still show up and that the team rewards them by playing well winning.

Despite being 1-3 in conference play, I am still excited to see this team play. I found myself on Saturday jonesing to go up to the Huntsman Center.

I hope to see progress through the end of the season. Unfortunately, I can't make the USC game, but we plan to be at the UCLA game.

[roseparkutes]

no Trojan can stop this blockout! go utes!!!

[Solon]

no Trojan can stop this blockout! go utes!!!

As I say every time, "The Trojans: myth's most gullible losers."

Utes need a win tonight.

[hostile]

I wonder if attendance will drop for the USC and UCLA games? I hope the fans still show up and that the team rewards them by playing well winning.
I'll be there tomorrow. The late start time is tough for kids. The 2:00 pm start on Saturday may be difficult with skiing and soccer.

[Mormon Red Death]

Utes -10.5 @ ceasars right now

Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk 2

[SoCalPat]

Utes -10.5 @ ceasars right now

Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk 2

I'm skeptical of Utah putting together a dominant effort against a team that has shown capable of playing above expectations. Winning at Dayton is no joke, and SC also beat Xavier on a neutral floor. Two wins that are much bigger than anything we've done this year.

[Mormon Red Death]

What is Lenz status? Out for the year? a week? one game?

[Diehard Ute]

What is Lenz status? Out for the year? a week? one game?

Out indefinitely. He's off the crutches but in a boot. Severe sprain.

[DrumNFeather]

Given how we started, not a terrible first half result.

Sent from my LG-E970 using Tapatalk 2

[Diehard Ute]

I still don't know what is and isn't a foul in this league.

[Solon]

What is Lenz status? Out for the year? a week? one game?

Did the announcers say sprained ankle? Could be a few more games if that's the case.

So, the first half had some good points & some bad points. Tucker came alive. Loveridge disappeared for awhile.
Olsen is 4-4, but hasn't been to the line. He also has 3 fouls.

The Oraby kid might be hard to contain in the 2nd half.

[LA Ute]

I'm hoping the Utes can press the accelerator and not let these guys hang around. Just bury them.

[Diehard Ute]

I'm hoping the Utes can press the accelerator and not let these guys hang around. Just bury them.

With the amount of contact 55 is being allowed to use I think that's going to be hard.

[LA Ute]

These announcers say we have no signature wins. How dare they not mention our signature moral victory over Oregon?

[SoCalPat]

Best effort of the season after BYU. Larry probably won't like the percentage USC is shooting (they were over 50 percent for a good chunk of the game), but it's more than offset by the 16 turnovers we've forced so far.

Monster games from Tucker and our bigs, the latter being especially impressive given our foul trouble early. When USC got that early lead, they were probably a bucket or two from making things very difficult for us. Instead, we covered with ease. Don't underestimate USC -- they've had our number when their W-L suggests they shouldn't.

I run the first play against UCLA for Brandon Taylor and I do nothing but talk him up between now and then. Getting to .500 in Pac-12 play by beating a ranked team would be massive.

[Senioritis]

Taffy!!!

[Solon]

Best effort of the season after BYU. Larry probably won't like the percentage USC is shooting (they were over 50 percent for a good chunk of the game), but it's more than offset by the 16 turnovers we've forced so far.

Monster games from Tucker and our bigs, the latter being especially impressive given our foul trouble early. When USC got that early lead, they were probably a bucket or two from making things very difficult for us. Instead, we covered with ease. Don't underestimate USC -- they've had our number when their W-L suggests they shouldn't.

I run the first play against UCLA for Brandon Taylor and I do nothing but talk him up between now and then. Getting to .500 in Pac-12 play by beating a ranked team would be massive.

Taylor just doesn't look right. I wonder if he's hurt.
Or, maybe he's just a typical college kid worrying about a term paper, why his girlfriend won't call him back, or if he should change his major.

[SoCalPat]

Taylor just doesn't look right. I wonder if he's hurt.
Or, maybe he's just a typical college kid worrying about a term paper, why his girlfriend won't call him back, or if he should change his major.

The faster we play, the more confident, effective Brandon is with the ball in all aspects. We get into a half-court slugfest, better to bench Taylor, give Delon the ball and bring Onwas in.

[Diehard Ute]

I still think Taylor is spending so much energy running on defense that his offense suffers

[SoCalPat]

I still think Taylor is spending so much energy running on defense that his offense suffers

Can you imagine a player going to any coach and saying, "You know coach, if you didn't require so much effort from me on defense, I'd be a much better offensive player."

[Diehard Ute]

Can you imagine a player going to any coach and saying, "You know coach, if you didn't require so much effort from me on defense, I'd be a much better offensive player."

Nope. Wasn't suggesting that either. Just saying his effort on defense is awesome and may be costing him a bit offensively right now. I'm ok with that.

[Scratch]

A couple of minor comments, based off the box score and listening to the second half because the P12 feed didn't work

It's nice to see Olsen be a presence other than scoring. He still got his 8 points on perfect shooting, which we all know he can do, but he picked up 6 boards and 3 blocks in only 17 minutes. I can't comment on exactly how well he did beyond the numbers, but if those numbers are indicative of improved performance on the boards and the defensive end that would be huge because if he's doing enough there to stay in the game that means we can keep one of our most efficient scorers on the floor when we have another inevitable scoring drought.

It was good to see Taylor's spurt at the end so that he could have a better game than JuJu Jacobs.

[Rocker Ute]

A couple of minor comments, based off the box score and listening to the second half because the P12 feed didn't work

It's nice to see Olsen be a presence other than scoring. He still got his 8 points on perfect shooting, which we all know he can do, but he picked up 6 boards and 3 blocks in only 17 minutes. I can't comment on exactly how well he did beyond the numbers, but if those numbers are indicative of improved performance on the boards and the defensive end that would be huge because if he's doing enough there to stay in the game that means we can keep one of our most efficient scorers on the floor when we have another inevitable scoring drought.

It was good to see Taylor's spurt at the end so that he could have a better game than JuJu Jacobs.

Olsen and Bachynski both had pretty good games, all three bigs got into foul trouble early. Even Marko did relatively well, made some big errors, but I think he has some potential there.

Olsen has a nice touch out there which surprises opponents versus the Bachynski brute force on both sides of the ball. We were reminiscing at the game about how much better we are at rebounding alone than we were four years ago with the bizarre 'hit and find' method or whatever it was called under Boylen.

It seemed to be a wildly inconsistent game called (both ways) where they'd let the bigs pound on each other then suddenly call a ticky-tack foul. The last two fouls on Bachynski I thought were garbage but they were the type of fouls that if they can go either way it is always going to be blocking, so I wasn't shocked by it.

The big indicator to me last night is when Taylor finally hit a shot, he threw down his arms as if to say, "FINALLY". The poor shooting really seems to have gotten into some of the guys heads.

[concerned]

If Julian Jacobs had kept his commitment and not stiffed us, would we have recrutied Delon Wright?

[sancho]

I can see why we wanted Jacobs. He is quick and strong.

I loved what we got from the big guys last night. We've been saying we have 15-20 fouls to give at the 5, and we sure needed them last night.

Was Taylor really that bad last night? I agree that something is off - he forced a few shots and passed on a few others that he probably should have taken, but he played good defense and didn't turn the ball over. He got under the basket or into the lane a few times in order to disrupt their defense. 4 assists, 0 TOs. Hit his FTs.

[Applejack]

Pe'Shon is a great name.

[sancho]

Is anyone else surprised that we are getting so little out of our Fields, Onwas, Ogbe, Van Dyke bench combo? I thought for sure at least one of those would become an impact 6th man. I still hope it happens, but those guys are mostly invisible, and we have our stars playing 35 minutes per game.

Can you imagine Wright with a jump shot?

[LA Ute]

Is anyone else surprised that we are getting so little out of our Fields, Onwas, Ogbe, Van Dyke bench combo? I thought for sure at least one of those would become an impact 6th man. I still hope it happens, but those guys are mostly invisible, and we have our stars playing 35 minutes per game.

Can you imagine Wright with a jump shot?

Onwas continues to mystify. He should be contributing.

[SoCalPat]

Is anyone else surprised that we are getting so little out of our Fields, Onwas, Ogbe, Van Dyke bench combo? I thought for sure at least one of those would become an impact 6th man. I still hope it happens, but those guys are mostly invisible, and we have our stars playing 35 minutes per game.

Can you imagine Wright with a jump shot?

I don't know if I'd call PVD and Onwas invisible. If you could prorate their productivity to match Delon's minutes, their numbers would look a lot better. They're passable in limited roles and they haven't done enough to warrant more PT. All of the players you mentioned should have gotten more PT in the non-con because it was absurd to think we needed to play Delon and Jordan for 74 of a possible 80 minutes against Ball State, whom we beat by 19, for example.

As for an impact 6th man, Bachinsky has filled that role nicely. He's sixth in MPG despite missing three games (two of them stat-builders vs. Evergreen State and UC Davis), and he hasn't started a game yet this year. He's shooting 65 percent from the field and outdistances Olsen in nearly every category. He's third on the team in rebounding and FTAs, and for all the grief I've given him about having weak hands and being easy to strip the ball from, his A-T ratio destroys Olsen's. I did not have much hope for Dallin this year, but he has destroyed my expectations. His best games have come against our best competition.

[U-Ute]

Is anyone else surprised that we are getting so little out of our Fields, Onwas, Ogbe, Van Dyke bench combo? I thought for sure at least one of those would become an impact 6th man. I still hope it happens, but those guys are mostly invisible, and we have our stars playing 35 minutes per game.

Can you imagine Wright with a jump shot?

I know. With the way the defense scrambles to the key once he puts the ball on the floor, he'd be unguardable if he developed a little stop-n-pop. Hell, even a semi-consistent 3-point shot would be huge.

[U-Ute]

As for an impact 6th man, Bachinsky has filled that role nicely. He's sixth in MPG despite missing three games (two of them stat-builders vs. Evergreen State and UC Davis), and he hasn't started a game yet this year. He's shooting 65 percent from the field and outdistances Olsen in nearly every category. He's third on the team in rebounding and FTAs, and for all the grief I've given him about having weak hands and being easy to strip the ball from, his A-T ratio destroys Olsen's. I did not have much hope for Dallin this year, but he has destroyed my expectations. His best games have come against our best competition.

I am starting to believe in him. I don't cringe when he comes into the game anymore and I think he seems to have gotten over last year's blues.

[Scratch]

I don't know if I'd call PVD and Onwas invisible. If you could prorate their productivity to match Delon's minutes, their numbers would look a lot better. They're passable in limited roles and they haven't done enough to warrant more PT. All of the players you mentioned should have gotten more PT in the non-con because it was absurd to think we needed to play Delon and Jordan for 74 of a possible 80 minutes against Ball State, whom we beat by 19, for example.

As for an impact 6th man, Bachinsky has filled that role nicely. He's sixth in MPG despite missing three games (two of them stat-builders vs. Evergreen State and UC Davis), and he hasn't started a game yet this year. He's shooting 65 percent from the field and outdistances Olsen in nearly every category. He's third on the team in rebounding and FTAs, and for all the grief I've given him about having weak hands and being easy to strip the ball from, his A-T ratio destroys Olsen's. I did not have much hope for Dallin this year, but he has destroyed my expectations. His best games have come against our best competition.

This is spot on. The fact that he's performing against the competition that he collapsed against last year is extremely encouraging. Our front line next year will be extremely interesting with Bach, Olsen, Kovacevic, Kuzma, and Chapman all checking in taller than Loveridge. That's a lot of big-man range and some pretty skilled/athletic size.

[Scratch]

This is spot on. The fact that he's performing against the competition that he collapsed against last year is extremely encouraging. Our front line next year will be extremely interesting with Bach, Olsen, Kovacevic, Kuzma, and Chapman all checking in taller than Loveridge. That's a lot of big-man range and some pretty skilled/athletic size.

Heck, Ogbe will probably be taller than Loveridge next year, too.

Oh, and Xan. How did I forget Xan?

[Applejack]

Heck, Ogbe will probably be taller than Loveridge next year, too.

Oh, and Xan. How did I forget Xan?

Never forget Xan.

Batshitinski has exceeded my expectations this year - I'm happy for him. Also, SoCal, I think his hands are WAY better than Olsen's. Olsen loses a lot of entry passes that are right on the money. BS, on the other hand, has a terrible habit of bringing the ball down. The latter problem is fixable (in theory), the former is not.

[SeattleUte]

Kodiak deserves tons of credit in this respect. The improvement we've seen in big men under his stewardship has been awesome. It's one part of his coaching that has been truly Majerusesque in its brilliance.

[Two Utes]

Kodiak deserves tons of credit in this respect. The improvement we've seen in big men under his stewardship has been awesome. It's one part of his coaching that has been truly Majerusesque in its brilliance.
great crowd for only 9k. It was loud and fun.

[SoCalPat]

In Year One under Larry, we provided USC its only league win. In Year Two, we suffered an embarrassing home loss, but rebounded in the league tournament to beat a USC team that was depleted by injury, but one that still finished four games ahead of us in the standings. This year, we destroyed USC at home. Every indicator but one says we win on Thursday. That one indicator being that we haven't won on the road this year and have one such win in the last three.

We're currently 7th in the league with Cal two games ahead of us in the loss column for sixth, but we're tied with Oregon State and Washington at 5-6, but we own the tiebreaker. I've said before how significant it is to finish at least 7th. With UCLA on the back end -- a likely loss -- we absolutely need this game. If we can somehow sweep this roadie, we can talk about finishing top 4 and getting a bye in Vegas.

[UtahsMrSports]

In Year One under Larry, we provided USC its only league win. In Year Two, we suffered an embarrassing home loss, but rebounded in the league tournament to beat a USC team that was depleted by injury, but one that still finished four games ahead of us in the standings. This year, we destroyed USC at home. Every indicator but one says we win on Thursday. That one indicator being that we haven't won on the road this year and have one such win in the last three.

We're currently 7th in the league with Cal two games ahead of us in the loss column for sixth, but we're tied with Oregon State and Washington at 5-6, but we own the tiebreaker. I've said before how significant it is to finish at least 7th. With UCLA on the back end -- a likely loss -- we absolutely need this game. If we can somehow sweep this roadie, we can talk about finishing top 4 and getting a bye in Vegas.

Agreed. Gotta win on Thursday. Trojans are 1-9 in conference play this year.

[DrumNFeather]

Agreed. Gotta win on Thursday. Trojans are 1-9 in conference play this year.

Yeah, with the Stanford and Cal roadie to wrap up the season, it'd be nice to be within a game of one or both of them heading into that trip.

[U-Ute]

I am impressed with how the team responded to the physical defeats at the hands of Arizona and Colorado. They are learning. The last step is learning how to take it on the road.

[mpfunk]

In Year One under Larry, we provided USC its only league win. In Year Two, we suffered an embarrassing home loss, but rebounded in the league tournament to beat a USC team that was depleted by injury, but one that still finished four games ahead of us in the standings. This year, we destroyed USC at home. Every indicator but one says we win on Thursday. That one indicator being that we haven't won on the road this year and have one such win in the last three.

We're currently 7th in the league with Cal two games ahead of us in the loss column for sixth, but we're tied with Oregon State and Washington at 5-6, but we own the tiebreaker. I've said before how significant it is to finish at least 7th. With UCLA on the back end -- a likely loss -- we absolutely need this game. If we can somehow sweep this roadie, we can talk about finishing top 4 and getting a bye in Vegas.

We absolutely need to get a road win. If we lose to USC on the road, we probably don't win a single road game this year.

[Rocker Ute]

We absolutely need to get a road win. If we lose to USC on the road, we probably don't win a single road game this year.

Call me crazy but I saw two things in two games that indicate to me that if we can even shoot close to our averages we will finally win some road games. This is probably pure homerism and seeing what I want to see, but I'll talk about it anyway.

Both WA and Wazzu featured furious runs mid to late 2nd half that we've seen a few times both and home and on the road. Other times we have crumbled or hung on barely to win the game (like UCLA) unable to respond offensively and relying almost solely on defense. These past two games when those runs started to happen instead of panicking like we have, we continued in our game, selected good shots and responded offensively. Against WA Taylor had is big three, but against Wazzu we also responded with points in the arc and some fast break points.

If we can keep our cool like this on the road, respond offensively, then we should finally pick up a road win. My not so bold prediction is we do this with USC, but I wouldn't put it out of the realm of possibility that we sweep this road swing. This team is starting to gel, and really how do you scout us based off of the Wazzu game with our point distribution among players.

Another key to this is the physical play of Princeton Onwas he displayed... I think that is a key to killing big runs, even if it is for 5 fouls in 15 minutes of play.

[SeattleUte]

You could compare schedules and outcomes and make a case that Utah is the no. 2 team in the league. It's awful to think about how close we are to being at AZ's heals. DAMN!

[LA Ute]

Don McLean interview on Riley's show:

http://espn.kall700sports.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Don-MacLean-2-12-14.mp3

I listen to these podcasts while running or during my commute. It's kind of a nice way to keep up.

[LA Ute]

My son and I are at the game. There are dozens of Trojan fans here! ;)

[LA Ute]

Warmups.

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/02/14/evugyjeg.jpg

[LA Ute]

USC does a cheesy UNLV-style team introduction, complete with spotlights, darkened arena, and loud music.

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/02/14/ana3uzur.jpg

[LA Ute]

It'll be interesting to see if Haley gets away all night with all the contact. It's pretty extreme.

[Mormon Red Death]

Orabe has a, sweet unibrow

Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk 2

[Mormon Red Death]

Don maclean should go back to singing American Pie. He is a horrible announcer.

Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk 2

[DrumNFeather]

Three straight bricks for Dallin

Sent from my LG-E970 using Tapatalk 2

[DrumNFeather]

Very little movement, no open looks, we look like shit early here.

Sent from my LG-E970 using Tapatalk 2

[LA Ute]

LK not happy about the TOs.

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/02/14/y3ugete9.jpg

[LA Ute]

Utes look stymied by the USC defense.

[Mormon Red Death]

Utah has not taken a shot outside of 15 feet

Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk 2

[DrumNFeather]

Utes look stymied by the USC defense.

The last place team all of the sudden has lock down defenders? Come on guys!

Sent from my LG-E970 using Tapatalk 2

[DrumNFeather]

Never foul the Egyptian Nate Althoff!

Sent from my LG-E970 using Tapatalk 2

[LA Ute]

The USC version of the MUSS:

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/02/14/etupupyh.jpg

Kinda sad by comparison.

[LA Ute]

Will we keep our foot on their necks or will we ease up again and let them come back? My prediction: these guys have fire in their eyes tonight and won't let that happen.

[LA Ute]

I'm going to have to reconsider my classification of Dallin as a stiff.

[DrumNFeather]

That was a great travel/hang on the rim move

Sent from my LG-E970 using Tapatalk 2

[LA Ute]

Why do other teams get so many layups against us?

[DrumNFeather]

Really guys?

Sent from my LG-E970 using Tapatalk 2

[Solon]

Will we keep our foot on their necks or will we ease up again and let them come back? My prediction: these guys have fire in their eyes tonight and won't let that happen.

Or. . .

Let's make this last few minutes count.

[LA Ute]

The next 3:35 will show this team what they're made of. I hope it works out.

[DrumNFeather]

We're making this so much harder on ourselves than it needs to be.

Sent from my LG-E970 using Tapatalk 2

[LA Ute]

Biggest trey of the season for Jordan.

[Solon]

Biggest trey of the season for Jordan.

Yeah, that was sweeet.
Alright! A road win! Hip Hip Hooray!

[Mormon Red Death]

Yeah, that was sweeet.
Alright! A road win! Hip Hip Hooray!

Games not over

Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk 2

[DrumNFeather]

Get the Gatorade bath ready for Krysko...!

Sent from my LG-E970 using Tapatalk 2

[DrumNFeather]

Dallin, go sit in the corner.

Sent from my LG-E970 using Tapatalk 2

[Mormon Red Death]

Now it's over

Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk 2

[Solon]

Yeah, that was sweeet.
Alright! A road win! Hip Hip Hooray!

I like how Larry cleans up his own water-bottles. He's holding them as he shakes hands with Enfield. Is it that hard to find a recycle bin in the arena?

[DrumNFeather]

I like how Larry cleans up his own water-bottles. He's holding them as he shakes hands with Enfield. Is it that hard to find a recycle bin in the arena?

Very green of him.

Sent from my LG-E970 using Tapatalk 2

[LA Ute]

Well, that's one monkey now off their backs.

[U-Ute]

The USC version of the MUSS:

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/02/14/etupupyh.jpg

Kinda sad by comparison.

That's how ours looked two years ago.

[U-Ute]

I don't know what it is, but if this team has a lead with 10 minutes left in the game, we have a tendency to pucker up. Part of it is an increased intensity put on by the other team when the realize they may actually lose to us - we don't match it - but that doesn't seem like the whole story. I don't know if it is a substitution thing (a key player comes out), or something K says in the huddle that sets an attitude, but we just turn around and play not to lose rather than play to win. I think if we can sort out what is happening there, it will go a long way to winning some games down the stretch.

On the positive side: the play of Dallin Bachynski. He has been consistent all conference season to the point that, last night, I realized I actually look forward to his appearance in the game now. I know the energy and tenacity we will get out of him, plus his offensive skill have dramatically improved this season. He had a nice variety last night. Whatever he and Burgess are doing, they need to keep it up!

[concerned]

What do you think of the Galen Center? We walked past it when we were down there for football, looked pretty nice from the outside.

[DrumNFeather]

I don't know what it is, but if this team has a lead with 10 minutes left in the game, we have a tendency to pucker up. Part of it is an increased intensity put on by the other team when the realize they may actually lose to us - we don't match it - but that doesn't seem like the whole story. I don't know if it is a substitution thing (a key player comes out), or something K says in the huddle that sets an attitude, but we just turn around and play not to lose rather than play to win. I think if we can sort out what is happening there, it will go a long way to winning some games down the stretch.

On the positive side: the play of Dallin Bachynski. He has been consistent all conference season to the point that, last night, I realized I actually look forward to his appearance in the game now. I know the energy and tenacity we will get out of him, plus his offensive skill have dramatically improved this season. He had a nice variety last night. Whatever he and Burgess are doing, they need to keep it up!

Yeah, I'm not quite there with him yet, but I can see progress. He still has maddening stretches that I'd love to see cleaned up.

[LA Ute]

What do you think of the Galen Center? We walked past it when we were down there for football, looked pretty nice from the outside.

I think it's very nice. It may be the college hoops arena of the future, at least in metropolitan areas where there are many other leisure attractions. It is small -- holds a little over 10,000 people -- but is a pleasant place to watch a game. Every seat is a padded theater-style chair seat (without the high backs). The scoreboard is state of the art, and the sight lines are excellent from everywhere. Still. to me, something about it shouts "This is not a big-time arena where big-time basketball is regularly played," but that may just be me. If the place were full it could be a very intimidating arena for opposing teams, because the crowd is close to the floor and there's a lot of intimacy. A couple of friends were there last night but were seated across the arena gym from me, but once we emailed each other and knew where we all were, it was easy to find us and wave, etc.

Size-wise, the Huntsman is a little anachronistic. But if we can keep 12,000+ people coming there each night it'll be fine. With the drapes coming in, I guess they could drape off the upper bowl if it turns out to be necessary to keep a good home crowd atmosphere.

[U-Ute]

Yeah, I'm not quite there with him yet, but I can see progress. He still has maddening stretches that I'd love to see cleaned up.

I'm not expecting him on the all conference team, but his progress has been unexpected and consistent.

[Applejack]

I'm not expecting him on the all conference team, but his progress has been unexpected and consistent.

I agree. I was really down on our big men before the start of the year. I've been proven right on Lenz, right on Olsen, and dead wrong on Batshitzki. He's been a pleasant surprise and (gulp) our best big man.

[U-Ute]

I agree. I was really down on our big men before the start of the year. I've been proven right on Lenz, right on Olsen, and dead wrong on Batshitzki. He's been a pleasant surprise and (gulp) our best big man.

The moves are getting him the shots, but he isn't hitting them yet. If he starts to hit those consistently, JO may see his already decreasing minutes all but disappear.

http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/utah-runnin-utes-usc-trojans-201402130609/

[jrj84105]

I don't know what it is, but if this team has a lead with 10 minutes left in the game, we have a tendency to pucker up. Part of it is an increased intensity put on by the other team when the realize they may actually lose to us - we don't match it - but that doesn't seem like the whole story. I don't know if it is a substitution thing (a key player comes out), or something K says in the huddle that sets an attitude, but we just turn around and play not to lose rather than play to win. I think if we can sort out what is happening there, it will go a long way to winning some games down the stretch.

On the positive side: the play of Dallin Bachynski. He has been consistent all conference season to the point that, last night, I realized I actually look forward to his appearance in the game now. I know the energy and tenacity we will get out of him, plus his offensive skill have dramatically improved this season. He had a nice variety last night. Whatever he and Burgess are doing, they need to keep it up!

Dallin makes some bonehead plays at times, but we are much better team when he is on the floor. Olsen is a better scorer in the half court offense, but our team is better when we're scoring more in transition. Bach's lane presence on the defensive end leads to a lot more blocked shots/steals (many from backside help from Wright/wings), poor shots, and defensive boards (also by our wings/Wright) which really feed our transition offense. Bach also gets down the court better in transition. Even if Bach doesn't post big numbers, our team play when he is in the game is faster, more aggressive, and simply much better.

[Scratch]

I think it's very nice. It may be the college hoops arena of the future, at least in metropolitan areas where there are many other leisure attractions. It is small -- holds a little over 10,000 people -- but is a pleasant place to watch a game. Every seat is a padded theater-style chair seat (without the high backs). The scoreboard is state of the art, and the sight lines are excellent from everywhere. Still. to me, something about it shouts "This is not a big-time arena where big-time basketball is regularly played," but that may just be me. If the place were full it could be a very intimidating arena for opposing teams, because the crowd is close to the floor and there's a lot of intimacy. A couple of friends were there last night but were seated across the arena gym from me, but once we emailed each other and knew where we all were, it was easy to find us and wave, etc.

Size-wise, the Huntsman is a little anachronistic. But if we can keep 12,000+ people coming there each night it'll be fine. With the drapes coming in, I guess they could drape off the upper bowl if it turns out to be necessary to keep a good home crowd atmosphere.

This is exactly right. The facility is beautiful, extremely comfortable, and a great place to watch a game, but it just doesn't feel like it should be the home for a major basketball team. Maybe that's just because there were probably about 2500 people there last night.