Bring on the Bruins -- Hoops 2014

[LA Ute]

Here's a thread for the UCLA games this season.

[Utah]

Enough football talk, we have a game today! This is a huge game. HUGE. We need this win soooo badly.

[SeattleUte]

Oh no. The ESPN preview says Delon Wright is one of the best players in the conference. Will any NBA scouts be there tonight? The line has moved dramatically in our favor, from +2.5 to +1. Why all this money on the Utes?

[Applejack]

Oh no. The ESPN preview says Delon Wright is one of the best players in the conference. Will any NBA scouts be there tonight? The line has moved dramatically in our favor, from +2.5 to +1. Why all this money on the Utes?

The Hunty gives us 10 points.

[sancho]

Complete this sentence:

Bryce Alford is the worst coach's son to get a lot of minutes since ____________

[Applejack]

Complete this sentence:

Bryce Alford is the worst coach's son to get a lot of minutes since ____________

Everett Flatch

1013

[LA Ute]

I hope I'm not jinxing us it the guys seem not to be letting up, even with a lead. Good.

[LA Ute]

I hope Dallin stops trying to put the ball on the floor.

[LA Ute]

Poise, boys, poise.

i know many here love Bach but he should not be in the game right now. Offensive liability for a TO, blows easy layups.

[Diehard Ute]

Poise, boys, poise.

i know many here love Bach but he should not be in the game right now. Offensive liability for a TO, blows easy layups.

Pretty sure it's Loveridge and Taylor responsible for that liability

[LA Ute]

Like I said about Dallin.

[Applejack]

Boom goes the dynamite! Great win for our boys. I couldn't watch due to bizness and the fact that I don't get Foxysports1, so I expect good write-ups from you people. Don't make me rely on Gordon Monson.

[chrisrenrut]

That was a fun game. We played well, despite some poor turnovers and lack of production from our big men. I felt when we were up 16 with 10 minutes to play, that UCLA still had a run in them. Sure enough, we got stuck on 60 points for about 5 minutes while they whittled away at the lead.

Their zone press was frustrating, and Loveridge kept trying to make the hero pass instead of staying safe and in control. After one of the turnovers, Wright hunted hum down, gave him a hug and some advise.

You could also see the happiness (and relief) in the guys when the buzzer sounded for finally finishing a close game on the winning side.

[sancho]

Boom goes the dynamite! Great win for our boys. I couldn't watch due to bizness and the fact that I don't get Foxysports1, so I expect good write-ups from you people. Don't make me rely on Gordon Monson.

Team win. Everyone who played contributed.

Ogbe was the scoring hero off the bench. Perfect shooting. Onwas hit a 3 and had a great sliding hustle steal. Loveridge and Taylor finally started hitting shots. Tucker had some big 3s, including the super clutch 3 that we needed at the end. Wright is the best player in the NCAA. Bach had a big basket late. Olsen had his moments too.

Anderson was amazing for UCLA, and no one else played well. He has an extremely slow wind up, but man did it look good when he got it off. He created opportunities for himself and others all game long.

First time that a press has worked well against us. We are usually pretty methodical and careful against it. We were panicky this time.

[UTEopia]

That was a fun game even though it got hairy at the end. It always surprises me when I walk out of the arena and hear fans pissed off that the game was not won more handily. Why even go to the games if you are going to be unhappy even with a win against a very pretty good team.

[DrumNFeather]

It's nice to be on the right end of a hoops result vs. an Alford coached team, feels like it has been a while.

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[Diehard Ute]

That was a fun game even though it got hairy at the end. It always surprises me when I walk out of the arena and hear fans pissed off that the game was not won more handily. Why even go to the games if you are going to be unhappy even with a win against a very pretty good team.

It was a fun game.

As for fans. There were 4 UCLA fans sitting across from us. Decked out head to toe in gear....when a Ute fan asked him before the game where their team was currently ranked he had no idea. Knew nothing about the team. It was rather odd

[LA Ute]

That was a fun game even though it got hairy at the end. It always surprises me when I walk out of the arena and hear fans pissed off that the game was not won more handily. Why even go to the games if you are going to be unhappy even with a win against a very pretty good team.

Agreed. The story of the game is that we got way ahead of UCLA, a ranked team, and held them off when they made a late run.

To me the best thing about this game is what it will do for the team's confidence. They now know they can close out a game.

[LA Ute]

15-17 from the line is another key stat. The two that were missed came in crunch time, but still a great job. Again, for the team to know they can do that is huge.

[SoCalPat]

Had the privilege of watching almost all of the second half. Some observations:

I hope Larry isn't tempted to start giving Bachinsky starters minutes. He was nails at the end. The bucket he hit near the end come with no hesitation and plenty of confidence. The FTs were massive. If he could be counted on to pass, he'd be no worse than our No. 2 option late, behind whomever doesn't draw a double team after Delon and Jordan. Go with Olsen early, Dallin late because Dallin is a more physical presence and can get to the line.

As discouraging as it was for Brandon Taylor to miss the front end of a 1 and 1 late, he came right back and nailed the next two. That said, he is a liability against the press. He's not going to pass over people and he was hesitant to attack. Why we don't have Delon on the back end is something I'd like to discuss.

Anderson is a lottery pick, and offers a nice counter to why people need to tap the brakes on the idea Delon could go pro after this year. And we've yet to see Jahii Carson also.

I can't ignore what Ogbe does offensively. He needs more minutes, or at least should be pushing Tucker for more PT.

This was a great win. Our bigs have exceeded expectations and if we can continue to get a big game from either Ogbe, Tucker and Taylor -- along with what we expect from Delon and Jordan -- we will be tough against anyone in our building. I thought we could be 4-2 right now, we could be 5-1 and were nowhere close to being 2-4 ... That's something to be enthused over.

[LA Ute]

"We really weren't running our offense and we were being lazy on defense," UCLA guard Zach LaVine said. "We came here and took them lightly and they smacked us in the face."

http://www.latimes.com/sports/college/ucla/la-sp-0119-ucla-utah-20140119,0,3452612.story#ixzz2qpSQjOtK

[U-Ute]

This whole season I've been trying to think of a guy who has a game similar to Wright's, and that guy is Kyle Anderson. He worked on his outside game since last season (he only hit 8 3-pointers all of last season) and last night he was 5-5 from 3-point land. Now he's a bona-fide NBA player. Wright needs to follow that template.

Three point shooting was the difference this week. Thursday it was Tucker. Last night it was Taylor and Ogbe. We need to find a way to hit those shots on the road before we break through to the next level.

We nearly lost the game down the stretch due to turnovers. I think we had a stretch were we turned it over 4 straight times. As SoCal pointed out, the Utes were hesitant, which you can't do against a press. You need to attack it and make them pay.

35 minutes of great play, and we almost lose it in 5. But in the end, we did just enough to win.

The ESPN scroll mentioned the tidbit that this is the first time we've beaten UCLA in basketball since we beat them in the NCAA's in 1983. Not that we've had a lot of chances, but that's a nice stat.

[Mormon Red Death]

This whole season I've been trying to think of a guy who has a game similar to Wright's, and that guy is Kyle Anderson. He worked on his outside game since last season (he only hit 8 3-pointers all of last season) and last night he was 5-5 from 3-point land. Now he's a bona-fide NBA player. Wright needs to follow that template.

Three point shooting was the difference this week. Thursday it was Tucker. Last night it was Taylor and Ogbe. We need to find a way to hit those shots on the road before we break through to the next level.

We nearly lost the game down the stretch due to turnovers. I think we had a stretch were we turned it over 4 straight times. As SoCal pointed out, the Utes were hesitant, which you can't do against a press. You need to attack it and make them pay.

35 minutes of great play, and we almost lose it in 5. But in the end, we did just enough to win.

The ESPN scroll mentioned the tidbit that this is the first time we've beaten UCLA in basketball since we beat them in the NCAA's in 1983. Not that we've had a lot of chances, but that's a nice stat.

We hadn't beat them in slc since 1928

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[LA Ute]

(I freely admit I am doing this to tweak SU.)

Utah Earns Signature Win (http://pachoops.com/2014/01/utah-earns-signature-win/)



I can’t dive into too much hyperbole because it was just one weekend. But I’m really impressed with the Utah Utes. They’re not on the tournament bubble but they might - might – have a chance to have their name at least discussed inside the tournament war room. But not going to dive into hyperbole. OK, maybe some:
Was Utah’s 74-69 win over UCLA on Saturday the Utes’ biggest win of the Larry K tenure?

I’m not sure if that question even really means anything but looking back at his three years in SLC he’s got a few good ones under his belt. They knocked off #19 Oregon last season and eliminated Cal from last year’s Pac-12 tournament. They also held court against CU a season ago and blew BYU out this season. But this win, against a ranked UCLA squad that is…well…UCLA, comes as the greatest Krystko-win at Utah....

It's actually a good blog post, and not just about the UCLA win. PAC-12 Hoops is a good read anytime.

[LA Ute]

OK, now we're in Pauley Pavilion. When we joined the PAC-12 this was the kind of event I looked forward to. I am hoping the Utes steal a win here. It could happen.

Which brings me to a couple of related subjects I've been wondering about. On another board someone raised the question of fatigue, which I think SCP has raised here. Perhaps part of the Utes' problems late in games result from guys like Delon and Jordan playing entire games. That may explain the poor FT shooting late in games, and the drop-off in Delon's performance (mistakes with the ball and failure to finish at the rim, for example).

I looked at FT shooting against USC. When a team that has an excellent FT percentage starts missing in the second half, fatigue is the first suspect. 65% is not what these guys normally do. But last night vs. USC they shot FTs much worse in the first half (55.6%) than in the second (69.6%). So that part of my theory fails. With a FT percentage more like the rest of the season this becomes a much more comfortable win, but it's hard to blame last night FT shooting on fatigue.

I think it's mainly a mental thing with these guys, but I also think fatigue plays a role. It might help explain the seemingly bone-headed decisions late in games -- like Taylor's bad pass that led to a USC dunk and a big momentum boost. You can't have your point guard doing that any more than you can have a QB in football throwing pick-sixes.

Since were were seated close to the Utah bench, I was able to notice Krysko taking Jordan aside during a time out with about 8:00 to go. In the post-game interview LK said he hadn't taken JL aside that way since the Cal game last year in Vegas, and that he told Jordan, "Look, we need you if we are going to win this game." That seemed to produce some results.

The other thing that's been on my mind is Loveridge's passing, which is often fundamentally bad. Lazy, cross-court tosses, passes into too much traffic that are stolen, and so forth. Usually he gets away with it, but that almost cost us the UCLA game in SLC. I wonder if the coaches talk to him about getting better at passing fundamentals?

[Applejack]

OK, now we're in Pauley Pavilion. When we joined the PAC-12 this was the kind of event I looked forward to. I am hoping the Utes steal a win here. It could happen.

Which brings me to a couple of related subjects I've been wondering about. On another board someone raised the question of fatigue, which I think SCP has raised here. Perhaps part of the Utes' problems late in games result from guys like Delon and Jordan playing entire games. That may explain the poor FT shooting late in games, and the drop-off in Delon's performance (mistakes with the ball and failure to finish at the rim, for example).


I didn't watch the game last night, so I can't comment specifically on that. But because we are so reliant on the big two-and-a-half of Delon-JLo-Beetay, those guys get gassed at the end of games. It's hard to take Delon off the floor for this team - it becomes a terrible offensive squad, and a mediocre defensive one. I don't think KrystoMeth has any other choice - his best chance of winning is running these guys ragged.

Also, you often ask about the easy layups that we give up. That's an easy one: no rim protectors. Batshitski has made good progress this year, but he's a better post defender than a help defender.

Lastly, keep up the work with the camera. I like seeing the shots from the floor.

[Utah]

OK, now we're in Pauley Pavilion. When we joined the PAC-12 this was the kind of event I looked forward to. I am hoping the Utes steal a win here. It could happen.

Which brings me to a couple of related subjects I've been wondering about. On another board someone raised the question of fatigue, which I think SCP has raised here. Perhaps part of the Utes' problems late in games result from guys like Delon and Jordan playing entire games. That may explain the poor FT shooting late in games, and the drop-off in Delon's performance (mistakes with the ball and failure to finish at the rim, for example).

I looked at FT shooting against USC. When a team that has an excellent FT percentage starts missing in the second half, fatigue is the first suspect. 65% is not what these guys normally do. But last night vs. USC they shot FTs much worse in the first half (55.6%) than in the second (69.6%). So that part of my theory fails. With a FT percentage more like the rest of the season this becomes a much more comfortable win, but it's hard to blame last night FT shooting on fatigue.

I think it's mainly a mental thing with these guys, but I also think fatigue plays a role. It might help explain the seemingly bone-headed decisions late in games -- like Taylor's bad pass that led to a USC dunk and a big momentum boost. You can't have your point guard doing that any more than you can have a QB in football throwing pick-sixes.

Since were were seated close to the Utah bench, I was able to notice Krysko taking Jordan aside during a time out with about 8:00 to go. In the post-game interview LK said he hadn't taken JL aside that way since the Cal game last year in Vegas, and that he told Jordan, "Look, we need you if we are going to win this game." That seemed to produce some results.

The other thing that's been on my mind is Loveridge's passing, which is often fundamentally bad. Lazy, cross-court tosses, passes into too much traffic that are stolen, and so forth. Usually he gets away with it, but that almost cost us the UCLA game in SLC. I wonder if the coaches talk to him about getting better at passing fundamentals?

I think it is a fatigue/depth thing. The good news is everyone comes back next year, we add essentially a RS Freshman, a very good PG and another top 150 player. Depth shouldn't be an issue next year and we keep all these 10 point + leads we have lost this year.

[sancho]

Did you notice that we are now running three point attempts for Taylor as he curls around screens? It didn't work last night. He's deadly when he can square up and shoot, but he doesn't have success with the continuous motion off the screen. If he could add that, it would be a great weapon.

[roseparkutes]

bring out the broom and sweep the ruins

[LA Ute]

Pregame. Great atmosphere here. 100% different from USC.

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/02/16/na8a7yme.jpg

[LA Ute]

Warmups.

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/02/16/sede2yjy.jpg

[LA Ute]

As I understand it, there will be rails something like these added to the Huntsman so that curtains can be hung. Also sound equipment for concerts.

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/02/16/abe2u7ut.jpg

[Mormon Red Death]

Brandon Taylor has been playing really well

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[Mormon Red Death]

Down 2 at half .
I will take that
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[Hot Lunch]

Down 2 at half .
I will take that
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Especially cause Utah looked awful during the first half. Out of rhythm, lots of unforced errors. Glad we are only down two.

[SeattleUte]

Down 2 at half .
I will take that
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yes, especially since Loveridge and Wright have four points between them.

[LA Ute]

A little surprised we've seen van Dyke today but not Ogbe. Loveridge needs to show up in the 2nd half.

[LA Ute]

Pretty bad start to the half.

[LA Ute]

And getting worse.

[LA Ute]

Where is Jordan today? Looks lost out there.

[Mormon Red Death]

Brutal start

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[LA Ute]

Now they've dug a hole. 10-0 run for UCLA.

[LA Ute]

Looks like our game plan is to shoot treys. Bad turnovers by Taylor. This could get ugly. First basket of the half at 14:27?

[Mormon Red Death]

Delon can't hold on to the ball

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[LA Ute]

21-7 run. They're shooting lights out, we can't buy a basket. Loveridge is really under-performing. So is Delon. That means death to our chances. We're looking at a rout.

[LA Ute]

Let's play for pride now at least.

[LA Ute]

Maybe someone else should be guarding Adams?

[Mormon Red Death]

Ucla shooting 73% in the 2nd half

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[Mormon Red Death]

Let's play for pride now at least.

Or to cover the 9.5 spread

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[LA Ute]

UCLA essentially pressing us in the half-court. They probably figured out that they have enough of an edge in quicks that they can get away with that. We look utterly stymied on offense.

[Mormon Red Death]

Delon now has made 2 3s after a foul. , how about doing that during a game?

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[LA Ute]

Ogbe's the only Ute with any aggression in him, it seems.

[LA Ute]

Go Utes! Beat the spread!!

[LA Ute]

Wow, Olson is sooo soft. I hope Krysko banishes him to the weight room all summer. Maybe sign him up for boxing or martial arts lessons. Sheesh.

[Hot Lunch]

Wow, Olson is sooo soft.


Olson on has been so bad today. Soft is giving him too much credit.

[LA Ute]

Olson on has been so bad today. Soft is giving him too much credit.

At this point I'd much rather see Bach under the hoop with the ball than Olsen. That's saying a lot.

[EutawStUtesFan]

Loveridge is a virtual no-show on the road, he scores his average, we have a chance to win.

[Scratch]

Bach wasn't great, either; he didn't get a single board. We just need to get more from the 4 and 5 spots.

[Applejack]

Loveridge is a virtual no-show on the road, he scores his average, we have a chance to win.

I was really surprised that Krysko ran Taylor at the point for long stretches of the first half, when Wright was on the floor. I thought Brandon had a phenomenal first half, both offensively and defensively. But Delon is not a 2-guard. He needs the ball. I don't know if it was a matchup thing (Brandon was killing his guy off the dribble), but it was something I haven't seen much of. Oh, Delon also needs to learn to throw a soft alley oop for Batshitski when Batty rolls to the hoop on a pick and roll and his man helps on Delon. There were two or three opportunities but Delon just pulled it out.

JLo was really not with it tonight. Was it just me or did he sit for a long time in the first half? Not sure if it was fouls or what, but I didn't see him out there.

Lastly, if PVD is going to be our zone breaker, he needs to let it rip. He is really tentative on offense right now. Hitting the backboard from the corner three will do that to you, I suppose.

[LA Ute]

I just think they were too long and too quick for us. We still played badly. I was thinking about consistency. Delon seems to be the only player who performs consistently, game after game. I love Jordan, but he too often disappears.

I was fascinated (happily) to see Ogbe playing so aggressively. Kid's gonna be a good one.

Let's see if we can go at least 2-3 in this upcoming home stand.

[justaute]

This is exactly what I've been thinking and saying since the beginning of our conference season. The basketball IQ of many other players needs much more development.


... I was thinking about consistency. Delon seems to be the only player who performs consistently, game after game. I love Jordan, but he too often disappears...

[LA Ute]

Kodiak's post-game interview:

http://espn.kall700sports.com/category/recent-interviews/

[LA Ute]

By the way, attending a game at UCLA was a very pleasant and impressive experience. The parking was easy and adjacent to Pauley Pavilion (I had no special pass, just parked where the signs told me to). The renovated Pauley is very nice and the seats were all the cushioned theater-style. Their scoreboard is terrific and the sight lines are great. Also, there is a big-time atmosphere with a great band and other traditions. It was really worth the price of admission, and except for the outcome was a great way to spend an afternoon.

[Diehard Ute]

By the way, attending a game at UCLA was a very pleasant and impressive experience. The parking was easy and adjacent to Pauley Pavilion (I had no special pass, just parked where the signs told me to). The renovated Pauley is very nice and the seats were all the cushioned theater-style. Their scoreboard is terrific and the sight lines are great. Also, there is a big-time atmosphere with a great band and other traditions. It was really worth the price of admission, and except for the outcome was a great way to spend an afternoon.

Having been there for gymnastics championships it's a decent place...as long as it's the weekend. Weekdays it's a nightmare to get there and parking is near impossible.

[LA Ute]

Having been there for gymnastics championships it's a decent place...as long as it's the weekend. Weekdays it's a nightmare to get there and parking is near impossible.

I've been there for gymnastics too. It felt different to me for basketball. And LA traffic is always horrible unless you're used to it. ;) I used to drive by Pauley daily on my way to and from work.

[Diehard Ute]

I've been there for gymnastics too. It felt different to me for basketball. And LA traffic is always horrible unless you're used to it. ;) I used to drive by Pauley daily on my way to and from work.

We weren't driving, on a bus ;)

You just couldn't stay anywhere close.

Gymnastics Nationals is a bit unique because, then at least, it was held at 1 and 7 on Thursday and the 7 on Friday...so the 1pm session really meant dealing with all of the student population.

Wasn't a bad place at all, just difficult to get to compared to most other venues. (Sadly on campus gymnastics championships are likely a thing of the past now)

[LA Ute]

I gues I was just saying that the game atmosphere in Pauley is great. I really enjoyed it. The fans were very classy too. I will say that I think the Huntsman is a more intimidating place to play just by its feel and look. It's more of a "pit" type of environment. (That is totally apart from the UCLA mystique, the 16 NCAA championship banners in the rafters, etc.)

[LA Ute]

UCLA made 15 points off our turnovers. 6 of the first 8 possessions in the 2nd half were TOs. The beginning of the first half was almost as bad. UCLA made 9 of its 15 TO points in the first half, and we were still down by only 2 at halftime. We had 13 TOs, they had 9, so the difference there wasn't huge -- BUT our assist - turnover ratio was about 1:1, theirs was 2:1. They passed and handled the ball much more effectively than we did. Anyway, LK was saying that we might have been able to overcome their hot shooting, but not our costly TOs. Just an interesting bunch of stats. Did we not take enough care of the ball? Were they just too quick for us? Or was it a combination of the two?

Official Stats (http://utahutes.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/stats/2013-2014/ucla25.html)