First Pac-12 roadtrip: Arizona St & Arizona

[Applejack]

Do we not have a thread for this trip?

The ASU game scares the bejeezus out of me. Our first conference road game, their first home game. We are undefeated they are 0-3. Everyone talking about us, people in Tempe are looking forward to football. TRAP/////

I'm still not convinced we are a good road team. I'm confident that we'll do really well at home.

[311ute]

I know a lot of Ute fans are expecting a double digit win, but I think this one could be a hard fought/close game.

Looks like opening Vegas lines have the game from -5 1/2 to -6 1/2 for the Utes.

Won't be a walk in the park. I'll be happy with a W anyway we can get it.

[Applejack]

I know a lot of Ute fans are expecting a double digit win, but I think this one could be a hard fought/close game.

Looks like opening Vegas lines have the game from -5 1/2 to -6 1/2 for the Utes.

Won't be a walk in the park. I'll be happy with a W anyway we can get it.

I would love a really close win, actually. That would set Arizona up on Saturday.

[DrumNFeather]

As silly as it sounds, because of Arizona's road loss we are positioned well, but we've got to stay a game ahead of the Cats, even if we lost to them on Saturday. So yes, games like this at definitely "must-gets" if we want to be the top dawg in the league. I'm kind of glad Arizona gets to take its frustration out on the Buffs tonight instead of facing us in the bounce back game.

[chrisrenrut]

Finally, it's game day! I don't like when we have to wait more than a week between games.

It seems like ASU is a shell of what they were last year. Losing Carson and the elder Bachinski has hurt them.



(Krstkowiak) "We are not going to be sneaking up on teams. We are going to get every team's best punch," he said. "I keep telling our guys it's a long season. There's still a lot of basketball to be played. I just want us to keep grinding and stay hungry, humble and after it."

While it may be tempting to look past the struggling Sun Devils (8-8, 0-3) and ahead to Saturday's showdown at No. 10 Arizona, Krystkowiak doesn't believe that will happen.

"There's no focus on Saturday," he said. "I am focused on ASU. They're dangerous and we are going to have to be focused on them."
Arizona State is off to its worst conference start since dropping its first 14 of 2006-07 -- coach Herb Sendek's first season in Tempe. The Sun Devils, though, have won 16 of 17 at home and have won all three matchups there since the Utes joined the Pac-12.

They're 8-1 on their home floor this season, with the defeat coming in triple overtime against Lehigh on Dec. 20.

[sancho]

The ASU game scares the bejeezus out of me.

I don't know anything about ASU except that they are coached by Herb. His teams always manage one decent upset per year and 10 double digit losses. Gotta like those odds.

[SheriffCreg]

The nice thing about this Utah team is that they are set up to succeed on the road. They win by rebounding and playing sound defense. Home court advantage has little influence on those areas of the game, even if our offense has been kind of terrible on the road. If we can keep them off-rhythm, shooting contested jumpers, and be patient, I think we'll settle down and get a solid win. I'd pick Utah to beat the spread this game. But that doesn't mean I'm not still nervous.

[Dwight Schr-Ute]

Apparently Arizona is mad that they showed upon the wrong state.

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15/01/15/51832c876a5e0388aef5c1dc89de45f8.jpg

[Mormon Red Death]

First tip off we have lost all year

[Mormon Red Death]

Why does their big white guy have a tribal Tatoo?

[LA Ute]

Does you all see 4 ASU players crowd together to stop Delon? LOL!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[sancho]

These Utes look good. Red and white! Remember when we wore grey this year? What were we thinking?

[LA Ute]

Isaiah kinda got pantsed on that drive.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Mormon Red Death]

Terrible call

[DrumNFeather]

The "Jordan is better" chants at Dallin are funny.

[Mormon Red Death]

Kuzma getting some play. Vegas seriously under values us. Only 5 point favorites?

[Mormon Red Death]

I was responding to the Arizona score

[DrumNFeather]

40 points in the first half...who are these guys? :)

[sancho]

The "Jordan is better" chants at Dallin are funny.

I've seen ASU twice now this season, and each time their student section was pretty good. How long can they keep losing and keep that up?

[SoCalPat]

Kuzma getting some play. Vegas seriously under values us. Only 5 point favorites?

It ain't like that at all. Vegas eventually gets around, but we've been doing this for three years. It doesn't matter what Vegas does, it puts a number out there and we kill it.

[DrumNFeather]

I've seen ASU twice now this season, and each time their student section was pretty good. How long can they keep losing and keep that up?

Win or lose, if the school gets hot girls, there will always be knuckleheads there to follow them around...and make up funny chants at basketball games.

[SoCalPat]

I don't think we've ever held a 17-point lead on the road in Larry's tenure.

Counting FTs, we made twice as many shots as we missed. We shot 55-67-100 in the first half. I'll go on record now and say it's one of the 5 greatest shooting performances for a half in school history.

[OrangeUte]

Wow. Impressive in the first half. This is a great warmup to the game Saturday.

[Mormon Red Death]

I don't think our starting five is our best 5

[Mormon Red Death]

Sweet spin move by poetl

[Mormon Red Death]

What the hell is with the foul shot defense by the student section?

[Mormon Red Death]

We are just screwing around with our line ups right now

[DrumNFeather]

Nice way to start the road trip. What did they say there towards the end? 56% from behind the arc?

This Arizona game will be interesting. They've got a 30 game home winning streak, and we're coming in hot and unbeaten in the conference. It'll be interesting to see what gives.

[Dwight Schr-Ute]

Not very happy with the effort the last five minutes. I'm not going to lie, anything win under 20 points pisses me off a little.

[Diehard Ute]

Not very happy with the effort the last five minutes. I'm not going to lie, anything win under 20 points pisses me off a little.

Now Larry has a point to harp on going into Saturday, enjoy the season man

[concerned]

Not very happy with the effort the last five minutes. I'm not going to lie, anything win under 20 points pisses me off a little.

He rested players for Saturday.

[Dwight Schr-Ute]

Now Larry has a point to harp on going into Saturday, enjoy the season man


He rested players for Saturday.

My comment was mostly tongue in cheek. When we started flirting with 30, I started to get greedy. I was glad that we had plenty of cushion to let Wright and others sit the last 5 minutes.

I'm loving this season. I'm getting pretty geeked about this team. Bring on the feral cats!

[DrumNFeather]

Sean Miller playing the underdog card to his team. That's cute.

[U-Ute]

I've seen ASU twice now this season, and each time their student section was pretty good. How long can they keep losing and keep that up?

I love The Curtain Of Distraction.

As to your question, the more ASU loses, the more they drink and the more the focus goes onto the Curtain, because what else will they do? Cheer?

[U-Ute]

This new wrinkle in Delon's game of drawing fouls is nice. With his ability to put the ball on the floor, it makes him nearly unguardable in college. I wonder who Arizona will put on him.

This team is really in a groove now. The way they moved the ball against that press, when they actually got it into the front court, was a thing of beauty. They need to work on some inbounding against the press, but at least that gives them something to work on in practice.

I also love how Poeltl doesn't shy away from contact. The ferocity in which he ripped the ball away on a defensive rebound as well as how he went after that blocked shot revealed a bit of nastiness we hadn't seen yet. I love it.

SU has nailed this: Taylor is an assassin.

[311ute]

This new wrinkle in Delon's game of drawing fouls is nice. With his ability to put the ball on the floor, it makes him nearly unguardable in college. I wonder who Arizona will put on him.


This is my big question.... I think they have two options... McConnell, who is much smaller than Delon, but is a pesky defender, or they go big and put RHJ on him. RHJ isn't as quick as Delon, but his size could negate some of Delon's ability to finish at the rim. If I'm Sean Miller, I go RHJ.

Another big story to follow is the health of Gabe York. Miller said he's 50/50 for the game Saturday, has a sprained ankle. This would be a big blow to UA, who already struggles to shoot it from the outside. Losing your best 3-point threat would mean we can pack it in even more and force them to beat us from beyond the arc.

[Applejack]

My prediction: ugly game on Saturday. These are two teams that pride themselves on defense, playing in their first real bloody battle of the conference season (UofA's first loss doesn't count - that was a brainfart).

I expect a 49-40 slugfest tomorrow.

[U-Ute]

This is my big question.... I think they have two options... McConnell, who is much smaller than Delon, but is a pesky defender, or they go big and put RHJ on him. RHJ isn't as quick as Delon, but his size could negate some of Delon's ability to finish at the rim. If I'm Sean Miller, I go RHJ.

I am assuming it will be either RJH or Stanley Johnson. If I'm Miller, I may be concerned that the defensive focus by whomever draws Delon may take away from their offensive production.


Another big story to follow is the health of Gabe York. Miller said he's 50/50 for the game Saturday, has a sprained ankle. This would be a big blow to UA, who already struggles to shoot it from the outside. Losing your best 3-point threat would mean we can pack it in even more and force them to beat us from beyond the arc.

I didn't hear that. Yeah, that could be troubling for them.

My major concern going into the game is giving up offensive boards. Last year, I felt that we lost both games to them due to their ability to get offensive boards. With their reduced ability to score, they rely even a bit more on that. They are good at it, and we have been giving them up this year against big, physical teams. Arizona is a more talented version of SDSU.

[concerned]

My prediction: ugly game on Saturday. These are two teams that pride themselves on defense, playing in their first real bloody battle of the conference season (UofA's first loss doesn't count - that was a brainfart).

I expect a 49-40 slugfest tomorrow.

I heard bill Riley interview the Arizona play by play guy the other day, and he said exactly what you said--Arizona is a great defensive and rebounding team that has trouble scoring (he was explaining why they lost to OSU). He expects an ugly slugfest too.

[Applejack]

I heard bill Riley interview the Arizona play by play guy the other day, and he said exactly what you said--Arizona is a great defensive and rebounding team that has trouble scoring (he was explaining why they lost to OSU). He expects an ugly slugfest too.

I love ugly slulgfests when we win! I'm a Rick Majerus disciple.

[U-Ute]

I love ugly slulgfests when we win! I'm a Rick Majerus disciple.

I feel UtahBy5 is a support group for those of us who suffer from that condition.

My name is U-Ute, and I appreciate hard nosed defense, rebounding, and taking the right shots at the right time.

[UBlender]

This is my big question.... I think they have two options... McConnell, who is much smaller than Delon, but is a pesky defender, or they go big and put RHJ on him. RHJ isn't as quick as Delon, but his size could negate some of Delon's ability to finish at the rim. If I'm Sean Miller, I go RHJ.

Another big story to follow is the health of Gabe York. Miller said he's 50/50 for the game Saturday, has a sprained ankle. This would be a big blow to UA, who already struggles to shoot it from the outside. Losing your best 3-point threat would mean we can pack it in even more and force them to beat us from beyond the arc.

The flip side is that Utah has to figure out who to put on Stanley Johnson. I'm not sure Loveridge can handle him, but Delon is the only other starter who could do it and I don't think you want to put that defensive burden and risk of foul trouble on him.

[Scratch]

The flip side is that Utah has to figure out who to put on Stanley Johnson. I'm not sure Loveridge can handle him, but Delon is the only other starter who could do it and I don't think you want to put that defensive burden and risk of foul trouble on him.

I think Reyes should be able to do a respectable job with him. Johnson has about 15-20 pounds on him, but while Reyes is smaller and less athletic I think he's strong enough and athletic enough to not get abused by Johnson. Especially when he has Poeltl behind him protecting the rim. I know Ashley's bigger than Johnson, but I actually would feel better with Reyes on Johnson and Loveridge on Ashley.

[311ute]

Line opens at Arizona -4

[UBlender]

I think Reyes should be able to do a respectable job with him. Johnson has about 15-20 pounds on him, but while Reyes is smaller and less athletic I think he's strong enough and athletic enough to not get abused by Johnson. Especially when he has Poeltl behind him protecting the rim. I know Ashley's bigger than Johnson, but I actually would feel better with Reyes on Johnson and Loveridge on Ashley.

That's possible. Then you have Jordan on RHJ where keeping him off the glass is a tall task. In any case it's a challenge and it will be fascinating to see what Larry and staff come up with.

[Scratch]

That's possible. Then you have Jordan on RHJ where keeping him off the glass is a tall task. In any case it's a challenge and it will be fascinating to see what Larry and staff come up with.

Yep. I'm really interested to see how Arizona decides to deploy Johnson/RHJ/Ashley/Tarczewski against us, and then how we handle them depending on how Arizona uses them..

[concerned]

Yep. I'm really interested to see how Arizona decides to deploy Johnson/RHJ/Ashley/Tarczewski against us, and then how we handle them depending on how Arizona uses them..

I am just going to follow the ball.

[UtahFanSir]

Taylor is an assassin.

Brandon Taylor is the single most underrated player in the Pac-12. He makes everyone better, even Delon Wright.

[LA Ute]

Brandon Taylor is the single most underrated player in the Pac-12. He makes everyone better, even Delon Wright.

In our family we call him The Little Assassin. Love that kid!

[LA Ute]

I feel UtahBy5 is a support group for those of us who suffer from that condition.

My name is U-Ute, and I appreciate hard nosed defense, rebounding, and taking the right shots at the right time.

Hi, U-Ute!

[SoCalPat]

This new wrinkle in Delon's game of drawing fouls is nice. With his ability to put the ball on the floor, it makes him nearly unguardable in college. I wonder who Arizona will put on him.

Averaged 5.8 FTAs last year, 5.1 this year. But he's also playing about 5 MPG less this year than last. It's a push.

He had 193 FTAs last year. After Mike Newlin, we've never had a backcourt player get to the line that often. With a few more games played this year, I full expect Delon to surpass 200 FTAs. He's also hurt by the lack of close games we've played this year -- he's not on the floor to salt away games when teams are purposely fouling us.

FWIW, the school record is 302 by Billy McGill. I think that record is safe.

[U-Ute]

Averaged 5.8 FTAs last year, 5.1 this year. But he's also playing about 5 MPG less this year than last. It's a push.

He had 193 FTAs last year. After Mike Newlin, we've never had a backcourt player get to the line that often. With a few more games played this year, I full expect Delon to surpass 200 FTAs. He's also hurt by the lack of close games we've played this year -- he's not on the floor to salt away games when teams are purposely fouling us.

FWIW, the school record is 302 by Billy McGill. I think that record is safe.

I am specifically talking about the ASU game. He normally is athletic enough to avoid contact. Last night he sought it out and had 12 attempts. It seemed like a conscious decision.

[LA Ute]

I am specifically talking about the ASU game. He normally is athletic enough to avoid contact. Last night he sought it out and had 12 attempts. It seemed like a conscious decision.

A couple of times he got his defender in the air and leaned into him while shooting, then made both shots. Reminded me of the UNLV player who was very successful at doing that against us. What was that guy's name?

[LA Ute]

Kyle Goon tweet #1:


I asked Jakob Poeltl about his visit to Arizona last year on a recruiting trip. I don't think you can chalk up his response to his English.

https://twitter.com/kylegoon/status/556230650953347073

Goon tweet #2:


Poeltl said McKale Center was great and so were Arizona's facilities. "I'm looking forward to going back there and kicking their ass."

https://twitter.com/kylegoon/status/556230934760939520

Goon #3:


I'll put out the video in a sec. I think Poeltl made the comment in good fun, perhaps without the idea of "bulletin board material."


https://twitter.com/kylegoon/status/556234562460606464

We'll hear more about this, I think. But I like it!

[LA Ute]

Highlights from the ASU game:

http://pac-12.com/videos/highlights-utah-mens-basketball-wins-seventh-straight

They are so evenly divided between the two teams that one might think it was a close game -- but the score is visible throughout.

[chrisrenrut]

Aghhh! I'm getting excited for the game today.

Part of me thinks we can pull this off. The other part keeps remembering the first half of the Kansas game.

[Dwight Schr-Ute]

Aghhh! I'm getting excited for the game today.

Part of me thinks we can pull this off. The other part keeps remembering the first half of the Kansas game.

I'm with you. I don't things I've been this geeked for a regular season basketball game since the Tim Duncan/Wake Forest New Year's Eve game. I even expect a better result.

[U-Ute]

Hanno trash talking Jason Terry today on Twitter.


@HannoMottola: Huge game tonight in Tucson as #8 Utah @Runnin_Utes take on #10 Arizona @APlayersProgram @jasonterry31 who you got 😎?

[U-Ute]

I'm with you. I don't things I've been this geeked for a regular season basketball game since the Tim Duncan/Wake Forest New Year's Eve game. I even expect a better result.

I still can't believe we lost that game. Duncan was unstoppable. He even hit his FTs, which he was not good at in college.

I'm not bitter.

[LA Ute]

I'm hoping that the Kansas game, and in a different way the SDSU, UNLV and ASU games have given these guys some confidence that they can play with the big boys in a hostile environment.

[Mormon Red Death]

Let's get it on!

[Mormon Red Death]

What is the stupid hand gesture that Arizona does?

[sancho]

What is the stupid hand gesture that Arizona does?

I think they are making a "W" and a "C" for wildcats.

[Mormon Red Death]

I hate the azholes!

[Mormon Red Death]

Tonight is why being in the pac12 is so great

[sancho]

Ashley is a girls name.

[LA Ute]

We need an answer for McConnell and better boxing out on D.

[LA Ute]

And that needs to be the last time we have a shot clock violation.

[Mormon Red Death]

Dakar tucker charge was legit

[Mormon Red Death]

Ashley is camping out under neath

[Mormon Red Death]

McConnell Travelled

[Diehard Ute]

McConnell Travelled

He does that a lot

[Diehard Ute]

Can anybody interpret what Miller just said? I think Walton is rubbing off on him

[SeattleUte]

We're fortunate to be down by 5. They beat the crap out of us the last ten minutes of the half. REBOUNDS.

[AnestheUte]

The last few minutes of the half were brutal. Am I the only one that thought Arizona was getting away with a lot of over-the-back rebounding? I know that the referee's shouldn't be blamed for poor play, but I wish they would be consistent both ways. We've gotta pick up our offensive intensity, and not get that "dear-in-the-headlights" look. We haven't been executing plays well in the half-court, and our defensive rebounding is very poor. Sheesh.

[AnestheUte]

PS - I hate Bill Walton.

[SeattleUte]

The last few minutes of the half were brutal. Am I the only one that thought Arizona was getting away with a lot of over-the-back rebounding? I know that the referee's shouldn't be blamed for poor play, but I wish they would be consistent both ways. We've gotta pick up our offensive intensity, and not get that "dear-in-the-headlights" look. We haven't been executing plays well in the half-court, and our defensive rebounding is very poor. Sheesh.

I don't think there were over the back rebounds. They just had more big strong bodies in the paint.

I can't believe how McConnell is beating our guards.

We need to regroup like we did at half against Kansas and stay in the game until at the end I hope it will be anybody's game.

[SeattleUte]

PS, I love Walton; he's brilliant, though maybe he's smoked a little to much pot. His classical music lecture was awesome. He's also a good guy; not afraid to admit on TV that he doesn't know if Kentucky won.

[LA Ute]

We're fortunate to be down by 5. They beat the crap out of us the last ten minutes of the half. REBOUNDS.

We're -9 on rebounds at half. They are out-working us. That'll change in the 2nd half.

I wish Loveridge would show up for games like this.

Hoping for some LK halftime adjustment magic.

[LA Ute]

I don't think there were over the back rebounds. They just had more big strong bodies in the paint.

Yes. Not sure how we battle that.

[OrangeUte]

Time to get tough.

Sloppy first offensive possession.

[Mormon Red Death]

Taylor is getting eaten alive by McConnell

[OrangeUte]

I'd like to see Taylor shoot some 3s.

[Diehard Ute]

Delon's lack of confidence in his shot is hurting him

[Diehard Ute]

Taylor can't play McConnell

[OrangeUte]

We aren't physical enough.

[sancho]

this is gonna get ugly

[concerned]

how many of their missed free throws have they rebounded? All of them? (seems like)

[DrumNFeather]

Somebody put out an apb for Jordan Loveridge

[Diehard Ute]

how many of their missed free throws have they rebounded? All of them? (seems like)

A few. They seem to almost always miss long, and they just sky and back tap when the ball goes over our guys

[LA Ute]

At this point I just hope we keep it close. We will not win.

[OrangeUte]

Our passing is atrocious. Sloppy and rushed and desperate.

We need to hit 3s. They've taken away our inside game and our ability to drives.

[Diehard Ute]

Our passing is atrocious. Sloppy and rushed and desperate.

We need to hit 3s. They've taken away our inside game and our ability to drives.

There's a lack of mental toughness today. Trying to get back in it by abandoning what we're good at

[LA Ute]

Our passing is atrocious. Sloppy and rushed and desperate.

We need to hit 3s. They've taken away our inside game and our ability to drives.

But we can't win if treys are all we have.

[SeattleUte]

This game will silence talk of JP being a lotter pick for a while.

[OrangeUte]

So true. We look weak and small w the way we are playing. Last possession poetl has a few nice pick and rolls set up and nobody saw him. We aren't looking good at all.

[concerned]

There's a lack of mental toughness today. Trying to get back in it by abandoning what we're good at

We havent abandoned it. they have taken it away.

[LA Ute]

In some ways this needed to happen. Guys need a wake-up call and some toughening.

[concerned]

In some ways this needed to happen. Guys need a wake-up call and some toughening.

pray that this will pay dividends in March

[OrangeUte]

If we could get a few defensive stops it would be great.

[OrangeUte]

I agree w SeattleUte. Walton is brilliant.

[OrangeUte]

McConnell's huge nostrils remind me of that guy on the church video from the late 80s. I can't remember which one. It's the guy who slurps the water from the stream at the beginning of the video up in the mountains.

[OrangeUte]

Johnson gets away w shoulder. Sean Millers constant bitching pays off.

[OrangeUte]

Just when we were getting going, we get stopped.

[OrangeUte]

Honestly. Bill Walton is just awesome to listen to.

[DrumNFeather]

Somebody put out an apb for Delon Wright (hey - worked for J Love! )

[Solon]

Honestly. Bill Walton is just awesome to listen to.
We need this team to get better. Tougher.
I look forward to the game in SLC.

[OrangeUte]

I agree. At home and with a bad taste in our mouths. I look forward to that game.

[DrumNFeather]

I agree. At home and with a bad taste in our mouths. I look forward to that game.
I'm confident that Larry will properly motivate off of this loss.

[Solon]

I'm confident that Larry will properly motivate off of this loss.
I hope so.
man, I hate the way Sean miller whines all the time.

[LA Ute]

I'm gonna make sure I go to the AZ game in SLC. I want to scream my lungs out for revenge.

[SeattleUte]

Honestly. Bill Walton is just awesome to listen to.

He's the only reason I have the sound up right now. Very interesting and entertaining.

[LA Ute]

I hope so.
man, I hate the way Sean miller whines all the time.

It's hard to listen to Walton talk about how much class Miller has.

[OrangeUte]

He's the only reason I have the sound up right now. Very interesting and entertaining.

He's brutally honest and un biased. Add that to smart in so many things besides basketball and he's the best.

[SeattleUte]

39-15 rebounds.

[LA Ute]

So how far do we slip in the polls after this? No. 8 teams don't let this happen to them. 39-15 in rebounds? I love these guys but I am starting to get angry.

[OrangeUte]

We drop 6-8 spots.

[Mormon Red Death]

Well when you are allowed to go over the back on every foul shot you are going to get those rebounds. Oh well they still have to go to salt lake

[LA Ute]

Well, a happy night in Tucson. They just blew out the #8 team. Props to them.

Feb. 28 is marked on my calendar. I'll be there for the revenge match.

[Mormon Red Death]

Wheels came off. It happens. Look at Louisville today. Lost by 13 at home

[sancho]

I hope so.
man, I hate the way Sean miller whines all the time.

Yeah, but we have to root for him "for the good of the conference." (eye roll)

[SeattleUte]

I'm satisfied. We got a split.

[sancho]

So, is this how Gonzaga feels every March when they play a good team for the first time in a month after beating up on lousy teams by 30 points?

[sancho]

Utes fall to 1-3 vs tournament teams and 1-0 vs bubble teams (or 2-0 if you think UNLV is a bubble team).

We are 1-2 vs physically tough teams (I'm counting WSU for us here, but I'm not sure they qualify) and 0-2 vs teams that are super loaded with NBA talent.

[OrangeUte]

I hope so.
man, I hate the way Sean miller whines all the time.

Ditto. He is constant.

[SeattleUte]

So, is this how Gonzaga feels every March when they play a good team for the first time in a month after beating up on lousy teams by 30 points?

I really get tired of the defeatism and whining among our fans. We lost a game at Tuscon. Big deal. We get to play them again at our place. Nobody ever said it would be easy. Look how many times U Conn got clobbered last season, 81-48 on the last game of the regular season. You guys have distorted perceptions. We have been beating teams that are not bad.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013%E2%80%9314_Connecticut_Huskies_men's_basketba ll_team

[SeattleUte]

I'm waiting for Utefan to show up and start telluing us how much nicer SLC is than Arizona and Krystkowiak not Miller should have been getting all those five star thoroughbreds the past four years.

[sancho]

I really get tired of the defeatism and whining among our fans. We lost a game at Tuscon. Big deal. We get to play them again at our place. Nobody ever said it would be easy. Look how many times U Conn got clobbered last season, 81-48 on the last game of the regular season. You guys have distorted perceptions. We have been beating teams that are not bad.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013%E2%80%9314_Connecticut_Huskies_men's_basketba ll_team

Wow, I don't feel like I'm prone to defeatism. Whininess maybe.

I'm loving every minute of this season, just like I did with football. Even though we looked completely overmatched, I'm already daydreaming about Feb 28.

[SeattleUte]

So, is this how Gonzaga feels every March when they play a good team for the first time in a month after beating up on lousy teams by 30 points?

In case you weren't noticing, this is how the brutally competitive world of big conference college basketball works, year in and year out. Duke just lost by double digits at unranked Miami, lost two in a row, before killing Louisville on the road today. It's how it works.

[sancho]

all those five star thoroughbreds the past four years.

Those guys looked great tonight. They have a potential to disappear at times, but not tonight. They were worth whatever some Arizona booster paid them.

[SeattleUte]

Wow, I don't feel like I'm prone to defeatism. Whininess maybe.

I'm loving every minute of this season, just like I did with football. Even though we looked completely overmatched, I'm already daydreaming about Feb 28.

Good. So savor the fact that we're 4-1 in a great conference, in a good position to go 6-1 at home next week, and we were good enough to win by 17 in Tempe, and beat UCLA by 32. We haven't been beating patsies, and it's going to be a whole new ballgame -- as the saying goes -- when we get them at our place.

[sancho]

In case you weren't noticing, this is how the brutally competitive world of big conference college basketball works, year in and year out. Duke just lost by double digits at unranked Miami, lost two in a row, before killing Louisville on the road today. It's how it works.

Thanks. This is my first season watching basketball, so I appreciate the pointers.

The nice thing for Duke is that they get to play a boatload of ranked teams. They will more than make up for Miami and NCState by sweeping the Holes.

With the Pac-12 so down this year, Feb 28 is our last shot at a big statement win (unless we meet again in Vegas). We can still make a nice statement by winning a lot of conference games, but no other individual opponent on our remaining schedule comes with a wow factor.

[UtahsMrSports]

Frustrating. But its one game. Time to get fired up and go take care of business. Dont get me wrong, im looking forward to the rematch, but im wondering if they arent in our head. Winning the return trip even by one point would be big.

[LA Ute]

AZ came at the Utes tonight, kind of like our football defenses come at our opponents. They knocked us completely out of our game by our-muscling us, pushing us around, challenging us on every single offensive possession, and generally being in our faces all night. I.e., they schooled us. Our team is young and I think they will remember this game. I know LK and his staff will. So in the long run this can be a very positive thing. We'll see.

What's a little depressing is that like Sancho said, AZ is the only PAC-12 team that gives us a chance to help ourselves. I.e., unlike the other conference teams on our schedule, we can help ourselves significantly by beating Arizona. (That's not my opinion, it's the opinion of every network bracketologist who I've heard comment on Utah over the last 10 days.) So we need to keep winning and that Feb. 28 game in SLC is our most important remaining conference game.


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[DrumNFeather]

Overall, we're still ahead of the game with them because of their loss at OSU, and this loss is easily explainable. Now we just need to take care of business.

[sancho]

People were talking this week about how Dakari has made his game less 1-dimensional. Driving to the basket, rebounding, playing some defense. Is Loveridge undergoing the opposite process? He's shooting an amazing 49% from the 3 point line. But what happened to the rebounds and assists, the involvement? He's averaging 3.9 rpg, down from a career 7.0 average.

If he keeps up anything close to 49%, I can't complain. The outside shooting may be more important to us than the other things. I'm just kinda curious as to what is going on. Is it just playing the 3 vs the 4?

[UtahsMrSports]

People were talking this week about how Dakari has made his game less 1-dimensional. Driving to the basket, rebounding, playing some defense. Is Loveridge undergoing the opposite process? He's shooting an amazing 49% from the 3 point line. But what happened to the rebounds and assists, the involvement? He's averaging 3.9 rpg, down from a career 7.0 average.

If he keeps up anything close to 49%, I can't complain. The outside shooting may be more important to us than the other things. I'm just kinda curious as to what is going on. Is it just playing the 3 vs the 4?

In addition to the position switch, he has not been healthy this year and he has really never played alongside people who can rebound the ball like Poeltl and Reyes to an extent.

[SoCalPat]

Not terribly upset at the outcome, it happens and Arizona is good. We're not at the point yet where we can assume we'll never get blown out.

I'm bothered by the rebounding. Clearly, we forced Arizona to miss enough first shots to be in the game. Giving up that many offensive rebounds shows we weren't all in for this game.

Poeltl has to grab more than four rebounds in a game like this. Tonight was Exhibit A as to why I was slamming on the brakes when others were hyping this kid up. He has never experienced the combination of opponent and environment like what he saw tonight. I believe he'll be better prepared next time -- we see this with all freshmen in conference play; it's fight or flight.

[SoCalPat]

Also, there's something about Sean Miller pumping up the other team that totally gets his team's attention. It's like they're insulted by what he has to say.

Before league play started, he said Altman was front-runner for COY. Arizona went out and destroyed Oregon. Then he talks about Utah being the league favorite and Zona wipes the floor with us. Guy knows how to push his players' buttons.

[UtahsMrSports]

Not terribly upset at the outcome, it happens and Arizona is good. We're not at the point yet where we can assume we'll never get blown out.

I'm bothered by the rebounding. Clearly, we forced Arizona to miss enough first shots to be in the game. Giving up that many offensive rebounds shows we weren't all in for this game.

Poeltl has to grab more than four rebounds in a game like this. Tonight was Exhibit A as to why I was slamming on the brakes when others were hyping this kid up. He has never experienced the combination of opponent and environment like what he saw tonight. I believe he'll be better prepared next time -- we see this with all freshmen in conference play; it's fight or flight.

While it is true that Arizona had some size advantage on us, one of the fundamental principles of basketball is that the rebound generally goes to the person who wants it the most. Clearly, Arizona wanted them more than we did.

I am glad that we get them on the tail end of the mountain road swing. Hopefully, our team and crowd can hopefully be ready for them.

[sancho]

While it is true that Arizona had some size advantage on us

Not just size but also strength and athleticism. When Arizona plays like that, there are very few teams that will beat them on the glass. Tarzewski, Ashley, HJefferson, and Stanimal. That's more than a handful. So you expect to give up some offensive rebounds. But to get beat 40-20 on the glass? Ouch.

[sancho]

So, when Bill Walton was calling for a charge on Stanley, I started to wonder - what percentage of offensive fouls do not involve the defender falling back? I'm guessing less than 1%.

Next time I ref a college game, I'm calling a block on every defender that falls backwards.

[LA Ute]

Larry's postgame interview tonight. Worth a listen:

http://espn700sports.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Larry-Krystkowiak-Postgame-1-17-15.mp3

He sees nothing positive about the loss, but "can't put lipstick on a pig." "You may be a skinny guy, but you've still gotta go hit someone."

[U-Ute]

Well, at least we know where we really stand right now. We had a target on our back and got Arizona's best game. We got Arizona's best effort on defense and in rebounding, and on top of that, they had a couple of guys show up offensively.

Considering that the last time we got their best game was in the PAC12 tourney last year, and we got beaten by 35, I'll consider this an improvement!

Not many teams in the country would've beaten Arizona yesterday. I can think of only 1 that could've hung with that onslaught.

Are we top a top 5 team? Probably not. But we are most certainly in the top 12 or so. This team can learn from this and continue to get better.

[UTEopia]

I was hoping for a split, so I am happy with that side of things. Very surprised at Arizona's play. They played like the team with the chip on it's shoulder. Miller probably spent the last few days telling them how nobody is giving them any respect and that this Utah team wants to be top dog. He challenged them and they showed that they are bigger, faster and stronger. This loss, by itself, does not dampen my enthusiasm for this team. It will be interesting to see how they respond. I hope the response is what I think it will be. Wazzu is a pretty good team, probably the 3rd best team in the conference right now or (just looked at the Oregon St. score) maybe not. It is a team we should beat if we play the way we played before the Arizona game. Enjoy my seats Ma'ake.

[OrangeUte]

http://pac-12.com/article/2015/01/17/bill-walton-talks-classical-music-monster-dunk

The call that SU was referring to.

[#1 Utefan]

I was hoping for a split, so I am happy with that side of things. Very surprised at Arizona's play. They played like the team with the chip on it's shoulder. Miller probably spent the last few days telling them how nobody is giving them any respect and that this Utah team wants to be top dog. He challenged them and they showed that they are bigger, faster and stronger. This loss, by itself, does not dampen my enthusiasm for this team. It will be interesting to see how they respond. I hope the response is what I think it will be. Wazzu is a pretty good team, probably the 3rd best team in the conference right now or (just looked at the Oregon St. score) maybe not. It is a team we should beat if we play the way we played before the Arizona game. Enjoy my seats Ma'ake.

Utah will kill both Wazzu & Washington by 20+ this week unless the game last night somehow damaged their psyche and they forget how to dictate the tempo and play their game.

[LA Ute]

18 second-chance points for UA. Ouch. That also happens to have been the margin of victory.


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[SeattleUte]

Last night Georgetown destroyed no. 4 Villanova in DC. This type of thing happens almost daily in college basketball. You all can do your hysterical thing if we lose this week. But I wouldn't.

[LA Ute]

Last night Georgetown destroyed no. 4 Villanova in DC. This type of thing happens almost daily in college basketball. You all can do your hysterical thing if we lose this week. But I wouldn't.

Agreed. No reason to panic.

[OrangeUte]

I'm ready to move on to next week's games. I'm too lazy to start another thread.