North by Northwest by SLC: WSU/UW Part II

[DrumNFeather]

No way to slice it, last weekend sucked. We had a big time opportunity at a road win vs. Cal, and then failed to show up vs. Stanford. This team needs a healing. What's that you say? WSU and UW are coming to town? Perfect!

Game 1 is against Ernie Kent's upstart squad from the Palouse. They've won twice on the road this year (@OSU, @ASU) and boast a good rebounder in Hawkinson...but this one, much like the first, should not be close.

Game 2 is against Lorenzo Romar's group of underachieving McDonald's All-Americans. They are win-less on the road this year, and I would expect that to remain the same.

We beat these two teams by a combined 63 points last month, so this should be a nice home stand to "get well" as we get ready for the big three game roadie before wrapping up at home.

This will be a weekend of scoreboard watching with Cal in Arizona and USC hosting the Oregon schools.

[DrumNFeather]

Welp - we got no help from ASU last night. In fact, they looked down right terrible. Cal on the other hand looks like they are getting better, and with an RPI at 35, they may be hard to catch. We should gain a game on them on Saturday as they play Arizona.

Heading into tonight, our RPI is 79...you know the nearer your destination the more you're slip sliding away.

[chrisrenrut]

Welp - we got no help from ASU last night. In fact, they looked down right terrible. Cal on the other hand looks like they are getting better, and with an RPI at 35, they may be hard to catch. We should gain a game on them on Saturday as they play Arizona.

Heading into tonight, our RPI is 79...you know the nearer your destination the more you're slip sliding away.

And wins this weekend won't help our RPI much. It may go down slightly. I was surprised to see that Washington State's RPI is higher than Washington's, ~150 and ~180 respectively.

[sancho]

If we truly are beyond hope for an at-large bid, then tonight is the first meaningless Utah basketball or football game in years. It was a pretty good streak, longer than most programs have achieved.

[chrisrenrut]

If we truly are beyond hope for an at-large bid, then tonight is the first meaningless Utah basketball or football game in years. It was a pretty good streak, longer than most programs have achieved.

Meaningless? We are playing for seeding in the NI freakin T. A trip to Madison Square Garden could be on the line here. :rockon:

On a more serious note, I hope this weekend can restore this teams confidence and mojo. It would be nice to finish out the season strong, and have some confidence going into the PAC-12 tournament. I would love to see Utah at least playing a game on Friday night in Vegas.

[sancho]

I would love to see Utah at least playing a game on Friday night in Vegas.

I'd love another shot at UCLA or Arizona, even though I think we would lose again.

[DrumNFeather]

If we truly are beyond hope for an at-large bid, then tonight is the first meaningless Utah basketball or football game in years. It was a pretty good streak, longer than most programs have achieved.

I think The Thrill did the breakdown on this not long ago, but according to Lunardi's last projection (RPI next to them):

Last Four byes:

Kansas St. 41
TCU 34
Wake Forrest 29
Miami 50

Last Four In:
Clemson 55
Indiana 76
Illinois St. (would be nice to have a head to head over them right about now...) 36
Seton Hall 37

First Four Out:
Cal 35
Tennessee 33
Ga. Tech 78
Rhode Island 38

Next Four Out:
Michigan 75
Nevada 40
Georgetown 62
Syracuse 58

So when you look at it this way it certainly paints a bleak picture, especially with USC in and Cal out in our league. So, I suppose if there are teams we need to start watching and rooting against, this list would be a good place to start.

[U-Ute]

Tonight at 7pm (MT) on P12 Networks.

[justaute]

Utah defense is just sad. Brains made of jello.

[Dwight Schr-Ute]

Utah defense is just sad. Brains made of jello.

Jayce will turn the tide!


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[Dwight Schr-Ute]

Jayce will turn the tide!


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But it's mostly the crappy offense.


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[justaute]

Didn't work much, I guess.

[Dwight Schr-Ute]

"Just watch, Utah's going to come up with something on this out of bounds play." LOL. Someone hasn't been paying attention.


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[hostile]

"Just watch, Utah's going to come up with something on this out of bounds play." LOL. Someone hasn't been paying attention.


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Dude. Rawson stuck the ball between the rim and glass. When did you last see that?

[LA Ute]

Are the Utes in a bit of a slump over the last couple of games? They don't seem like themselves at all. I mean, we are in a dog fight with Washington State on our home floor.

[justaute]

This Utah team is just something -- such low BB IQ.

[sancho]

Are the Utes in a bit of a slump over the last couple of games?

Yes. We're broken right now.

[Diehard Ute]

The coaching staff talks to each other too much during timeouts. By the time they come up with a plan the timeout is over.


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[DrumNFeather]

Yes...just as I expected...a victory. Woof.

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[LA Ute]

We all know about moral victories. Is there such a thing as a moral loss?

Kidding. But it is an interesting thought.


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[Old Standing ute]

We got lucky with Delon; otherwise forget the JC recruits. JoJo is a no show & Rawson not any better.

On the other hand Jayce is growing into himself--he even looks better (not great) running. tough rebounder & can score with his left hand.

They need to start Barefield--he does one dumb drive per game, but he moves the ball & feeds the post better than anyone else.

Nice to learn how to win a close game for a change.

[Solon]

We got lucky with Delon; otherwise forget the JC recruits. JoJo is a no show & Rawson not any better.

On the other hand Jayce is growing into himself--he even looks better (not great) running. tough rebounder & can score with his left hand.

They need to start Barefield--he does one dumb drive per game, but he moves the ball & feeds the post better than anyone else.

Nice to learn how to win a close game for a change.

Good point. It is nice to win a close one.
i thought Barefield had some nice passes last night.

Kuzma looked like he wasn't feeling well. Maybe he was ill.

[sancho]

Fultz DNP last night, and Dime slapped a heckling fan at halftime. Tomorrow is Utah fans' chance to say goodbye to Romar.

[Scorcho]

if turnovers and missed free throws were qualifiers to make the tourney, utah would be a #1 seed

[mUUser]

Would've liked to see more Bealer, and less Rawson last night. Bealer plays good D and has plenty of offensive potential. Long and athletic. Why can't this kid get on the court?

[sancho]

Fultz DNP last night, and Dime slapped a heckling fan at halftime. Tomorrow is Utah fans' chance to say goodbye to Romar.

...and Dime is suspended.

[chrisrenrut]

830476082562347008

[Mormon Red Death]

830476082562347008
What does the tweet say?

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[Diehard Ute]

What does the tweet say?

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Fultz is out


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[Old Standing ute]

That is too bad---I wanted to see him in person.

Time to get money down before betting line changes.

[Mormon Red Death]

That is too bad---I wanted to see him in person.

Time to get money down before betting line changes.
-10 to -16

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[sancho]

-10 to -16


Done. Time for Oregon. Last chance for a big win.

[Old Standing ute]

Larry K cut his hand karate chopping the white board during a timeout. And Utes went on a run.
Lorenzo B. has a ton of talent & no basketball IQ. He & JoJo are brutal on floor together.

And the game closes with the famous Jakob Jokl running 1 handed hook-shot: which goes in!

[Ma'ake]

Done. Time for Oregon. Last chance for a big win.

Our team has run into a wall, but yesterday helped. Beating Oregon would be huge, but I'm not holding my breath.

I'm keen on a rematch with Cal, here, and then finding a way to beat CU in Boulder. That preps us for a (hopeful) deep run in the NIT.

I'd take anything beyond that, of course, but I'm just hoping we can get some of the other cylinders firing again, like JoJo, Barefield, better road production from Daniels, etc.