Here, Ducky Ducky, hoops version: Utah v. Oregon 2014

[LA Ute]

I wonder if the boys have a shot at stealing a win on Jan. 2? I plan to be there at the Huntsman.

[Viking]

Utah will beat Oregon

[GarthUte]

I certainly hope the team isn't overlooking St. Katherine as you are.

[sancho]

I wonder if the boys have a shot at stealing a win on Jan. 2? I plan to be there at the Huntsman.


I'll be there. First good, non-cream puff Utah home game for me since Bogut wrecked Big Baby. You know, the button started as a basketball charm...

[LA Ute]

I certainly hope the team isn't overlooking St. Katherine as you are.

No way. I'll be at that game too. I just thought people would want to start taking about the game, especially after BYU's loss to them. So here's a place to do that.

[OrangeUte]

I want this game badly. It will show that our win last year was not a fluke and we are a serious team in the PAC. Can bachinsky play tough again like he did against the cougs?

[#1 Utefan]

Utah needs to win this game. It is a little early to call any game a must win but given the weakness of the preseason schedule, Utah needs to win at least two if not three of Oregon, Colorado, UCLA, and Arizona at home to have a shot at the NCAA tourney. I say this because I think road wins in PAC-12 play will be difficult to come by, particularly against these caliber teams.

I hope the fans show and create an atmosphere like they did against BYU. That environment made it very tough onBYU and could be the difference in winning some of these big games.

[SoCalPat]

Utah needs to win this game. It is a little early to call any game a must win but given the weakness of the preseason schedule, Utah needs to win at least two if not three of Oregon, Colorado, UCLA, and Arizona at home to have a shot at the NCAA tourney. I say this because I think road wins in PAC-12 play will be difficult to come by, particularly against these caliber teams.

I hope the fans show and create an atmosphere like they did against BYU. That environment made it very tough onBYU and could be the difference in winning some of these big games.

In full agreement. It's time to get on board to the idea that this is team that can work its way into the NCAA Tournament conversation. It would be the biggest such step we've taken since we beat Gonzaga at home in Boylen's second year.

[SoCalPat]

Also, does anyone else find it ironic in light of Phil Robertson's comments on homosexuality and the legalization of gay marriage in Utah that our first D-1 opponent since both of those events transpired is called the Ducks?

[Jarid in Cedar]

Also, does anyone else find it ironic in light of Phil Robertson's comments on homosexuality and the legalization of gay marriage in Utah that our first D-1 opponent since both of those events transpired is called the Ducks?


I hadn't put that line of logic together, but that is pretty funny.

[bagzz_21]

Utah totally has a shot at beating Oregon. Look at the Oregon v TDS game. Size gives the Ducks problems. Steve Mims, one of the Oregon Beat writers, said on tornbysports.com (http://www.tornbysports.com/utah-utes-basketball-learning-ducks/) that the way to beat the Ducks was with size in the post. The Utes have 3 players 6'10 or bigger. Plus the utes have size at every position except when Taylor is at guard.

[Scratch]

So this is pretty clearly the biggest game since the NCAA loss to Arizona in 2009. The next question is when was the last regular season game we had that was bigger than this? You could argue the game at BYU in 08-09, but I think this is bigger. It may be the game we lost at Zona in 04-05, and may go all the way back to the 51-49 win over 'Bama, of course, that game turned out to be not terribly important as Mark Gottfried would go on to show what his coaching ability could do with an immensely talented team.


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[SoCalPat]

So this is pretty clearly the biggest game since the NCAA loss to Arizona in 2009. The next question is when was the last regular season game we had that was bigger than this? You could argue the game at BYU in 08-09, but I think this is bigger. It may be the game we lost at Zona in 04-05, and may go all the way back to the 51-49 win over 'Bama, of course, that game turned out to be not terribly important as Mark Gottfried would go on to show what his coaching ability could do with an immensely talented team.


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I would argue for our game against Gonzaga in 2008-09. The Zags were ranked 16th and we won by a point at home. Equally memorable about that game was telling fans arriving in New Orleans for the Sugar Bowl the following day that Utah had in fact won -- most were on the plane, dealing with travel and thinking about the football game. The hoops game was an afterthought, but it largely put the SW Baptist debacle behind us and got us believing we were a tournament team.

[Scratch]

I considered that one, and it turned out to be very important, but I was looking more at the perceived importance going into the game (which I didn't spell out in my post). At the time of that game we were 7-5, including losses to SW baptist and Idaho State, and coming off a lousy year and a mediocre (at best) year. Also, Gonzaga was coming off a loss to Portland State, so there wasn't much buildup and I remember my thought after that game was wow, Gonzaga must really suck.

Of course it turned out to be very important because it served as a springboard and really helped our seeding, but that didn't become clear until much later.


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[LA Ute]

Utah basketball: It’s show-and-tell time for Utes (http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/utes/57337055-89/utah-utes-season-pac.html.csp)

Tony Jones has a nice piece on where the program is and what tonight's game means.

[chrisrenrut]

Oregon Basketball tweet with pic from SLC last night:
Sunset on the Wasatch Mountains in Salt Lake City. We are about 24 hours from the start of Pac12 play!
https://twitter.com/OregonMBB/status/418535149207187456/photo/1

[UTEopia]

Utah basketball: It’s show-and-tell time for Utes (http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/utes/57337055-89/utah-utes-season-pac.html.csp)

Tony Jones has a nice piece on where the program is and what tonight's game means.

I think Tony hits the nail on the head. I don't look at this game as a make or break game regardless of how it goes. I think the Utes can win the game, but at the end of the day, it is only 1 game. As the win over Stanford in football illustrated, 1 game does not a season make.

[SoCalPat]

I think Tony hits the nail on the head. I don't look at this game as a make or break game regardless of how it goes. I think the Utes can win the game, but at the end of the day, it is only 1 game. As the win over Stanford in football illustrated, 1 game does not a season make.

Had our non-con SOS been better, I would be in full agreement. But until the losses start piling up, I will maintain that every home game vs. a ranked opponent is more than just one game.

[SoCalPat]

Need a ticket for tonight. Will pay face value.

[Rocker Ute]

So is anyone going to be satisfied with a 'respectable loss'? Ducks are #10 in the nation after all.

This team has exceeded my expectations thus far and I try to keep in check that my expectations for this year as a 'high met' was a run in the NIT. 'Low met' would be CBI. If we beat Oregon I think everyone's expectation is going to shift to the tournament, and that might be problematic.

This all goes back to my theory that Whit would have been better off this year to lose to Stanford and beat ASU or someone like that. When we beat Stanford everyone's expectations went through the roof... only to be dashed.

After that negativism though, thus far this team seems to have that 'it' factor we've been missing for a long long time, I would absolutely not be shocked to see them in the tourney, but being a Ute fan for as long as I have, I'm keeping my expectations at the NIT level.

[LA Ute]

So is anyone going to be satisfied with a 'respectable loss'? Ducks are #10 in the nation after all.

This team has exceeded my expectations thus far and I try to keep in check that my expectations for this year as a 'high met' was a run in the NIT. 'Low met' would be CBI. If we beat Oregon I think everyone's expectation is going to shift to the tournament, and that might be problematic.

This all goes back to my theory that Whit would have been better off this year to lose to Stanford and beat ASU or someone like that. When we beat Stanford everyone's expectations went through the roof... only to be dashed.

After that negativism though, thus far this team seems to have that 'it' factor we've been missing for a long long time, I would absolutely not be shocked to see them in the tourney, but being a Ute fan for as long as I have, I'm keeping my expectations at the NIT level.

I want a win. I also expect the NIT, but I think this team has a couple of special players and may well make the Dance. I want them to fulfill their potential, whatever it is.

[Rocker Ute]

I want a win. I also expect the NIT, but I think this team has a couple of special players and may well make the Dance. I want them to fulfill their potential, whatever it is.

Utah making the big dance this year will have a major impact on Delon Wright making the NBA draft or not.

Make it and he is on everyone's radar and looked at as a guy who took one of the worst teams in the nation and made them a contender.

Utes make it and we'll be even more surprised at the recruits Kodiak can bring in, because look at the mileage they got off of making a little conference championship run last year.

I want it so bad for so many reasons, but like you my expectations remain in the NIT.

[FountainOfUte]

I want a win. I also expect the NIT, but I think this team has a couple of special players and may well make the Dance. I want them to fulfill their potential, whatever it is.

I expect NIT at this point as well. I think we need these wins:
OSU
@WSU
USC
UW
WSU
ASU
CU
Plus one more road win against anyone

Obviously, any loss in this list needs to be made up somewhere else against a likely tougher opponent/circumstance.

To get to the Dance, we'll need to do everything above, plus collect a couple more scalps from the top tier. Our opportunities are:
Oregon
UCLA
@ASU (I'm not sure this one gets us as much mileage as the others).
@Arizona
@CU
@UCLA
Arizona

[Scratch]

I think 8 more wins (P12 tournament included) to get on the NIT bubble, and 11 more wins (P12 tournament included) to get on the NCAA bubble.

[Mormon Red Death]

Where is onwas?

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[Mormon Red Death]

That was a beautiful pass

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[chrisrenrut]

Fun atmosphere tonight. We are sitting up high in RR. Lots of crowd energy. At the start of the game, there were lots of empty seats in the lower bowl, but they have filled in. Late arriving crowd due to the early game time, most likely.

I think if we can control the ball and not turn it over, we win this game.

[GarthUte]

Fun atmosphere tonight. We are sitting up high in RR. Lots of crowd energy. At the start of the game, there were lots of empty seats in the lower bowl, but they have filled in. Late arriving crowd due to the early game time, most likely.

I think if we can control the ball and not turn it over, we win this game.

Agreed. I think the team needs to slow it down just a bit in the 2nd half. There's nothing wrong with pushing it up the floor, but the team should only do it if it is going to be an easy fastbreak bucket. If not, slow it down and run the offense; force Oregon to play at a slower pace.

[Mormon Red Death]

Where is onwas?

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Seriously is he hurt?

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[DrumNFeather]

We need to dig deep here and attack.

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[Mormon Red Death]

You need wrght to be able to hit a 3-pointer

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[DrumNFeather]

Man, we look awful in this second half.

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[DrumNFeather]

Man, we look awful in this second half.

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Big free throws here

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[DrumNFeather]

OT

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[OrangeUte]

Ugh! Loveridge had a good look. Wright might have been able to draw a foul had he shot while double teamed.

Playing tough. We need wright or Bachinsky to get hot.

This is a great game.

[OrangeUte]

Take it at Moser.

[OrangeUte]

This may be a game that is won at the free throw line.

Huge missed dunk!

[OrangeUte]

Loveridge needed to make that layup.

[DrumNFeather]

Loveridge needed to make that layup.

So many missed opportunities

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[OrangeUte]

Exactly. We are not playing great so I'm glad to just be in this.

[OrangeUte]

We need to pound it down low. Bachinsky has a mismatch but we aren't exploiting that.

[OrangeUte]

Great d! Work it inside.

[OrangeUte]

Awesome shot!

[OrangeUte]

Horrible.

[DrumNFeather]

Dallin you big dummy

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[OrangeUte]

That's a hard loss.

[GarthUte]

Ugh. What an awful way to lose.

[DrumNFeather]

That's a hard loss.

They have to find a way to break through in these games. I don't want to overreact here, but that was a big choke given a double digit lead in the second half.
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[OrangeUte]

They have to find a way to break through in these games. I don't want to overreact here, but that was a big choke given a double digit lead in the second half.
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My thoughts exactly. We had that.

[LA Ute]

Love Dallin, but I don't want the ball in his hands in that situation. Horrible.

[LA Ute]

What happened with Oregon's 12-2 run? That was the key to the game, IMO. I'm also baffled about the ease with which they could drive to the hoop all night.

[Rocker Ute]

What happened with Oregon's 12-2 run? That was the key to the game, IMO. I'm also baffled about the ease with which could drive to the hoop all night.

The 12-2 run coincided with PVD in the game, unfortunately. Love the kid but he was a defensive liability out there and a turnover waiting to happen.

[USS Utah]

I think we need to learn as fans to not overreact to a loss. Utah played an undefeated top ten team tonight, kept it close and had two chances to win a the end, all this despite not playing a great game. Utah did some things very well, but got sloppy at times. No moral victories, but it's also not necessary to get so close to the edge.

[LA Ute]

I think we need to learn as fans to not overreact to a loss. Utah played an undefeated top ten team tonight, kept it close and had two chances to win a the end, all this despite not playing a great game. Utah did some things very well, but got sloppy at times. No moral victories, but it's also not necessary to get so close to the edge.

I agree. This one just stings. I hope the guys now know they belong on the floor with top 10 teams and will just get more determined than ever.

[USS Utah]

I agree. This one just stings. I hope the guys now know they belong on the floor with top 10 teams and will just get more determined than ever.

Like they say in the military, the enemy has a vote.

[DrumNFeather]

I agree. This one just stings. I hope the guys now know they belong on the floor with top 10 teams and will just get more determined than ever.

Totally agree. We had one of these early last year too and our guys need to go out and win a few of 'em now and not let this carry over.

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[SoCalPat]

I think we need to learn as fans to not overreact to a loss. Utah played an undefeated top ten team tonight, kept it close and had two chances to win a the end, all this despite not playing a great game. Utah did some things very well, but got sloppy at times. No moral victories, but it's also not necessary to get so close to the edge.

If we're still angry about it tomorrow, then I'd say we're overreacting. Nothing wrong with feeling angry or upset when a great opportunity is missed.

[UTEopia]

Lost opportunity. On the post game show LK said that after the Utes got up by 10 the players seemed to relax a little too much and were not getting back the way they did at the other times of the game and that is what led to the 12-2 run.

The last play happened so fast that I really did not see how Bach lost the ball. I agree that he is not the guy you want handling the ball on that play. Do you put Lenz in at that point or another wing player?

Surprised we did not see Onwas. I like Fields energy and effort, but he is very raw on the offensive end.

What we cannot do now is allow this loss to carryover into Saturday's game. From the score it looks like Oregon State hung tough with Colorado, so it is no gimme.

This was a fun game to attend. It had end to end action and the refs seemed to let a lot of things go on both ends of the court which makes for a more exciting game.

Interesting to see that the Carter kid from Las Vegas that we missed out on only played about 5 minutes in the first half.

[Scratch]

I'm fine having Bach in there as a possible put-back option, but not to have the ball go through him. I hope that wasn't how it was designed. My guess is that the ball was supposed to go elsewhere with him rolling to the basket for a possible put back or a pass if his defender left him to cover a driving wing, but that stuff got clogged up, the inbounder (don't remember who it was) panicked due to the lack of a timeout and used Bach as a release valve.

[Utebiquitous]

What an atmosphere tonight. Basketball is most definitely back at the Huntsman Center. That said, no moral victories. This was there for the taking - a lot of key missed shots in regulation. I'm mystified by the minutes Parker Van Dyke played. I'm convinced Onwas has done something. Perhaps it's attitude, grades or something but to not have him in to help defend any number of the athletes Oregon puts on the floor is otherwise stupid.

Offensively, Taylor, Van Dyke and Tucker were all frustrating tonight. All seemed far too amped. Their threes missed long - seriously long. That's a little frustrating given that Taylor and Tucker have one Pac-12 season under their belt. Damn it!

LA, forgive me for not dropping by tonight. I was there with my sons - as I know you were - and we just wanted to stay put. Besides, the jump-roping club was mesmerizing.

[justaute]

You are correct, and Coach K said as such. The inbound-pass was not suppose to go to Bach. There was some type of miscommunication.


I'm fine having Bach in there as a possible put-back option, but not to have the ball go through him. I hope that wasn't how it was designed. My guess is that the ball was supposed to go elsewhere with him rolling to the basket for a possible put back or a pass if his defender left him to cover a driving wing, but that stuff got clogged up, the inbounder (don't remember who it was) panicked due to the lack of a timeout and used Bach as a release valve.

[LA Ute]

You are correct, and Coach K said as such. The inbound-pass was not suppose to go to Bach. There was some type of miscommunication.

Sigh. Such a shame. Again, I just hope this loss makes the boys hungrier than ever. 'Biq, I know I'll meet your boys eventually.

[SeattleUte]

The ducks are just tougher. They've been deep in the NCAA, they're more experienced, older. They hav a very good coach. They also have been better tested this season. They've beaton some good teams. Nothing is easy. We need to keep trying and we'll get as tough as they are. We've come a long ways. Bach's emergence as a force in the middle is great news. Not to say this loss doesn't suck because I'm through counting moral victories. That was for last season.

[justaute]

Some random thoughts...

We really need some help from the outside. JLove will have his off-nights. UO did not respect Wright's outside shots at all -- he just needs to hit 1 or 2 per game to draw-in the d and to open up the court.

More important, we need Taylor/Tucker/Parker to step-up. Thus far, I'm more disappointed with Tucker than with anyone else. As a reputed shooter, I think he can step-up even more; of course, for the season through 1/2, he's shooting 35.7% -- a bit above D1 average of 34.06%. Unlike Parker/Fields/Onwas, Tucker at least has a year of PAC12 under his belt. Not sure about the basketball IQ of Onwas/Fields just yet.

Kovacevic -- why didn't he get any playing time? If we are not redshirting him, why not have him split time with Olsen? Thoughts?

[Diehard Ute]

Some random thoughts...

We really need some help from the outside. JLove will have his off-nights. UO did not respect Wright's outside shots at all -- he just needs to hit 1 or 2 per game to draw-in the d and to open up the court.

More important, we need Taylor/Tucker/Parker to step-up. Thus far, I'm more disappointed with Tucker than with anyone else. As a reputed shooter, I think he can step-up even more; of course, for the season through 1/2, he's shooting 35.7% -- a bit above D1 average of 34.06%. Unlike Parker/Fields/Onwas, Tucker at least has a year of PAC12 under his belt. Not sure about the basketball IQ of Onwas/Fields just yet.

Kovacevic -- why didn't he get any playing time? If we are not redshirting him, why not have him split time with Olsen? Thoughts?

Tough game to really put Marko in I think.

It's going to be selected spots he can play

[Utah]

Great game. It's awesome to have the Huntsman Center back to what it should be. We have young, but great team. These close losses will start turning into wins as they get more experience and last night was a TON of experience for this team.

I'm not worried about Wright going pro. I won't worry about it until he can get the opposing team to respect his shot.

[SeattleUte]

We got a bad scheduling break. I'd much rather have gotten OSU as the prelude to Oregon and then Oregon two days after playing at Colorado. Oh well, breaks of the game.

[LA Ute]

An impressed ESPN writer:

Utes've come a long way, baby (http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/91905/utesve-come-a-long-way-baby)


I wish he were writing about an impressive Utah win, but it's nice to be noticed. Now we need to make some real noise in the conference.

Also, Nick Jacobson tweet (https://twitter.com/NJacobson15/status/418954400665579520):


I don't believe in moral victories, but when a top 10 team piles on the floor after beating you, program's headed in right direction. #UTES (https://twitter.com/search?q=%23UTES&src=hash)

[Two Utes]

Some random thoughts...

We really need some help from the outside. JLove will have his off-nights. UO did not respect Wright's outside shots at all -- he just needs to hit 1 or 2 per game to draw-in the d and to open up the court.

More important, we need Taylor/Tucker/Parker to step-up. Thus far, I'm more disappointed with Tucker than with anyone else. As a reputed shooter, I think he can step-up even more; of course, for the season through 1/2, he's shooting 35.7% -- a bit above D1 average of 34.06%. Unlike Parker/Fields/Onwas, Tucker at least has a year of PAC12 under his belt. Not sure about the basketball IQ of Onwas/Fields just yet.

Kovacevic -- why didn't he get any playing time? If we are not redshirting him, why not have him split time with Olsen? Thoughts?

Delon needs to understand that under the new rules you need to go to the rim and create contact. You will get the foul call probably 80% of the time. Last night when Delon didn't have a lane he stopped driving. I've watched a lot of basketball in the past two months and the refs are calling fouls to the rim on ANY contact. Delon doesn't understand this yet because in the preseason he got to the rim with ease.

Chalk the loss last night up to our patsy preseason schedule. Nevertheless, it was a good effort and we are much improved.

As for PVD, his game is to make mid range shots. I've seen him play for four years. He's terrific at it. Right now he's unwilling to pull up and take the shot. Not sure if it's freshman jitters or the coaches not giving him the green light. Either way, he's worthless to us if he isn't shooting mid range jumpers. He had open looks and instead looked to pass. His passes weren't great.

[UTEopia]

I am a bit of a stat geek. Before conference started, I thought that if the Utes averaged 70 points per game and Love, Wright and Taylor scored 45-50, the Utes would have a chance at a very good season (more than 9 conference wins).

Last night the Utes had 68 and Love, Wright and Taylor combined for 44. None of the three had great shooting nights. Love was 8/23, Wright, 5/10 and Taylor 3/8. That is too many shots for Love and not enough for the other two. The reason I say neither Wright nor Taylor had great shooting nights is they passed on too many shots. I think both Taylor and Wright were a little hesitent to shoot the ball at times and that resulted in Jordan taking more shots than he should normally take.


We got 18 points and 14 rebounds from the center position (Dallin, Lenz, Olsen) which is about what I think we need.


We really got no help from Tucker (6 points on 2/6 shooting) and 0 points and 0 rebounds from Parker and Fields, the only wings and guards off the bench.


So my take aways from the stats, in addition to the execution problems at the end of regulation and the end of OT, are:


Depth is still an issue. We had 4 guys play 38 or more minutes. Oregon had 4 guys play in the 30’s, with no single player more than 33. Oregon got 25 points off the bench while the Utes only got 15. This is a long grinder of a season and although the drop-off from Taylor, Love and Wright to the next group may be significant, the coaches need to find a way to get these guys some rest and get some production.


Wright, Taylor and Tucker need to take the open shots. Yes, Oregon is longer and faster than any opponent we have played, but they passed on too many open shots that did not lead to better open shots later in the shot clock.


I don’t know what our record would be or if we would have won last night if we had played a better non-conference schedule, but if we had I don’t think any of us would be asking if that was a factor in the loss.

[LA Ute]

I don’t know what our record would be or if we would have won last night if we had played a better non-conference schedule, but if we had I don’t think any of us would be asking if that was a factor in the loss.

I do think that Delon at least was a little taken aback by the higher level of competition. He seemed reluctant to take the ball to the hoop in the early going but he got over that.

[UTEopia]

Video replay of end of OT. It looks to me like after Bach got the ball everyone sort of stopped to watch him. Tucker stood out of bounds. Taylor stopped his run over the top. Delon is standing in the corner. Love looks like he is waiting. My guess is that Tucker was supposed to go screen for Love and Bach is supposed to get Love the ball if they don't switch or look for Tucker going to the rim if they both go after Love. Bach knew what he was supposed to do. I think he was a little impatient and that the others did not move. Tough way to lose.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5c__-gTR6k

[SeattleUte]

Video replay of end of OT. It looks to me like after Bach got the ball everyone sort of stopped to watch him. Tucker stood out of bounds. Taylor stopped his run over the top. Delon is standing in the corner. Love looks like he is waiting. My guess is that Tucker was supposed to go screen for Love and Bach is supposed to get Love the ball if they don't switch or look for Tucker going to the rim if they both go after Love. Bach knew what he was supposed to do. I think he was a little impatient and that the others did not move. Tough way to lose.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5c__-gTR6k

Bach's turnover wasn't completely atrocious. It was a savvy steal by the Oregon player. For me the most striking sight is how Wright and Loveridge had the presence of mind to set up that final trey shot by Loveridge. They damn near won it. Loveridge was square and wide open for that last shot. It could have been an epic finish.

[UTEopia]

Bach's turnover wasn't completely atrocious. It was a savvy steal by the Oregon player. For me the most striking sight is how Wright and Loveridge had the presence of mind to set up that final trey shot by Loveridge. They damn near won it. Loveridge was square and wide open for that last shot. It could have been an epic finish.

I think it was Tucker who made the pass, but you're right that it would have been epic. Either my wife or I would have done some serious damage to ourselves. She still has a scar on her shin from when Scott Martin (?) hit a long shot going into halftime against UNC in the NCAA's in 82.

[Two Utes]

I think it was Tucker who made the pass, but you're right that it would have been epic. Either my wife or I would have done some serious damage to ourselves. She still has a scar on her shin from when Scott Martin (?) hit a long shot going into halftime against UNC in the NCAA's in 82.

I was there. It was Scotty Martin. The Special Events Center was rocking. Bankowski 1 of 9. Same night Ainge made the drive against Notre Dame

[SoCalPat]

]Video replay of end of OT. It looks to me like after Bach got the ball everyone sort of stopped to watch him.[/B] Tucker stood out of bounds. Taylor stopped his run over the top. Delon is standing in the corner. Love looks like he is waiting. My guess is that Tucker was supposed to go screen for Love and Bach is supposed to get Love the ball if they don't switch or look for Tucker going to the rim if they both go after Love. Bach knew what he was supposed to do. I think he was a little impatient and that the others did not move. Tough way to lose.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5c__-gTR6k

I don't think anyone knew what to do there. Does anyone think we've worked on a single game-ending play in practice where we throw the ball into Bachinsky?

[GarthUte]

Bach's turnover wasn't completely atrocious. It was a savvy steal by the Oregon player. For me the most striking sight is how Wright and Loveridge had the presence of mind to set up that final trey shot by Loveridge. They damn near won it. Loveridge was square and wide open for that last shot. It could have been an epic finish.

Agreed. The Oregon player did a great job getting that steal. I only question why the inbound pass to Bach, rather than get the ball into Wright, Loveridge or even Taylor who can handle the ball in a situation like that. It was a tough way to lose, but the Utes stood toe to toe with a very good team and never backed down. This Utah team is going to cause headaches for the better teams in the PAC12 and it's going to be fun to watch.

[SoCalPat]

I do think that Delon at least was a little taken aback by the higher level of competition. He seemed reluctant to take the ball to the hoop in the early going but he got over that.

I don't know if we had this lineup much in the regular season, but going small with Delon, Taylor at the point and PVD on the floor was atrocious. It was that lineup that got Oregon on their run and back into the game.

Said it before elsewhere, I'll say it again here: We've got 7 seconds left and the ball in Delon's hands. He's got a guy on him that cannot stay in front of him. This was the perfect time to put Two Utes' plan into effect and have Delon drive and get contact, but Larry takes the ball out of Delon's hand by calling a timeout. What on God's green earth do you exactly want there? That is the ideal game-ending situation.

I can buy the confusion that led to the timeout at the end of OT (although that might speak to a larger issue involving game-end situations), but that first timeout was inexcusable.

[Applejack]

I don't know if we had this lineup much in the regular season, but going small with Delon, Taylor at the point and PVD on the floor was atrocious. It was that lineup that got Oregon on their run and back into the game.

Said it before elsewhere, I'll say it again here: We've got 7 seconds left and the ball in Delon's hands. He's got a guy on him that cannot stay in front of him. This was the perfect time to put Two Utes' plan into effect and have Delon drive and get contact, but Larry takes the ball out of Delon's hand by calling a timeout. What on God's green earth do you exactly want there? That is the ideal game-ending situation.

I can buy the confusion that led to the timeout at the end of OT (although that might speak to a larger issue involving game-end situations), but that first timeout was inexcusable.

I agree with all of this.

I said it in the BYU thread - our inbound plays are atrocious. Given the status of the team last year, I'm not surprised that we haven't worked much on inbound/late game situations. But the coaches need to address this issue. Watch the BYU game again (no, really, it's awesome): if you swap their inbound sets for ours, we win by 30. These little things are what will take us from a good team to a great team.

[SoCalPat]

Agreed. The Oregon player did a great job getting that steal. I only question why the inbound pass to Bach, rather than get the ball into Wright, Loveridge or even Taylor who can handle the ball in a situation like that. It was a tough way to lose, but the Utes stood toe to toe with a very good team and never backed down. This Utah team is going to cause headaches for the better teams in the PAC12 and it's going to be fun to watch.

Oregon is going to double Wright and overplay Loveridge to deny him the ball. Our best shooter is inbounding the ball. We have no timeouts left, so we'll pass to the first guy that's open. It's either Tucker or Bachinsky, and Altman would take that scenario 100 percent of the time. That Bachinsky was 15 feet from the basket was a bonus.

I don't know what to think about having Taylor inbound the ball there. I really think we could've gotten Oregon to burn its last TO if we sub Ogbe into the game.

I mostly like how Larry plays checkers for 39 minutes, but he's gotta learn to play chess in the final minute.

[Diehard Ute]

The players didn't execute the OT inbounds play.

Krysko wouldn't dime out who made the error, but both he and Loveridge said the players had "miscommunication" and didn't run the play they'd been taught correctly.

Larry said there are 4 options on that play (they assumed they'd sell out on Delon which was correct) and none of them involved what we saw.

[Scratch]

I really think we could've gotten Oregon to burn its last TO if we sub Ogbe into the game.


I was thinking the same thing. I think Ogbe's the perfect guy there, and I was even thinking that it would be tempting to have Ogbe inbounding, spread Love, Wright, and Taylor around the floor, and then put Olsen in the mid (not too high) post. There's no way they leave Wright, Taylor, or Love open, they probably put a man on the inbounder, and then if you can feed Olsen in the post there's not a single player on the team more likely to score than Olsen in the post. He has plenty of flaws in his game, but spacing the floor and getting him the ball in the post is the highest percentage chance this team is going to get in that scenario.

[DrumNFeather]

The players didn't execute the OT inbounds play.

Krysko wouldn't dime out who made the error, but both he and Loveridge said the players had "miscommunication" and didn't run the play they'd been taught correctly.

Larry said there are 4 options on that play (they assumed they'd sell out on Delon which was correct) and none of them involved what we saw.

Kind of makes me wonder if Larry outsmarted himself. In the exact same spot, the team doesn't execute the inbounds play n regulation. Maybe in OT you just let it ride and see if Wright can create something rather than roll the dice on the inbound play through Bach.

Sent from my LG-E970 using Tapatalk 2

[Diehard Ute]

Kind of makes me wonder if Larry outsmarted himself. In the exact same spot, the team doesn't execute the inbounds play n regulation. Maybe in OT you just let it ride and see if Wright can create something rather than roll the dice on the inbound play through Bach.

Sent from my LG-E970 using Tapatalk 2

I think that was sort of the point....the ball wasn't supposed to be inbounded to Bachynski

[UTEopia]

Said it before elsewhere, I'll say it again here: We've got 7 seconds left and the ball in Delon's hands. He's got a guy on him that cannot stay in front of him. This was the perfect time to put Two Utes' plan into effect and have Delon drive and get contact, but Larry takes the ball out of Delon's hand by calling a timeout. What on God's green earth do you exactly want there? That is the ideal game-ending situation.

I can buy the confusion that led to the timeout at the end of OT (although that might speak to a larger issue involving game-end situations), but that first timeout was inexcusable.

I think you are right on this. Sometimes I think coaches over think and over manage end of game situations. If the guy you want to have the ball has the ball, why call a TO? Sloan was pretty good over the years at not taking the timeout. Of course he had John Stockton, so there is that.

[U-Ute]

An interesting writeup (http://pachoops.com/2014/01/utah-utah-utah-and-a-few-other-thoughts-from-opening-night/) that shows that Loveridge and Utah are getting noticed by the rest of the league.