California Dreamin - Utah visits UCLA & USC

[DrumNFeather]

With the league's top two teams going a combined 0-4 on the road this past weekend, and Arizona surging, the road trip in LA takes on much more importance than perhaps it did a week ago. Even the DNF-Atology projections have shifted, giving the Utes a road split in projection #3, whereas the previous two had us going 0-2 on this road swing.

After a terrible result on the road in Oregon last week, the Utes came home and "got right" against the Washington schools. Poetel has been playing lights out and the rest of the team has been rounding into form as well with just five games remaining down the stretch...and this is the final road tilt of the season before we welcome in the Arizona schools and the Buffs.

If the Utes can win both this week, we have the opportunity to control our own destiny in getting a top 2 seed in Vegas. A split positions us for a top four seed in vegas and going o-2 on this roadie means that at a minimum, we need to go 3-0 at home to finish the season in order to get a top 4 seed in Vegas and look good in the eyes of the committee.

[LA Ute]

I think we will take UCLA, lose to USC.


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[U-Ute]

I think we will take UCLA, lose to USC.


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I feel a split as well but so much depends on our guard play which has been frustratingly inconsistent. We could easily go anywhere from sweeping to being swept.

Hopefully the reemergence of Taylor is here to stay.

[SoCalPat]

You know Enfield has has this game marked down since the schedule came out. We gotta be on our toes for this one. If Enfield chooses to run it up, you know he will.

[Mormon Red Death]

You know Enfield has has this game marked down since the schedule came out. We gotta be on our toes for this one. If Enfield chooses to run it up, you know he will.

Why? what am i not remembering?

[SoCalPat]

http://www.insidesocal.com/usc/2015/02/02/47467/

[LA Ute]

http://www.insidesocal.com/usc/2015/02/02/47467/

Oooh! Oooh! I missed that one. This will be interesting to watch. :snack:


I feel a split as well but so much depends on our guard play which has been frustratingly inconsistent. We could easily go anywhere from sweeping to being swept.

Hopefully the reemergence of Taylor is here to stay.

I'm not sure he's re-emerged. Maybe he just does better against lower-level competition. I don't know.

[concerned]

The reemergence of Taylor is here to stay as long as we are playing at home, maybe.

[Rocker Ute]

Home court against poor competition and Taylor and Loveridge will be lights out. Jimmer Freddette (D league mvp has taught us that).


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[justaute]

haha...that's a good one. Unfortunately, I very much do agree with that sentiment. Taylor and Loveridge seem to be that way. If I were coaching an opponent, I were heavily pressure Utah's guards and just let Jakob have his points. Probably run a pressure-heavy 3-2 defense.

#1 -- I don't think our guards can shoot under pressure and are less athletic (sans Bonam)
#2 -- Our guards would have a problem passing





I'm not sure he's re-emerged. Maybe he just does better against lower-level competition. I don't know.

[SoCalPat]

UCLA has gobs more talent than any team we've beaten on the road this year. USC hasn't lost at home. I'm resigned to having beat Arizona in order to finish 11-7 and get a top 4 seed in Vegas. 10-8 won't cut it.

[311ute]

UCLA has gobs more talent than any team we've beaten on the road this year. USC hasn't lost at home. I'm resigned to having beat Arizona in order to finish 11-7 and get a top 4 seed in Vegas. 10-8 won't cut it.

Interesting you say that, because I was just thinking today that this is probably UCLA's least talented team (in terms of NBA talent) we've seen in at least a few years. I'm not sure there's one sure-fire NBA player on the roster. Maybe Thomas Welsh in a couple years? The best shot would probably be one of the two freshmen (Aaron Holiday or Prince Ali), but both are probably at least a couple years away. There's certainly not a Norman Powell, Kevon Looney, Jordan Adams, Kyle Anderson, Zach LaVine, etc on this squad.

With that said... I agree, this is a Bruin team that is much more talented than their record indicates. Bryce Alford, Tony Parker, Isaac Hamilton, Thomas Welsh are fine college players and we're going to have our hands full. I'd be interested to see what the line is when it comes out tomorrow. I'd bet it opens about -1.5 for UCLA.

In terms of NBA talent, Washington has two possible first round draft picks in this year's class. Duke ("neutral" game) has two as well. CU also a pretty talented team, although probably only one (fringe) NBA guy (Scott).

[311ute]

And the opening line is -1 for UCLA

[DrumNFeather]

Am I wrong in thinking that UCLA goes as Alford goes? Seems like when he's on they usually win and do well.

Have to wonder what the crowd will be like as well.

[sancho]

Am I wrong in thinking that UCLA goes as Alford goes? Seems like when he's on they usually win and do well.

Have to wonder what the crowd will be like as well.

I'm worried about Parker and Welsh on the glass. In the UCLA games I've seen, Welsh was kind of a sneaky rebounder.

[sancho]

Got home from work in time for the start of the 2nd half. Any quick first half summaries?

[LA Ute]

Am I wrong in thinking that UCLA goes as Alford goes? Seems like when he's on they usually win and do well.

Have to wonder what the crowd will be like as well.

I'm at the game. Pretty small crowd, upper bowl empty (except for us Utah fans).

Sancho: First half was tit-for-tat. UCLA doubled Jakob a lot, he burned then with passes. As you can see he's opened up in the 2nd half. 51-40 Utah.


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[DrumNFeather]

Please Larry don't take the air out of the ball.

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[LA Ute]

Please Larry don't take the air out of the ball.

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Looks like they're still attacking but waiting a bit before doing it. If that makes sense.


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[DrumNFeather]

Walton is right...that was a terrible call.

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[DrumNFeather]

#21 looks promising...is he New?

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[mpfunk]

The way we play with lead, I'm still very worried.

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[LA Ute]

Here we go again.


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[LA Ute]

The way we play with lead, I'm still very worried.

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We are accomplished at collapsing.


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[mpfunk]

Why in the hell do we suck so much with a lead?

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[LA Ute]

Stepping on the end line is another specialty.


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[LA Ute]

Why take that trey, Jordan?


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[DrumNFeather]

Better guard the 3...

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[LA Ute]

We could use a stop here with :55 to go.


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[DrumNFeather]

(in the huddle) "Let's just try to not foul someone, you know, shooting a 3"

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[hostile]

Taylor!!!

[DrumNFeather]

Don't shake Alford's hand...he's got the flu!!!

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[DrumNFeather]

This is a good win...now if we can beat USC, look out!

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[chrisrenrut]

My gosh, our sphincters pucker up tight when up with 5 minutes left. Thank goodness for Taylor's huge 3.

Taylor:
1787

[LA Ute]

I wonder what UCLA shot from three-point range? It almost seemed like we were letting them have those shots.


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[chrisrenrut]

I wonder what UCLA shot from three-point range? It almost seemed like we were letting them have those shots.


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11-23, 48%

[sancho]

20 wins!

[Jarid in Cedar]

We accomplished something that Utah has never accomplished (win at Pauley). This team is wonderfully frustrating at times, but they are 20-7. That win should get us a top 4 seed at the tournament.

[LA Ute]

With a 14-point lead and just under 7:00 to go I did ask myself if they'd fall apart again. They started to, but got it together in the end. I hope they gain confidence from that.


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[LA Ute]

We accomplished something that Utah has never accomplished (win at Pauley). This team is wonderfully frustrating at times, but they are 20-7. That win should get us a top 4 seed at the tournament.

Like.


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[LA Ute]

UTAH 40-24, points in the paint.


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[LA Ute]

Have we ever had 4 road wins in the PAC-12?


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[LA Ute]

We ought to give these guys a little break, I think. They are like other teams in the conference. Doesn't seem like any lead is really safe, if it's 15 points or less.


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[UtahsMrSports]

Have we ever had 4 road wins in the PAC-12?


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5 last year. Col, asu, osu, wsu, usc.

[Ma'ake]

At the game tonight, the Pauley crowd really started to get into it at the end, but Taylor capped his great defensive job on Alford with nailing that three. His family was beaming. Awesome memory.

Glad we have 3 nights to get that emotional high purged.

I remember back in the olden days we'd play Friday and Saturday nights in the WAC, then it became Thursday and Saturday. Now I think we have a very small advantage having played on Thursday, with a Sunday game, vs USC having played Wednesday, then Sunday.

Sat by a really cool guy who played at Stanford in the 1960s, when they were the Indians. We were the Runnin' Redskins. He said at a reunion they had a program of Stanford at Utah, billed as the "Injuns vs the Injuns". As Billy Joel puts it, "the good old days weren't always good".

UCLA honored Marques Johnson tonight, you look up at the rafters and see all those championships under Wooden, then Bill Walton's calling the game. UCLA simply exudes class. Bigger than the win tonight, we're in the same league with this school.

Great night to be a Ute!

EDIT: At halftime they had one of those shooting contests, where you start with a layup, then a free-throw, then a 3, then a half-court shot... within 30 seconds. I'll be damned if this guy didn't hit the cycle, and he had to shag the ball after his shots - there was no rebound help - and with the clock ticking down to zero he shot the half court shot to the other rim... and nailed it. Pretty cool. Everyone was pretty stoked about that.

[Utebiquitous]

Well, let's go get our fifth. Love getting the win on the front end. Terrific to see Poeltl play so well against length. Four players in double figures with a couple more really close. Loveridge shows up on the road. Good win.

[Diehard Ute]

Well, let's go get our fifth. Love getting the win on the front end. Terrific to see Poeltl play so well against length. Four players in double figures with a couple more really close. Loveridge shows up on the road. Good win.

Per Goon Utes are 15-0 when 4 guys hit for at least 10.


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[LA Ute]

Here are the video highlights. You'll notice that on the final (meaningless) shot by Aaron Holiday, Taylor is the defender and he stays far away from the shooter.

http://m.utahutes.com/m/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/021816aaa.html


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[UtahsMrSports]

Maybe this belongs in the thread about this season as a whole, but we are surprisingly thin as far as rotation goes. The fact that rotations have to tighten up as we get closer to the finish line is not lost on me, but its somewhat concerning that we have one reliable sub and a couple of guys who get sporadic minutes. I hope that this doesn't come back to bite us when it really matters.

[LA Ute]

By the way, Pauley is a truly beautiful arena.


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[Diehard Ute]

By the way, Pauley is a truly beautiful arena.


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Guessing the renovation helped. It was a hole last time I was there.


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[LA Ute]

Guessing the renovation helped. It was a hole last time I was there.


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It opened 1965 so yes, I'd say the renovation helped a lot. It was probably 40-45 years old when you were last there. It's beautiful now. I think we'll say the same thing about the JMHC in the few years. The renovations already made there are terrific.

[U-Ute]

#21 looks promising...is he New?

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No, but up until new he was only utilized at home.

[Diehard Ute]

No, but up until new he was only utilized at home.

I have to give Jordan credit, he's really picked up his intensity especially defensively the last few games. He seems to be giving it all he's got


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[Jarid in Cedar]

I have to give Jordan credit, he's really picked up his intensity especially defensively the last few games. He seems to be giving it all he's got


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Seeing the end of the road tends to do that to seniors

[U-Ute]

We got the road split I was hoping for. Now we just either have to beat USC on the road or Arizona at home to have a shot at winning the league.

[Dwight Schr-Ute]

I just noticed that the books are at USC -1.5. I'll take that against a team that hasn't lost at home all season.


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[LA Ute]

It's nice that we are ahead by 13 points, but with this Utah team a lead like that means nothing.


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[LA Ute]

It's nice that we are ahead by 13 points, but with this Utah team a lead like that means nothing.


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Not to mention the explosiveness of USC.


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[LA Ute]

So the question is this: USC will make a run, will the Utes be able to withstand it?


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[DrumNFeather]

So the question is this: USC will make a run, will the Utes be able to withstand it?


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Answer to the second question...I hope so.

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[Dwight Schr-Ute]

Not to mention the explosiveness of USC.


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I could have gone without those last four seconds.


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[LA Ute]

Looks like this is the run. 7 points so far. Maybe we can stop it there.


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[LA Ute]

Looks like this is the run. 7 points so far. Maybe we can stop it there.


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Guess not.


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[LA Ute]

Maybe that was their run. Hoping they don't have another one in them.


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[LA Ute]

Now we are on our own run.


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[sancho]

Now we are on our own run.


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Run, Utes, run.

[LA Ute]

Coming up on the magical seven minute point. Can we just keep at it, rather than letting up?


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[LA Ute]

Kind of surprising that Jakob likes to bounce the ball at least once before he goes up with it. A high school player bad habit.


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[LA Ute]

The dagger from Jordan.


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[hostile]

Coming up on the magical seven minute point. Can we just keep at it, rather than letting up?


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Much better today.

[sancho]

Great win! Great road trip!

Career high in assists for Taylor.

[LA Ute]

This is a very nice and slightly surprising win. A Southern California sweep.


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[sancho]

I think POY is coming down to Brooks and Poeltl, and Poeltl has the momentum.

[Solon]

I think POY is coming down to Brooks and Poeltl, and Poeltl has the momentum.

Great pair of road wins. It would be nice to ride this momentum into the conf. tourney.

[justaute]

yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GO Utes!

[SeattleUte]

Somehow we lost twice to Oregon, and gave away two road games that seemingly we'd about won, and with three games left we're just .5 game down from Oregon and Arizona, and of the three of us, we have the schedule advantage. Weird.

[DrumNFeather]

What a great road trip! Hopefully this means that we are peaking at the right time.

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[LA Ute]

What a great road trip! Hopefully this means that we are peaking at the right time.

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Post game, Jakob said that it feels to him like the Utes are coming together.


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[HuskyFreeNorthwest]

Great sweep. Impressive weekend for you guys.

[Scorcho]

in the same way Krysko can't solve Oregon's Altman, USC's Enfield can't solve Krysko. He's 0-5 against Larry.

[Scorcho]

additionally how nice was it to keep this game at double digits even as time ran out. Other than against Wazzu, Utah hasn't played even over the last 3-4 minutes of a game against anybody.

[Ma'ake]

Great sweep. Impressive weekend for you guys.

Class post. For some reason I keep forgetting you're not of our persuasion. But you're in our tent, and it's fine. :)

[SoCalPat]

Top 4 seed locked up, and it's not inconceivable Oregon gets swept on the SoCal roadie. If we win out, we get the No. 1 seed in Vegas. Unbelievable!