The Utes Went Down to Tucson, They Were Looking for a Game to Steal

[UBlender]

We need to see more of Fields. He barely made an impact in the non-con, when the results of our games should've dictated more minutes. I had written him off because of that, and while last night was just one game, I liked what I saw. He's a lefty, he's physical and he has a jackhammer dribble. His vision is decent and it shouldn't take much for him to be an exceptional defender.

I give him a pass for the missed FT. That moment was an undervalued part of the game. I didn't realize the opposing coach could choose who shot the FTs and I think it's a bad rule. It was your guy who caused the injury to Onwas, so why should you dictate his replacement at the line? The old rule used to be you could take anyone on your team to shoot the FTs -- on the bench or in the game -- but I think a good compromise would be to limit your selection to guys that are on the floor.

I've been banging this drum all season. I feel like Utah has more depth than Larry allows. We see these flashes of Ogbe and Fields, we know they can play. Of course they will have freshman moments, but the upside is there both in the short- and long-run for more consistent minutes from those guys. It has been driving me crazy all year to see Wright play 40 minutes a game and Loveridge play 38. I find it hard to believe that we can't get these guys 2-3 minutes of rest each half without everything going to hell.

One encouraging thing from last night was that we made that second half run with Wright on the bench. Hopefully, that will give Larry the confidence to give him some rest. Personally, I think there's a connection between Wright playing all 40 and not being able to finish games strong, leading to close losses. I also think Wright has been slowing down overall in the last couple of weeks. He needs some rest.

Oh and if anyone can figure out what in the world is going on with Dakarai Tucker I would love to know.

[DrumNFeather]

I've been banging this drum all season. I feel like Utah has more depth than Larry allows. We see these flashes of Ogbe and Fields, we know they can play. Of course they will have freshman moments, but the upside is there both in the short- and long-run for more consistent minutes from those guys. It has been driving me crazy all year to see Wright play 40 minutes a game and Loveridge play 38. I find it hard to believe that we can't get these guys 2-3 minutes of rest each half without everything going to hell.

One encouraging thing from last night was that we made that second half run with Wright on the bench. Hopefully, that will give Larry the confidence to give him some rest. Personally, I think there's a connection between Wright playing all 40 and not being able to finish games strong, leading to close losses. I also think Wright has been slowing down overall in the last couple of weeks. He needs some rest.

Oh and if anyone can figure out what in the world is going on with Dakarai Tucker I would love to know.

I agree.

Wright has been pushing a lot lately...and I think we saw last night that Onwas and Fields can really help create good looks for him. This will be paramount heading into the Pac 12 tournament.

[sancho]

Oh and if anyone can figure out what in the world is going on with Dakarai Tucker I would love to know.

What needs to be figured out? He shoots 40% from behind the line. He has limited ball-handling skills, limited defensive ability, and limited rebounding ability. He is who he is. Sometimes we need that shooting. It has been big for us numerous times this season.

I don't know if the rebounding/defense/ball-handling will ever improve. Maybe Coach should tell Tucker that if he doesn't get either an offensive rebound or an over-the-back call in the first 3 minutes against ASU, he will come out of the game for a good long while.

Right now, we have 3 shooters on the team - Taylor, Tucker, and Ogbe. Loveridge and Van Dyke are supposed to be shooters as well, but that hasn't panned out. That's why we need Tucker. Or we need to see if the walk-on from Snow can rebound better than Tucker. But we have to have shooters out there.

[LA Ute]

I was really surprised and happy to see Delon attempt the dunk at the end of the half. Too bad it popped out.

We were fortunate that they didn't turn that missed dunk into an immediate trey at the other end.

[UBlender]

What needs to be figured out?

Why he can't be adequate enough at defense and rebounding to stay on the court and take advantage of his very good shooting ability. I am loving Onwas right now, but when we have him and Wright on the floor together, the defense can really sag and make it harder for anyone to attack the rim. As you said, we need Tucker's shooting, but he seems to be getting fewer and fewer minutes due to his failings in other areas. This is a problem. He either needs to buy in on both ends or make way for Ogbe and Fields to see more time. I really like Dakarai but can't understand what's going on right now. With his length and quickness he should be good at those other things too.

[SeattleUte]

Guys, no worries. If Loveridge and Taylor had made the free throws Arizona would still have figured out a way to beat us. That's the difference between us and them right now. That can and should change sometime between now and this time next season.

[LA Ute]

Guys, no worries. If Loveridge and Taylor had made the free throws Arizona would still have figured out a way to beat us. That's the difference between us and them right now. That can and should change sometime between now and this time next season.

I think you are right. Since before the season the great majority of us thought the NIT would be a great sign of progress for this team. Then they played better than expected and fan expectations shot up. The Utes are actually right on schedule, to the extent we fans can impose reasonable and realistic expectations.

[UTEopia]

Encouraged or discouraged by last night? Another close but no cigar game. I guess I would have to say that I am encouraged more than discouraged, although like the Oregon game at the time, this is a game the Utes had every opportunity to win. They failed to do so and it is difficult to see that changing until it actually does. ASU is the key game down the stretch. Will they be hungover? Will they come out and play like they did against Oregon St. after the Oregon loss.

[SeattleUte]

Encouraged or discouraged by last night? Another close but no cigar game. I guess I would have to say that I am encouraged more than discouraged, although like the Oregon game at the time, this is a game the Utes had every opportunity to win. They failed to do so and it is difficult to see that changing until it actually does. ASU is the key game down the stretch. Will they be hungover? Will they come out and play like they did against Oregon St. after the Oregon loss.

A strong suit seems to be Larry's ability to motivate these guys. They really haven't come out and just laid an egg yet this season.

[SoCalPat]

I think you are right. Since before the season the great majority of us thought the NIT would be a great sign of progress for this team. Then they played better than expected and fan expectations shot up. The Utes are actually right on schedule, to the extent we fans can impose reasonable and realistic expectations.

Yes and no. I'd be in full agreement if we had some more decisive losses sprinkled in. That were consistently on the short end of these kind of games when mere standard deviation should be helping us out is what troubles me most.

[Hot Lunch]

Encouraged or discouraged by last night? Another close but no cigar game. I guess I would have to say that I am encouraged more than discouraged, although like the Oregon game at the time, this is a game the Utes had every opportunity to win. They failed to do so and it is difficult to see that changing until it actually does. ASU is the key game down the stretch. Will they be hungover? Will they come out and play like they did against Oregon St. after the Oregon loss.

Very encouraged. We just took the number 4 team in the country to overtime. We return all the key pieces of this team for next year and add better talent with the incoming class than what we currently have on the roster not named Delon Wright. This is tough, they are young and are probably 2 players away from being at the top of a really good league.

Like you said, ASU will be a key game. This game will speak volumes of how far this team has really come. Can we recover vs. a good team and continue to play well at home or do we fold after a heart breaking loss? I am also looking forward to the upcoming road trip to the bay area. It will be good to see if this team can finish strong on the road and learn from past mistakes.

[SeattleUte]

Yes and no. I'd be in full agreement if we had some more decisive losses sprinkled in. That were consistently on the short end of these kind of games when mere standard deviation should be helping us out is what troubles me most.

This makes no sense. You'd feel better if they'd been blown out a few times?

[SoCalPat]

This makes no sense. You'd feel better if they'd been blown out a few times?

Not blown out, but I'm talking about losses in the 7-10 point range. We're in too many one-possession games that we ultimately lose and are too good at home for us to be potentially "rewarded" with a 10th place finish in the standings, which is where we finished last year. As a result, I wouldn't be teased about this team's potential, only to be disappointed at the end of close games.

To get a better idea of what I'm talking about, take a look at our scoring differential in league games. We outscore opponents by about 2 points per game. So does ASU and Cal, yet the Sun Devils and Bears are 2.5 games ahead of us in the standings. Colorado outscores teams in league games by less than a point per game and is 3 games ahead of us.

This kind of disparity drives me crazy. Either win the games and be with ASU and Cal, or be more in line with your peers -- Washington is getting outscored by 4.5 PPG; Oregon State by 2.5 PPG. Assessing this team in black and white would be MUCH easier if we weren't filled with so much gray.

[LA Ute]

Some props from PAC-12 Hoops:

Arizona 67, Utah 63 OT - Have you guys heard of Fantex Holdings? It’s a company that’s creating value out of an athlete’s earning potential and allowing you to buy stock in that potential. The athlete makes money, you make money. It’s literally stock in an indvidual. Now somewhere in there I’ve violated an NCAA rule but if I’m buying futures on a program I’m buying up some Utah. They’re a year away from really shaking things up but that’s discredit to what they’re capable of doing right now. I could go into the Luck thing again but we’re all sick of that at this point (though I did find it WILDLY ironic – or probably coincidental, sue me – that the Utah band was playing Daft Punk’s Lucky out of one of the closing timeouts). That’s a tough team and a more talented team than Larry K had initially given them credit for. They were getting the best possible shot Arizona has in them at this point for 30 minutes, fouled Aaron Gordon out of the game and used all that momentum to have a free throw for a lead in the last minute. They missed it.

http://pachoops.com/2014/02/on-last-...-pac-12-slate/

[UBlender]

Encouraged or discouraged by last night? Another close but no cigar game. I guess I would have to say that I am encouraged more than discouraged, although like the Oregon game at the time, this is a game the Utes had every opportunity to win. They failed to do so and it is difficult to see that changing until it actually does. ASU is the key game down the stretch. Will they be hungover? Will they come out and play like they did against Oregon St. after the Oregon loss.

Can I answer after I see how UA does at CU this weekend? I am still not sure how good UA is without Brandon Ashley. They are good, but did we lose to a top five team or to a 20-25 ranked team who is masquerading as a top five team based on accomplishments with a player who is out now? If UA beats CU then I will feel a lot better about it. Right now I think CU wins, though.

[sancho]

This kind of disparity drives me crazy. Either win the games and be with ASU and Cal, or be more in line with your peers -- Washington is getting outscored by 4.5 PPG; Oregon State by 2.5 PPG. Assessing this team in black and white would be MUCH easier if we weren't filled with so much gray.

I guess this means that we are better than UW and Oregon State, but not as good as ASU or Cal. Sagarin agrees with that. It's just frustrating to be better than our record indicates.

Oregon fans must feel more or less the same. They have lost a lot of close games to good teams. They are clearly a good - not great - team whose conference record doesn't tell the whole story.

Of the bottom half of the Pac-12 teams, Utah and Oregon are the two that other teams are hoping not to draw in Vegas.

[Solon]

To state the obvious I think the lack of athletic bigs who can rebound is the biggest hole in our program right now.

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I generally agree with this, but Utah out-rebounded Arizona 37-31.
IMO, the difference in the game was Loveridge's 1-12 night from the field.
That, or the 3 missed dunks. I like the leaps, but the Utes could have used another point at the end of regulation.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/boxscore?gameId=400506087

[LA Ute]

FWIW, Kodiak's post-Arizona game presser. At 1:30 he seems a little annoyed at the question we are all asking:

[concerned]

FWIW, Kodiak's post-Arizona game presser. At 1:30 he seems a little annoyed at the question we are all asking:

He says it is a silly question, because it is the question he is asking too and doesnt know the answer. Psychology 101 says it is a defense mechanism. He was not in a good mood.

[LA Ute]

He says it is a silly question, because it is the question he is asking too and doesnt know the answer. Psychology 101 says it is a defense mechanism. He was not in a good mood.

Maybe he's thinking, "!?#??!!, if I knew the answer to that it wouldn't be happening." I really don't think it is a silly question. Painful, and not artfully asked, but not silly.

[concerned]

Maybe he's thinking, "!?#??!!, if I knew the answer to that it wouldn't be happening." I really don't think it is a silly question. Painful, and not artfully asked, but not silly.

exactly.

[SoCalPat]

Maybe he's thinking, "!?#??!!, if I knew the answer to that it wouldn't be happening." I really don't think it is a silly question. Painful, and not artfully asked, but not silly.

And Larry owned up to his responsibility in it all after the same reporter asked a follow-up about Jordan. That's good.

[concerned]

fwiw, I heard Bill and Hans interview Larry K last night driving home. Hans asked the very same silly question, and LK gave a much different, thoughtful response. the long and short: Larry said it comes down to youth and experience, both the players and the coaches. He said they have to learn how to close a close game, and he has to do a better job putting them in position. he said he has to get better too.

[LA Ute]

fwiw, I heard Bill and Hans interview Larry K last night driving home. Hans asked the very same silly question, and LK gave a much different, thoughtful response. the long and short: Larry said it comes down to youth and experience, both the players and the coaches. He said they have to learn how to close a close game, and he has to do a better job putting them in position. he said he has to get better too.

The question and answer are at about 9:00 here:

http://espn.kall700sports.com/larry-...coach-2-21-14/

[LA Ute]

Arizona blowing CU out right now. Up 23 with 7:30 to go. Impressive.

[DrumNFeather]

Arizona blowing CU out right now. Up 23 with 7:30 to go. Impressive.

Makes one feel a little better about our loss on Wed, and about our next two at home.

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