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SALT LAKE CITY — The Runnin’ Utes claimed their first big win of the season Thursday in a lopsided affair over the visiting No. 25 USC Trojans. Although a solid win, with Utah in control for much of the game, Utah remains a team on the outside looking in.
As it stands, the Utes have a solid overall record (12-4, 3-1), but much of that came in a less-than-impressive nonconference schedule. Utah’s wins came against teams with an average RPI of 206, with a win over Colorado as its only “big” win until Thursday. However, the Buffaloes are 0-4 in Pac-12 play and appear to be one of the weaker teams in the conference.
In Utah’s four games against quality opponents, teams with an RPI above 50, Utah has been outmatched in three, losing by an average of 9 points. Utah’s only win against a team with an RPI over 50 is USC, in which Utah won 86-64. By all accounts, though, Utah’s win over USC is just one building block in its pursuit for the NCAA Tournament.
The losses to quality teams — Butler, Xavier and Arizona — do not necessarily hurt Utah’s resume, but a loss to San Francisco (RPI of 110) at the end of nonconference play is a tough pill to swallow for the selection committee come March.
ESPN’s bracketology guru Joe Lunardi is not even registering Utah as a team worthy of “bubble” consideration, at least not yet. But fortunately for Utah, there is still plenty of time to change that by performing well in conference play. Whether it will be enough will not be known for more than a month.
Utah will, however, will not be an easy team in the Pac-12, particularly on the offensive side of the ball. If Utah is able to maintain the current level of play — solid defense, less turnovers, a pass-first mentality and multiple players registering in double figures during a game — Utah has the potential to be one of the top programs in the conference, despite a young, inexperienced roster.
That inexperienced roster has six players averaging more than 10 points — JoJo Zamora (10.4), Devon Daniels (11.0), Sedrick Barefield (12.1), Lorenzo Bonam (12.6), Kyle Kuzma (14.6) and David Collette (15.4) — and a myriad of options to combat opposing defenses.
Continuing head coach Larry Krystkowiak’s love of post play, Collette becomes the starting point in Utah’s offense. As one of the most experienced and aggressive players for Utah, Collette is a difficult matchup for opposing defenses that rely upon a smaller lineup to be quicker and to hit shots behind the perimeter.
If post play is not a viable option on offense, particularly with Collette, Utah has at least five other players that can hit from behind the arc or create their own shots in some other fashion: jump shot, drive to the basket, etc.
In conference play, Daniels has been one of the most consistent players on offense and one that is able to create his own shots. As a freshman, Daniels is shooting 60 percent, with an effective field goal percentage of 63.2 percent. That level of play on offense is second only to Collette, who is shooting 64.2 percent and has an FG percentage of 64.8.
“I’ve been really proud of Devon. I think Devon might be one of those examples of where I haven’t seen too many freshmen come in and play that hard,” Krystkowiak said. “He seems a little bit further down the curve, in terms of that. Consistency has been a nice thing for him.”
Although Daniels is just one piece to the offensive puzzle, Utah has a multitude of players that can give the team a boost.
“I felt like our team could be pretty balanced and share the basketball,” Krystkowiak said. “I think we still have six (players) averaging in double figures, and I am not sure if you are going to find many teams in college that have that going on. It is fun to be a part of.”
Utah’s biggest test of the season will come Saturday as No. 4 UCLA comes to town. As effective as Utah has been offensively, UCLA comes in as the third-best team in the country in scoring, averaging 93.4 points per game. Utah comes in a No. 50 with an average scoring of 80.4 points per game.
Utah does perform better on the defensive side of the ball, keeping teams at 66.0 points per game, while UCLA holds teams to an average of 74.9 points per game.
