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SALT LAKE CITY — The Runnin’ Utes continue to hover around the middle of the Pac-12 with close losses acting like a thorn in the program’s side, but the only thing stopping the Utes is themselves.
The question is no longer whether the Utes can compete in the Pac-12 — they can — it’s whether they can compete for a full 40 minutes and execute the fundamentals of the game? Since transitioning to conference play, the Utes are finding it extremely difficult to maintain the game’s momentum and stay with the plan head coach Larry Krystkowiak has created.
“From a player’s perspective, just keep the lead,” sophomore guard Brandon Taylor said prior to the team’s practice before hosting Washington and Washington State this week. “The biggest thing is just withstanding their run because when they get on runs it's like they get the crowd in it, they get the momentum.”
“Little things have led up to the losses: not boxing out, not playing with intensity,” junior guard Delon Wright said. “It’s been a lot of little things. We can play with anybody on the floor, we’ve just got to stay with the plan and do all the little things that the coaches want us to do.”
Recently, the biggest factor for the Utes has been their inability to get a rebound on both sides of the floor. Against Colorado, the Utes were outrebounded 42-24, with the Buffaloes getting 25 defensive boards and 17 offensive boards, compared with Utah’s 13 and 11, respectively.
Little things have led up to the losses: not boxing out, not playing with intensity. It's been a lot of little things. We can play with anybody on the floor, we've just got to stay with the plan and do all the little things that the coaches want us to do.
–Delon Wright
Although Colorado’s size posed a problem for Utah, the inability to get the long rebound was just as frustrating for Krystkowiak.
“That’s a focal point. We’re going to have to improve our outs significantly and then we’ve just got to go get the ball,” he said. “It’s a weakness of ours right now. We’ve got to be a lot better on the glass, defensively in particular. We’re not looking to run until we get the rebound. We’re going to need to get our guards back in lending a hand to our bigs. A lot of times the team that wins the rebound game wins the game.”
Although Washington and Washington State don’t exhibit the same size problems as teams like Colorado and Arizona, Krystkowiak said something still needs to be done, whether that’s line-up changes or just a better strategy for negating an opponent's size.
“I’m gonna have to consider getting a bigger line-up out on the court for some of these games. We’re going to have to get a lot tougher making some of these plays,” Krystkowiak said. “At the end of the day it comes down to playing with a lot of energy and not thinking too much about things.”
Despite Utah’s inconsistencies and problems with rebounding, the Runnin’ Utes have Wright, who has been the team’s most consistent player in the short time with the program. Wright continues to pad the stat sheet each game, and has made quite the name for himself in the Pac-12.
Delon Wright Stats
| Season | Min | FG% | 3P% | FT% | REB | AST | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013-14 | 35.7 | .592 | .256 | .794 | 7.0 | 5.3 | 1.3 | 2.8 | 16.1 |
Wright currently leads the Pac-12 in steals (fifth in the NCAA) with 3.1 per game and continues to shoot the ball from the field with great accuracy, averaging 59 percent, which is good enough for fourth in the conference. Wright is also third in the conference in assists (5.3 per game), sixth in scoring and free throw percentage (79 percent) and seventh in blocks (1.3 per game).
Jordan Loveridge Stats
| Season | Min | FG% | 3P% | FT% | REB | AST | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013-14 | 34.8 | .428 | .294 | .814 | 7.8 | 2.8 | 0.5 | .8 | 16.0 |
| 2012-13 | 31.7 | .397 | .368 | .762 | 7.0 | 2.0 | 0.4 | .8 | 12.1 |
Team leader Jordan Loveridge, however, has to have an impact in the game for Utah to win. Against Colorado, Loveridge was all but absent and wasn’t much of a factor in the outcome of the game — for good or bad. Although it was only one game, Loveridge has to put together a complete game and help the team get a much-needed victory.
Loveridge is still putting up decent numbers on the season, however, shooting 43 percent from the field and 82 percent from the free-throw line. He is averaging 7.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. Nevertheless, Loveridge is not scoring as much as he did last season, averaging 16.0 points per game compared with last year's 21.1, despite shooting the ball better.
“He’s a young man that’s almost halfway through his sophomore year, and sometimes the expectations are to put up big numbers night in and night out,” Krystkowiak said. “He’s at the top of some teams' scouting reports and things aren’t going to be easy for him. Things haven’t been going as well for him as he’d like — there’s a lot of guys on our team that probably feel the same way.
“When you lose these games hopefully everybody is trying to figure out ways to improve their own performance and that will lead to us winning some of these games,” he added.
Utah will face Washington at home Thursday night at 7 p.m. in its hopes to snap a three-game losing skid and to get the school’s 1,700th win. Utah will play Washington State at home on Saturday at 6 p.m.
