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LAS VEGAS — One down, one more to go.
The Utah basketball team cannot get ahead themselves. It is time to take Crash Davis' advice and learn the clichés.
Utah has to take this one day at a time, one game at a time.
The Utes got their first win in PAC-12 tournament history Wednesday night after a see-saw battle ended just in time. The final possession was indicative of how the game went. The Utes missed a shot that would have sealed the game and USC tapped the ball out and were on the fast break. Jarred DuBois got his hand on the ball and then football follies ensued.
It was an appropriate finish to a game where Utah led by as many as 13 points (60-47) and down just a total of two. The game included a couple of big USC runs that got them back into the game and Utah fans felt like they were nervously watching "Groundhog Day", again.
"Earlier in the season these were the kind of games that withered away," Larry Krystkowiak said after the USC win Wednesday night. "We had a hard time closing and I thought we had some guys make some big time plays that helped put an end to it so we're thrilled to be moving on."
The Utes held on and now face what many believe is the best team in the conference, Cal, with this years' best player in the conference, Allen Crabbe.
Cal beat the Utes twice this year. The first time was at the Huntsman Center where Cal led by as many as 15 points. Utah brought the game back to within three but it was just too late. Utah committed 17 turnovers during that meting.
In the second contest in Berkley just a couple of weeks ago, Utah got blown out by 18 and the Bears held Utah to their lowest scoring total of the season, 46. Utah shot just 29-percent and they didn't have one player in double figures.
What do the Utes need to do to move on?
This may sound simple but Utah needs to shoot better. Shooting 42-percent and 29-percent in any game most likely won't get it done. It especially won't get it done against a tournament team.
Utah played pretty well last night against USC in a game where they weren't necessarily favored yet many picked them to win. Tonight, nobody gives them a chance and frankly, nobody should. Larry Krystkowiak said "Not to take anything away from USC but we gotta be a lot better in terms of more physical and defending the basketball or it could be a little embarrassing for us."
Jason Washburn added, "I think this team is really starting to understand what it needs to do to win basketball games against good solid teams in the PAC-12. We're going up against a good defensive team again with arguably the best player in our conference (Allen Crabbe) and we're going to have to be even better than we were tonight. We're going to have to take the fight to them."
This is the perfect scenario for Utah. There is a saying in sports that it is hard to beat a team three times in one season. Playing with that in your pocket and also having upset in mind may just be enough to keep the Utes alive and playing. The other ingredient that continues from yesterday is that this is simply March and this month always does funny things to the college basketball game.
