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SALT LAKE CITY — Prior to conference play the thought crossed my mind that 9-9 for this Utah basketball team was a possibility. I realize that the Utes have since dropped to 0-2 (losing by a combined four points) and host UCLA tonight.
The fact that the Utes have been in every single game this season gives me no other ideas than to think this game will be close. Utah has been great at forcing their style of play on the other team and that will have to be the case tonight. UCLA in basketball is as good as it gets. They are on the same level as Arizona as far as the type of players they get and as we saw on Saturday, Utah has figured out a way to play with these teams. The question remains if they can win those games.
In order to answer this question I will go in two difference directions.
Defensively
- The Utes are giving up only 57.2 ppg which is nine points less than the national average.
- The Utes are allowing 35.4% in opponents FG% (7th nationally) and ranked 23rd in 2-pt FG% (41.2%).
If your defense is good it will always keep you in games, even some games maybe you shouldn't be in. Good defense will put you in a great position to win games on the road. Evidence of this is just last weekend at Arizona and Arizona State.
Offensively
Utah has been inconsistent. There have been some great stretches like the first half of the Cal St. Northridge game and then some very poor stretches. Yes, the second half of Cal St. Northridge comes to mind as well as seven-plus minutes without a basket in Provo. There seems to be one huge offensive lull per game. There are many positives though. Jason Washburn has been wonderful. His 19 points and 18 rebounds against Arizona State were dominant and the second half against Arizona (17 points and 11 rebounds) was a godsend. The Utes are not in these games if it weren't for Washburn.
The Utes have made up some ground but have yet to learn how to finish a game. Hopefully tonight is that night. Beating a storied program like UCLA in the Huntsman Center could really give these young Runnin' Utes confidence to create some havoc in the conference.
