Arizona State guard Remy Martin (1) collides with Utah’s Rylan Jones (15) as he drives to the basket during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Jan. 18, 2020, in Tempe, Ariz. | Ralph Freso, AP
After losing a pair of games in Arizona over the weekend, the Utes have dropped to 1-4 in league play and find themselves all alone at the bottom of the standings. You have to go back to the 2012-13 season when the Utes lost their first five league games to find a time when the Utes were in a similar position in Pac-12 play
SALT LAKE CITY — It’s been seven years since the Utah basketball team has found itself in this position at this point of the season — in last place in the Pac-12 basketball standings.
After losing a pair of games in Arizona over the weekend, the Utes have dropped to 1-4 in league play and find themselves all alone at the bottom of the standings.
You have to go back to the 2012-13 season when the Utes lost their first five league games to find a time when the Utes were in a similar position in Pac-12 play.
The Utes aren’t panicking however.
They realize that three losses were to Top 25 teams, Oregon, Colorado and Arizona, ranked No. 12, 23 and 22, respectively, in this week’s AP poll, while the other loss was to an 11-7 Arizona State team. Three were on the road.
“It’s not the first time we’ve lost four league games in a row,” said Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak.
In fact it happened just two seasons ago when the Utes dropped four straight in January after opening up with a pair of road wins in Oregon. The Utes went on to finish 11-7 and tie for third in the final league standings and eventually finished second in the NIT.
The good news for Utah is that it will be back home for the first time in 18 days for an early-tip game against Washington Thursday night (6 p.m.), followed by a game against Washington State Saturday at 5:30 p.m. A pair of wins would vault the Utes back into the thick of the crowded Pac-12 standings.
“I’m confident we can bounce back with the right mindset and with a few good days of practice getting back to playing Utah basketball,” said Krystkowiak.
The Ute coach said his team has gotten away from the way it played in late November and December when it ran off five straight victories, including wins over BYU and Kentucky, “which is playing harder than we have played over the course of the past couple of weeks — certainly playing much more together and relying on each other and trusting each other.”
Opponents have been keying more on Ute leading scorer Timmy Allen, who is seeing more double-teams and getting fewer foul calls.
“It’s important that we get back to what got us to this point,” Krystkowiak said. “We were 9-3 in the preseason and Timmy led us in scoring and there wasn’t a lot of thought about him leading us in scoring, it kind of happened organically. Percentage-wise he had a lot of scoring around the rim, a lot of free throw scoring.”
However, since the start of Pac-12 play, Allen’s numbers have dropped significantly. After averaging 21.0 ppg on 53% shooting in nonconference play, Allen is averaging just 17.0 ppg on 33.3% shooting in league play. His free throw shooting has also dropped off from 78% to 71%.
In Washington, the Utes will be playing a team coming off a loss for the fourth straight game. The Huskies, who are 12-7 overall and 2-4 in the Pac-12, have already lost more league games this season than they lost all of last season when they won the league title with a 15-3 record.
Leading the way for the Dawgs is 6-foot-9, 250-pound freshman Isaiah Stewart, one of the top recruits in the nation last year, who is being pegged as a possible NBA lottery pick this summer. Stewart averages 18.3 points and 9.0 rebounds, the only freshman in the country to average 18 and 9.
Jaden McDaniels is another 6-9, 5-star freshman on the Huskies’ roster and he averages 13.1 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. Other starters include junior guard Nahziah Carter (12.8 ppg), sophomore guard Jamal Bey (5.8 ppg) and junior forward Hameir Wright (4.9 ppg).
Quade Green, the transfer from Kentucky who was averaging 11.6 points and 5.3 assists as a starting guard, was ruled academically ineligible earlier this month.
The Huskies are known for their zone defense and they are fourth in the nation in blocked shots at 6.7 per game after leading the nation a year ago.
Last year, Washington swept the season series with the Utes, winning 69-53 at the Huntsman Center after losing six straight to Utah.
Utes on the air
Washington (12-7, 2-4) at Utah (10-7, 1-4)
Huntsman Center
Thursday 6 p.m.
TV: Pac-12 Network
Radio: ESPN 700AM
from Deseret News https://ift.tt/2tA2ZIu
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