On the comeback trail
It was an unhappy trip home, that's for sure, after the Utes fell apart in a 69-43 loss at No. 17 Air Force on Thursday night.
But there was an upside.
Freshman forward Kim Tillie took a big step in his recovery from a broken leg, being allowed to put on his basketball shoes and take some shots for the first time since he was hurt in practice in late December. Tillie gently shot baskets before the Utes practiced on Thursday, careful not to really jump or run.
Tillie is not expected to return before the end of the year - there's certainly no reason to push it - but his improvement still was a positive development for a team that has strained to find many of those this season.
The 9-15 Utes again showed a maddening lack of toughness against the Falcons, committed 19 turnovers, and failed to score for long stretches. They will consider themselves fortunate if they can win two of their final four regular-season games, and perhaps win a first-round game in the Mountain West Conference tournament next month.
"We couldn't sustain," coach Ray Giacoletti said. "We got off to a good start. We had a good understanding of what we needed to do, but we didn't defensively do the things early to get us off to a really good start. We had a lot of breakdowns, with foul trouble and turnovers."
After shooting nearly 71 percent against the Falcons in an 85-79 victory over them at home last month, the Utes actually burst out of the gate in the rematch with a dunk by center Luke Nevill on the first possession, followed by two three-pointers and two more easy baskets for Nevill in the post.
Suddenly, though, the shots wouldn't fall.
Nevill encountered foul trouble. The players off the bench looked timid and confused, and the Utes never did bear down with the kind of defense Giacoletti wanted. The Falcons ultimately led by 30 points.
"It was definitely, once again, a defensive problem," Nevill said.
But there was an upside.
Freshman forward Kim Tillie took a big step in his recovery from a broken leg, being allowed to put on his basketball shoes and take some shots for the first time since he was hurt in practice in late December. Tillie gently shot baskets before the Utes practiced on Thursday, careful not to really jump or run.
Tillie is not expected to return before the end of the year - there's certainly no reason to push it - but his improvement still was a positive development for a team that has strained to find many of those this season.
The 9-15 Utes again showed a maddening lack of toughness against the Falcons, committed 19 turnovers, and failed to score for long stretches. They will consider themselves fortunate if they can win two of their final four regular-season games, and perhaps win a first-round game in the Mountain West Conference tournament next month.
"We couldn't sustain," coach Ray Giacoletti said. "We got off to a good start. We had a good understanding of what we needed to do, but we didn't defensively do the things early to get us off to a really good start. We had a lot of breakdowns, with foul trouble and turnovers."
After shooting nearly 71 percent against the Falcons in an 85-79 victory over them at home last month, the Utes actually burst out of the gate in the rematch with a dunk by center Luke Nevill on the first possession, followed by two three-pointers and two more easy baskets for Nevill in the post.
Suddenly, though, the shots wouldn't fall.
Nevill encountered foul trouble. The players off the bench looked timid and confused, and the Utes never did bear down with the kind of defense Giacoletti wanted. The Falcons ultimately led by 30 points.
"It was definitely, once again, a defensive problem," Nevill said.
posted by www.sltrib.com @ 4:57 PM |
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