Borha Needs Another Big Game Against Aggies
So guard Lawrence Borha enjoyed the best offensive performance -- 24 points, eight rebounds and eight assists -- of his career to lead the Utes to their comeback victory over UC Irvine last weekend.
Now, he might need the best defensive game of his life.
The Utes take on Utah State at the Huntsman Center on Wednesday night, meaning that -- as usual -- they must find a way to stop superstar guard Jaycee Carroll from killing them. And that job no doubt will fall to Borha, who's typically assigned to guard the opposing team's best perimeter player.
Already, Borha has done a fine job with that role.
The Utes credit him for holding his "main defensive responsibilities" to 19-for-59 shooting, and they're going to need him to slow Carroll, or they can almost certainly count on losing to the Aggies for the third time in four years. Just look at the numbers. When Carroll leads the Ags in scoring, they're 5-1 this season.
When he doesn't?
They're 0-3.
Breaking it down a little further, Carroll has averaged 23.8 points while shooting 55.5 percent in the five victories -- but scored just 16 points and shot 41.7 percent in the four losses. He has been a good barometer in past meetings with the Utes, too.
As a freshman in 2004, Carroll scored 18 points and helped bury the Utes 71-45 in Logan. The next year, he also scored 18, but shot just 7-for-17 and missed a potential game-winner at the final horn of a 67-66 loss at the Huntsman Center. Last year, he erupted for 27 points on 11-for-16 shooting, and the Ags beat the Utes 60-57 in Logan.
So, clearly, Borha needs to be ready.
Now, he might need the best defensive game of his life.
The Utes take on Utah State at the Huntsman Center on Wednesday night, meaning that -- as usual -- they must find a way to stop superstar guard Jaycee Carroll from killing them. And that job no doubt will fall to Borha, who's typically assigned to guard the opposing team's best perimeter player.
Already, Borha has done a fine job with that role.
The Utes credit him for holding his "main defensive responsibilities" to 19-for-59 shooting, and they're going to need him to slow Carroll, or they can almost certainly count on losing to the Aggies for the third time in four years. Just look at the numbers. When Carroll leads the Ags in scoring, they're 5-1 this season.
When he doesn't?
They're 0-3.
Breaking it down a little further, Carroll has averaged 23.8 points while shooting 55.5 percent in the five victories -- but scored just 16 points and shot 41.7 percent in the four losses. He has been a good barometer in past meetings with the Utes, too.
As a freshman in 2004, Carroll scored 18 points and helped bury the Utes 71-45 in Logan. The next year, he also scored 18, but shot just 7-for-17 and missed a potential game-winner at the final horn of a 67-66 loss at the Huntsman Center. Last year, he erupted for 27 points on 11-for-16 shooting, and the Ags beat the Utes 60-57 in Logan.
So, clearly, Borha needs to be ready.
posted by www.sltrib.com @ 10:36 AM |
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