Utes Again Fail to Take Advantage of Opportunities
Coach Jim Boylen said it flat-out, you can't expect to win on the road against a good opponent if you shoot only five free throws and allow 22 -- even if the other team makes a miserable 59 percent of them.
But was it the Utes' fault?
Or did they get jobbed by hometown referees?
After all, the refs called them for 21 fouls against them in their 75-64 loss to Oregon at the Rose Garden today, compared to just 10 for the Ducks, resulting in that massive free-throw discrepancy and putting center Luke Nevill and forward Shaun Green into foul trouble. That was especially damaging in a game in which nobody off the bench could score -- 11 points combined on 5-for-17 shooting -- and the Utes were forced to rely on guard Tyler Kepkay for so much of their offense (however much he as able to handle it, with 23 points).
But having watched the game live, I'm inclined to say the the Utes really did commit more fouls, as a result of the Ducks' superior athleticism and quickness. The Ducks enjoyed an advantange in that department at every position, and it seemed like the Utes simply could not keep up with them. That happens sometimes.
"We just have to play through calls," Green said.
And it's a credit to the Utes that despite the foul trouble, they were able to stay so close to such an explosive team. By slowing the tempo, they were able to avoid getting run out of the gym and hang around until crunch time -- when, unfortuantely for them, they wilted away once again.
But still ...
"I have a team that's young in the game and needs to grow and get tougher, and develop," coach Jim Boylen said. "We had plays we could have made that would have tightened things up a little bit. We didn't make those plays. We had those opportunities. We didn't make those plays, and that's where we have to grow."
It was also interesting that the Utes talked so much after the game about their shortcomings on defense, having allowed the Ducks to shoot 53.7 percent.
Yet it seemed to me that it was their offense that betrayed them late, when they failed on six of seven possessions after cutting the lead to four points late in the game. While the Ducks pulled away during that stretch, it wasn't entirely because the Utes couldn't stop them; the Utes did force two misses and make a steal, which gave them opportunities to stay close.
Alas, they couldn't take advantage.
Of course, it's also true that they might have led instead of trailed by that point, had their defense earlier in the game been able to force the Ducks into more missed shots and turnovers.
Among other tidbits worth mentioning:
-- Coach Boylen said the Utes wanted to hold the Ducks to 75 points, well below their average of 91.3, and they did that, right on the nose. But they also wanted to hold the Ducks to 20 free throws (they average 27) and commit fewer than 15 turnovers, yet they allowed 22 free throws (the Ducks stunningly made only 13) and committed 17 turnovers, which led to 21 points.
-- Until the final few minutes of the first half, I was ready to wonder whether the Utes are better without center Luke Nevill on the floor. After all, they trailed 10-7 when the 7-foot-1 junior went to the bench with his second foul, and the Utes responded by finding a nice rhythm and outscoring the Ducks 22-15 over the next 10 minutes or so. But while backup Morgan Grim did a nice job drawing a couple of charges, he was also physically overmatched. And though Nevill scored a season-low nine points, he did affect the Duck shooting and start to get going a bit after halftime, before suffering a bloody nose. Still, just for the heck of it, I asked Boylen after the game if he thought the Utes were better with Nevill on the bench. His answer was simple and definitive: "No."
-- The Utes were annoyed to have let the Ducks shoot 53.7 percent and become the first team to hit more than half its shots against them this season. But that has to be especially discouraging when you realize that the Utes held the Ducks to 7-for-19 shooting in the first 12 minutes of the game. From that point on, the Ducks made 22 of 35 for 62.8 percent. "We're very disappointed in that," Boylen said.
-- Guard Johnnie Bryant committed two agonizingly dumb plays in the first half, making bad situations exceedingly worse. First, he threw away a pass and then committed a silly, slapping foul trying to get it back. Then, beaten badly along the baseline by Oregon's Bryce Taylor, he reached out half-heartedly from behind as Taylor rose for a monster dunk, committing his third foul without stopping the shot. Result? A three-point play that allowed the Ducks to retake the lead, and a seat on the bench for Bryant (he played only three minutes in the second half). Far from what you're looking for out of your senior captain.
But was it the Utes' fault?
Or did they get jobbed by hometown referees?
After all, the refs called them for 21 fouls against them in their 75-64 loss to Oregon at the Rose Garden today, compared to just 10 for the Ducks, resulting in that massive free-throw discrepancy and putting center Luke Nevill and forward Shaun Green into foul trouble. That was especially damaging in a game in which nobody off the bench could score -- 11 points combined on 5-for-17 shooting -- and the Utes were forced to rely on guard Tyler Kepkay for so much of their offense (however much he as able to handle it, with 23 points).
But having watched the game live, I'm inclined to say the the Utes really did commit more fouls, as a result of the Ducks' superior athleticism and quickness. The Ducks enjoyed an advantange in that department at every position, and it seemed like the Utes simply could not keep up with them. That happens sometimes.
"We just have to play through calls," Green said.
And it's a credit to the Utes that despite the foul trouble, they were able to stay so close to such an explosive team. By slowing the tempo, they were able to avoid getting run out of the gym and hang around until crunch time -- when, unfortuantely for them, they wilted away once again.
But still ...
"I have a team that's young in the game and needs to grow and get tougher, and develop," coach Jim Boylen said. "We had plays we could have made that would have tightened things up a little bit. We didn't make those plays. We had those opportunities. We didn't make those plays, and that's where we have to grow."
It was also interesting that the Utes talked so much after the game about their shortcomings on defense, having allowed the Ducks to shoot 53.7 percent.
Yet it seemed to me that it was their offense that betrayed them late, when they failed on six of seven possessions after cutting the lead to four points late in the game. While the Ducks pulled away during that stretch, it wasn't entirely because the Utes couldn't stop them; the Utes did force two misses and make a steal, which gave them opportunities to stay close.
Alas, they couldn't take advantage.
Of course, it's also true that they might have led instead of trailed by that point, had their defense earlier in the game been able to force the Ducks into more missed shots and turnovers.
Among other tidbits worth mentioning:
-- Coach Boylen said the Utes wanted to hold the Ducks to 75 points, well below their average of 91.3, and they did that, right on the nose. But they also wanted to hold the Ducks to 20 free throws (they average 27) and commit fewer than 15 turnovers, yet they allowed 22 free throws (the Ducks stunningly made only 13) and committed 17 turnovers, which led to 21 points.
-- Until the final few minutes of the first half, I was ready to wonder whether the Utes are better without center Luke Nevill on the floor. After all, they trailed 10-7 when the 7-foot-1 junior went to the bench with his second foul, and the Utes responded by finding a nice rhythm and outscoring the Ducks 22-15 over the next 10 minutes or so. But while backup Morgan Grim did a nice job drawing a couple of charges, he was also physically overmatched. And though Nevill scored a season-low nine points, he did affect the Duck shooting and start to get going a bit after halftime, before suffering a bloody nose. Still, just for the heck of it, I asked Boylen after the game if he thought the Utes were better with Nevill on the bench. His answer was simple and definitive: "No."
-- The Utes were annoyed to have let the Ducks shoot 53.7 percent and become the first team to hit more than half its shots against them this season. But that has to be especially discouraging when you realize that the Utes held the Ducks to 7-for-19 shooting in the first 12 minutes of the game. From that point on, the Ducks made 22 of 35 for 62.8 percent. "We're very disappointed in that," Boylen said.
-- Guard Johnnie Bryant committed two agonizingly dumb plays in the first half, making bad situations exceedingly worse. First, he threw away a pass and then committed a silly, slapping foul trying to get it back. Then, beaten badly along the baseline by Oregon's Bryce Taylor, he reached out half-heartedly from behind as Taylor rose for a monster dunk, committing his third foul without stopping the shot. Result? A three-point play that allowed the Ducks to retake the lead, and a seat on the bench for Bryant (he played only three minutes in the second half). Far from what you're looking for out of your senior captain.
8:35 PM
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