Free-Throw Disparity Definitely Cost the Utes Against BYU
Now, I'm not usually the kind of guy who complains about the referees. Usually, teams are whistled for fouls and shoot free throws based more or less on what they do on the floor.
But this might have been a little much.
Coach Jim Boylen definitely had a complaint, after his Utes lost to rival Brigham Young 67-59 at the Marriott Center on Wednesday night. The Utes shot just 10 free throws all night -- not all that uncommon for them, to be honest -- but the Cougars paraded to the line for 32 free throws, far above their season average.
And even though the Cougs made a modest 22 of them, the disparity was huge in a game that was closer even than the final score suggested. "We got 11 more shots than them, turnovers were even," Boylen said, pulsing with anger after the game. "You guys know where the disparity was. You figure it out."
Boylen wanted us to do it because he couldn't -- not without getting fined and reprimanded by the Mountain West Conference. Yet the whistles definitely had a major effect on the game.
Of course, it might have helped, too, if center Luke Nevill could have made a few more bunnies. Even though he was limited by foul trouble, he missed nine of his 14 shots -- all of them, as I recall, within a few feet of the basket -- and came to the bench at one point waving his hand dismissively at the basket and screaming that "the ball won't go in the [expletive] basket!"
"We worked really hard, we were getting the shots we wanted," he said. "We were getting really good looks in the post. I just couldn't make a lay-up, almost. It was frustrating."
Yet as much as Boylen would hate hearing it, the Utes deserve credit for keeping the game so close in such a tough atmosphere despite shooting a season-worst 37 percent, getting called for nearly twice as many fouls as the Cougars -- 25 to 13 -- and having so many of their players battle foul trouble.
A lesser team would have been rolled.
Among other tidbits worth mentioning:
-- Guard Johnnie Bryant led the Utes with 15 points and made two huge jumpers in the final six minutes. But the senior also committed four turnovers, including two on back-to-back possessions midway through the second half with the Utes trailing by four. Both times, he left his feet apparently not knowing what he was going to do with the ball, only to wind up throwing it away.
-- Guard Luka Drca made what Boylen called the "bad decision" near the end that basically sealed the loss, when he threw a pass out of bounds because he expected Nevill to roll to the basket (Nevill did not) off a pick-and-roll. But he also again vastly outplayed starter Tyler Kepkay, getting nine points, six rebounds and four assists.
-- For the most part, the Utes did a pretty good job managing the tempo and rebounding, two things they said they had to do in order to win. The Cougs won the rebounding battle, but only 38-34 (it was much worse in the last meeting), and scored eight points below their average. But Lee Cummard hurt them with 14 points and 11 rebounds, including a fadeaway turnaround jumper after the Utes cut the lead to 54-53 with about five minutes left.
But this might have been a little much.
Coach Jim Boylen definitely had a complaint, after his Utes lost to rival Brigham Young 67-59 at the Marriott Center on Wednesday night. The Utes shot just 10 free throws all night -- not all that uncommon for them, to be honest -- but the Cougars paraded to the line for 32 free throws, far above their season average.
And even though the Cougs made a modest 22 of them, the disparity was huge in a game that was closer even than the final score suggested. "We got 11 more shots than them, turnovers were even," Boylen said, pulsing with anger after the game. "You guys know where the disparity was. You figure it out."
Boylen wanted us to do it because he couldn't -- not without getting fined and reprimanded by the Mountain West Conference. Yet the whistles definitely had a major effect on the game.
Of course, it might have helped, too, if center Luke Nevill could have made a few more bunnies. Even though he was limited by foul trouble, he missed nine of his 14 shots -- all of them, as I recall, within a few feet of the basket -- and came to the bench at one point waving his hand dismissively at the basket and screaming that "the ball won't go in the [expletive] basket!"
"We worked really hard, we were getting the shots we wanted," he said. "We were getting really good looks in the post. I just couldn't make a lay-up, almost. It was frustrating."
Yet as much as Boylen would hate hearing it, the Utes deserve credit for keeping the game so close in such a tough atmosphere despite shooting a season-worst 37 percent, getting called for nearly twice as many fouls as the Cougars -- 25 to 13 -- and having so many of their players battle foul trouble.
A lesser team would have been rolled.
Among other tidbits worth mentioning:
-- Guard Johnnie Bryant led the Utes with 15 points and made two huge jumpers in the final six minutes. But the senior also committed four turnovers, including two on back-to-back possessions midway through the second half with the Utes trailing by four. Both times, he left his feet apparently not knowing what he was going to do with the ball, only to wind up throwing it away.
-- Guard Luka Drca made what Boylen called the "bad decision" near the end that basically sealed the loss, when he threw a pass out of bounds because he expected Nevill to roll to the basket (Nevill did not) off a pick-and-roll. But he also again vastly outplayed starter Tyler Kepkay, getting nine points, six rebounds and four assists.
-- For the most part, the Utes did a pretty good job managing the tempo and rebounding, two things they said they had to do in order to win. The Cougs won the rebounding battle, but only 38-34 (it was much worse in the last meeting), and scored eight points below their average. But Lee Cummard hurt them with 14 points and 11 rebounds, including a fadeaway turnaround jumper after the Utes cut the lead to 54-53 with about five minutes left.
posted by www.sltrib.com @ 11:40 PM |
2 Comments:
Cry baby!
I think you are about right. The free throw situation was a big deal, and the very picky calls down the stretch on Utah were hard to swallow when the same thing was going on at the other end every time down. That's not to say Utah could not have done more to win. It's hard to break a 45 game winning streak when you are behind the gun like that. I think most Utah fans really would like to play BYU in Las Vegas right now.
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