Impressive Win Makes Coach Wonder
Coach Jim Boylen doesn't want to get ahead of himself. The season is only three games old, and the Ole Miss team that his Utes were playing at the Glenn Wilkes Classic tonight was undersized and without two injured guards -- including its most experienced player.
But still, something about the way the Utes seized control against the Rebels, never wavered and authoritatively closed out an 83-72 victory gave him reason to wonder.
"Maybe we're learning how to win," he said.
Might just be.
The Utes looked fantastic all night against an athletic team from the SEC that had hoped to wear them out with a high-pressure, high-tempo attack. Instead, the Utes not only kept up, but dictated the game, and never looked back after forward Shaun Green scored eight straight points -- he finished with 19, as did guard Lawrence Borha -- to give them a 10-point lead in the first half.
"We talk constantly about doing the basics better," Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy said. "And I think Utah beat us at our own game. They just did the basics better. ... Made the extra play, and made the plays they needed to win the game."
Mostly, the Utes did it by bombing away -- showering the Rebels with 12 three-pointers after making only 8-of 29 in the first two games. Kennedy said he knew they were a better shooting team than what the stat sheet had showed, but chose to try to contain center Luke Nevill inside and take their chances on the perimeter.
"We had nobody who could match up with him, physically," Kennedy said. "So we made a conscious choice to really help and try to dig on him and not let him get into a rhythm, and I think we were pretty successful. Unfortunately, Utah did an unbelievable job with their spacing and their ball movement and they had guy after guy after guy step up and knock down shots."
Kennedy acknowledged he didn't know Green was such a hot shooter -- not until watching him bury 7-of-10 shots, including 5-of-7 from three-point range. Freshman guard Jordan Cyphers buried four threes himself -- including three in a row, at one point in the second half -- to finish with 12 points, while guard Tyler Kepkay added 13 points.
Even Nevill was solid.
Though he scored only 10 points, he grabbed 10 rebounds, handed out three assists, made two steals and blocked a shot. He frequently altered shots that his teammates wound up rebounding, passed deftly out of double-teams and played a season-high 37 minutes — a number surpassed only three times in his career.
But still, something about the way the Utes seized control against the Rebels, never wavered and authoritatively closed out an 83-72 victory gave him reason to wonder.
"Maybe we're learning how to win," he said.
Might just be.
The Utes looked fantastic all night against an athletic team from the SEC that had hoped to wear them out with a high-pressure, high-tempo attack. Instead, the Utes not only kept up, but dictated the game, and never looked back after forward Shaun Green scored eight straight points -- he finished with 19, as did guard Lawrence Borha -- to give them a 10-point lead in the first half.
"We talk constantly about doing the basics better," Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy said. "And I think Utah beat us at our own game. They just did the basics better. ... Made the extra play, and made the plays they needed to win the game."
Mostly, the Utes did it by bombing away -- showering the Rebels with 12 three-pointers after making only 8-of 29 in the first two games. Kennedy said he knew they were a better shooting team than what the stat sheet had showed, but chose to try to contain center Luke Nevill inside and take their chances on the perimeter.
"We had nobody who could match up with him, physically," Kennedy said. "So we made a conscious choice to really help and try to dig on him and not let him get into a rhythm, and I think we were pretty successful. Unfortunately, Utah did an unbelievable job with their spacing and their ball movement and they had guy after guy after guy step up and knock down shots."
Kennedy acknowledged he didn't know Green was such a hot shooter -- not until watching him bury 7-of-10 shots, including 5-of-7 from three-point range. Freshman guard Jordan Cyphers buried four threes himself -- including three in a row, at one point in the second half -- to finish with 12 points, while guard Tyler Kepkay added 13 points.
Even Nevill was solid.
Though he scored only 10 points, he grabbed 10 rebounds, handed out three assists, made two steals and blocked a shot. He frequently altered shots that his teammates wound up rebounding, passed deftly out of double-teams and played a season-high 37 minutes — a number surpassed only three times in his career.
posted by www.sltrib.com @ 8:39 PM |
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