Is it just me, or does this Utah team seem a little bipolar this season? I mean, seriously, what is the deal with the Runnin’ Utes?
First, they start the Pac-12 season 1-3, causing fans to question whether this Utah team is a disappointment compared to the Sweet 16 roster a season ago. But then the Utes earned back the trust of their fan base by reeling off five straight wins and climbing back to the top of the conference standings.
Then their mood swings kicked back in, and Utah dropped consecutive contests in Oregon to the Beavers and Ducks. Though it wasn’t quite panic time, questions surrounding the team and whether or not it could contend quickly resurfaced.
But after an 88-47 shellacking of Washington State on Sunday afternoon, the Utes completed a weekend sweep of the Cougars and Huskies of Washington, in which they scored 178 points between the two games. A revitalized Utah offense that saw it shoot 18-for-34 from downtown over the weekend might just be what pushes the Utes from fringe contender to Pac-12 leader.
All this is due to a little bit of help, obviously. After pushing the Utes around last weekend, Oregon dropped both of its weekend contests to bring its conference record down to 9-4, good enough for a first-place tie with Arizona.
Who is just a game behind at 8-5? Yup, you guessed it — Colorado. Oh yeah, and the Runnin’ Utes. And considering Utah got the better of the Buffaloes in their first matchup of the season, it’s safe to say the Utes have a firm grip on third place with their eyes fixed on the Pac-12 peak.
The conference is filled with so much parity this season that Utah, despite going through disappointing spurts that typically would put it out of contention in most years, still has a good chance of finishing on top. The only problem is so does Arizona. And Oregon. And Colorado, USC, Cal and Washington.
Depending on how the remaining five conference games shake out, any one of those teams could win the regular season Pac-12 title. In Utah’s case, it’ll be an interesting end to the season as four of the final five games are against opponents the Utes will be seeing for the first time this year — UCLA, USC, Arizona State and Arizona.
As the season winds down, time will tell whether or not Utah can handle the tough ending stretch, but the Utes have just as good of a chance to finish the season atop the standings as anyone in the conference. While they have certainly had their struggles, they have something the rest of the teams don’t — the best player in the Pac-12 in Jakob Poeltl. That might be enough to lead them to the finish line in first place.
As I pointed out earlier, you never know what you are getting with this Utah team. But with that being the case everywhere else in the conference, the Runnin’ Utes — led by Poeltl — might be hitting their stride, specifically on offense, at the best time possible.
@GriffDoug