The University of Utah's Independent Student Voice

The Daily Utah Chronicle

The University of Utah's Independent Student Voice

The Daily Utah Chronicle

The University of Utah's Independent Student Voice

The Daily Utah Chronicle

Write for Us
Want your voice to be heard? Submit a letter to the editor, send us an op-ed pitch or check out our open positions for the chance to be published by the Daily Utah Chronicle.
@TheChrony
Print Issues
Write for Us
Want your voice to be heard? Submit a letter to the editor, send us an op-ed pitch or check out our open positions for the chance to be published by the Daily Utah Chronicle.
@TheChrony
Print Issues

Great Debate: Will The Utes Win The Pac-12 Tournament?

Utah Utes Menss Basketball senior Brandon Taylor (11) drives downcourt in a Pac-12 NCAA game vs. The Arizona Wildcats in the Jon M. Huntsman Center, Salt Lake City, Utah on Saturday, Feb. 27,2016
Utah Utes Mens’s Basketball senior Brandon Taylor (11) drives downcourt in a Pac-12 NCAA game vs. The Arizona Wildcats in the Jon M. Huntsman Center, Salt Lake City, Utah on Saturday, Feb. 27,2016

Runnin’ Utes’ Biggest Threats Lie In Opening Stages Of Tourney

by Tyler Cru

Many fans have undoubtedly taken a look at the Pac-12 tournament lineup, seen that No. 2-seed Utah and regular season co-champion Oregon are on the opposite sides of the bracket and breathed a sigh of relief that the Runnin’ Utes will not have to face off against the team that decisively beat them twice in the regular season unless both teams play their way into the finals.

While it seems like Utah has a relatively easy route to its first conference championship game since leaving the Mountain West, the team’s biggest challenge won’t come in the final round of the tournament against Oregon or Arizona, but in the quarterfinals against USC or UCLA and in the semifinals against presumably No. 4-seed Cal.

These games, especially the first game against the winner out of Los Angeles, will be tremendously tough for the Utes. The Utes need to enter into these games entirely focused and prepared for the team at hand if they want to avoid a bust in Sin City.

The first reason the opening rounds of the tournament are especially dangerous for the Utes is because they will be facing teams that are still looking to make their case to be included in the NCAA tournament. The Utes, Ducks, Wildcats and Golden Bears are all tournament teams for sure, but the rest of the conference members are on the bubble, at best. For UCLA or USC, just a single win against the 12th-ranked Utah would pretty much guarantee them a spot in the Big Dance, and you can bet the other teams will be going all-in to keep their postseason hopes alive as well.

One more thing that can’t be overlooked is the fact that Utah has only faced both USC and UCLA once this season. Even though the Utes did beat both of them in their home gyms — the only team in the conference besides Oregon to do so — the games were hard-fought, and the stakes were much lower back then. The Bruins and Trojans may have had some rocky moments this year, but they are both talented squads with almost nothing to lose and a lot to gain coming into the tournament.

Another reason Utah needs to be especially cautious is that the team has shown signs of inconsistency when on the road this season. It has been over two weeks since the Utes last played a game outside of the friendly confines of the Huntsman Center and the team has enjoyed the advantages of a raucous home crowd in turning the tide of the last two hard-fought games. But the Utes won’t have this benefit come tourney time. The Pac-12 announced Monday that for the first time in conference history, tickets for the tournament sold out before the play even began, and while history has shown that Ute faithful have a strong presence in Las Vegas, there is no doubt that fans from Los Angeles, Tucson and Tempe will also come out in droves to support their teams and pack the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

Everyone knows March Madness doesn’t wait until the NCAA tournament, and if last week’s debacle against Colorado has shown the team anything, it is that the Utes can’t take any in-conference games for granted — even the ones at home. Heading into the tournament, Utah can’t overlook any would-be underdogs, and it must be completely dialed in for every game in order to realize its Pac-12 Championship aspirations.

[email protected]

@tylerfcrum

 

Despite Tough Challenges in Pac-12, Utes Will Take Home Title

by Brock Jensen

Ah, here we are — Pac-12 basketball tournament time. Right after this comes the best time of the sports year, in my opinion — March Madness. But before I get too far ahead of myself, let’s focus on what’s going to be a fun Pac-12 tournament down in Las Vegas. This year, I think Utah has a really good shot at winning the whole thing.

Utah is the 2-seed in the tournament, and they have a really good path to the championship game, though nothing is ever certain in college basketball. Being on the other side of the bracket, the Utes were able to avoid a potential pre-championship matchup with Arizona or Oregon, and they obviously would not have to play either team until the championship game — if they can make it — either.

Utah’s path looks pretty good on paper, but the problem is that so does Oregon’s. Oregon is Utah’s biggest threat for the championship. Oregon’s path to the championship is similar to Utah’s in that there should only be one game that could give each team a difficult time. Utah will likely face 3-seed Cal in the semifinals, while Oregon is likely to face 4-seed Arizona. I would argue that the Wildcats are probably the more difficult of those opponents, which is the only reason I would hesitate to say Oregon is Utah’s biggest threat. But it’s still not enough to convince me of that.

Oregon has been the most consistent of all the Pac-12 teams this year, evident by its top-10 ranking. The Ducks made their presence felt early in conference play when they took down the Utes early on in the season and beat them again later for a season sweep. The Ducks were the only team to beat Utah twice this season and they were responsible for two of Utah’s five conference losses.

Clearly, Oregon has shown the ability to matchup with the Runnin’ Utes and contain 2016 Pac-12 Player of the Year Jakob Poeltl, to some degree. Yes, I believe the winner of UCLA and USC — the eventual Utes’ challenger in the second round — could give Utah a bit of a challenge as both teams did test them in the games this season. Cal could also be a road block for the Utes as the teams split their regular-season contests.

But at the end of the day, Utah has defeated all three of those teams, as there aren’t many teams in the conference that can match the size, length and talent of Poeltl down low. Even though it will be tough to do again, I believe they have the blueprint for success against these opponents.

Oregon is the wild card, though, and an Oregon-Utah matchup would sure be an intriguing one to watch. The Ducks have gotten the better of Utah both times this season, but as the saying goes, the third time’s a charm for the Utes.

[email protected]

@brock_jensen02

Leave a Comment

Comments (0)

The Daily Utah Chronicle welcomes comments from our community. However, the Daily Utah Chronicle reserves the right to accept or deny user comments. A comment may be denied or removed if any of its content meets one or more of the following criteria: obscenity, profanity, racism, sexism, or hateful content; threats or encouragement of violent or illegal behavior; excessively long, off-topic or repetitive content; the use of threatening language or personal attacks against Chronicle members; posts violating copyright or trademark law; and advertisement or promotion of products, services, entities or individuals. Users who habitually post comments that must be removed may be blocked from commenting. In the case of duplicate or near-identical comments by the same user, only the first submission will be accepted. This includes comments posted across multiple articles. You can read more about our comment policy at https://dailyutahchronicle.com/comment-faqs/.
All The Daily Utah Chronicle Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *