There is not a single member of this year’s Ute squad that has had a taste of an NCAA Tournament game. The next two weeks will determine if that is about to change.
It has been seven years since the Utes last made the tournament, but with five games remaining, Utah has set themselves up to earn their way in to the big dance.
Starting Friday against UCLA, ranked No. 2 by the RPI, the Utes will play three teams that are currently ahead of them in the RPI standings. Positive results in those games would help elevate Utah’s No. 51 RPI ranking and punch their ticket to the tournament. Opportunity is knocking on Utah’s door.
“We have an opportunity to earn our way into the tournament,” head coach Rich Manning said. “We have to get results. I don’t know if that’s two, three or four [victories]. It’s volatile depending on the league standings and what happens around the country.”
After starting the Pac-12 season 2-0-1, Utah has dropped two of their last three matches, all of which were on the road. The Utes still sit in a tie for third in the conference, six points behind No. 1 UCLA. A victory over the Bruins Friday could restore hope for a Pac-12 title for Utah, but talk around the team has shifted from conference championship to tournament appearance.
“We haven’t been to the tournament for a long time,” captain and senior forward Allie Wisner said. “I would really like to make it so I’m here for the start, because I know that these girls will keep doing it year after year we just have to break through that barrier again.”
The Utes are hoping Friday’s game will begin a run that will help prove their tournament worth.
“Friday we have an opportunity to hit a home run, and the other games we have an opportunity to hit a double or a single,” Manning said.
The Utes have opened with strong starts in conference play in their first two years of being in the Pac-12 but have struggled in the latter part of the seasons. In 2011, after opening with three wins in conference, Utah went on to lose five of their next eight. The next year was a similar story as the Utes went 0-4-1 to finish the season.
“We have been in this position both the last couple years, and I think we are more confident and determined that we are going to make it,” Manning said.
The Utes don’t see the last Friday’s 1-0 loss to Stanford as the start of another late season collapse. Manning pointed to the experience that his team has gained the last two years and expects the team to rebound quickly.
“This is our third season in the Pac-12, so we understand there are ups and downs and there are disappointments,” Manning said. “You’re going to get scarred in this league, and you have to be tough enough to be ready for the next game, and that is the lesson we learned the last couple of years — to not let it carry over.”