Inability To Rein In Turnovers Leads Utah To Crash And Burn In Postseason
by Tyler Crum
Looking at the tremendous success enjoyed by the Runnin’ Utes over the 2015-16 campaign — unquestionably a watermark season for a program that’s been fighting to become relevant in the Pac-12 since it joined the elite conference in 2011 — it is entirely understandable to be disappointed with the way the team performed in the post-season.
Heading into the conference championship tournament, Utah was hot off a seven-game winning streak which included a solid victory at USC, where the Utes became the first team to beat the Trojans in their home arena in over a year. Throw in an exciting showdown with No. 9 Arizona, in which this season’s team became the first Utah squad to defeat the Wildcats in conference play, and this was quite the season to remember.
With the best finish in the Pac-12 era under its belt, driven by consistently strong performances from the team’s veteran players and projected lottery pick Jakob Poeltl, it seemed as though Utah was poised for a deep run in the postseason and had a definite shot at becoming conference champions. But after taking the court at MGM Arena in Vegas, the Utes looked tired and struggled to keep up the level of play that had carried them into the tournament.
In the conference quarterfinal game against USC, the Runnin’ Utes uncharacteristically struggled for much of the first half, trailing for eight minutes at one point before coming back to take the lead and keep it for the remainder of the game. Poor passing, miscues and mental mistakes caused Utah to turn over the ball 13 times compared to the Trojans’ five.
In the semifinals versus Cal, the team continued to face similar problems, giving the ball up 11 times while once again only forcing five turnovers. The Golden Bears would have sent Utah packing if it weren’t for some last-second heroics from Lorenzo Bonam and clutch shooting in overtime.
Then, what should have been a triumphant moment for the Utes as they faced off against conference powerhouse Oregon in the program’s first Pac-12 Championship game turned to embarrassment. The team floundered in its desperate struggle with wasted possessions and gave up a whopping 20 turnovers on the way to a record-breaking 31-point loss.
While it could be argued that these mistakes were to be expected against solid Cal and USC teams as well as the national championship-caliber Ducks, the Utes neglected to correct their sloppy play when arriving in Denver for the NCAA Tournament, and this failure to adjust resulted in the three-seed Utes becoming just another casualty of March Madness.
In the team’s first round game against Fresno State, the Ute offense was somewhat slow, but off-the-mark shooting was exacerbated by Utah repeatedly giving the ball away. Against the Bulldogs, the Utes again committed a cringe-worthy 20 turnovers, which could have easily led to a first round exit for the team had it not been for a late-game surge and Poeltl outrebounding the entire Fresno squad.
Then came Gonzaga, and just like Oregon, the Zags made Utah pay for each turnover, capitalizing on the miscommunications, careless ball-handling and bad passes to deny the Utes a return to the Sweet Sixteen.
While there were plenty of other aspects of the team’s postseason play that can be broken down, analyzed and criticized (a task that is undoubtedly underway by Larry Krystkowiak and company as they bide their time until training begins for 2016-17), you can bet the Runnin’ Utes coaching staff won’t be ignoring the fact that the team averaged 17.7 turnovers in its final three games. This stat gives the team the dubious distinction of being the seventh-worst in Division-I basketball when it comes to giving the ball away at the end of the season — not what you’d expect from a team expected to go far in the ruthless NCAA tourney.
@tylerfcrum
Utes Underestimated Gonzaga, Resulting In Postseason Downfall
by Brock Jensen
The Utes have nobody to blame but themselves for their early exit from the NCAA Tournament after falling to No. 11 seed Gonzaga on Saturday. Unfortunately for Utah, there are plenty of reasons it failed to make it to the second weekend. In the end, though, I believe it boils down to just two things — Utah overlooking its opponent and its best player taking a day off.
The Utes underestimated their opponent. I’m not saying they completely cast them aside as an easy pass, but I don’t think they gave Gonzaga enough respect. They may have fallen into the trap of paying more attention to the number next to the school — despite head coach Larry Krystkowiak frequently saying that numbers don’t matter to him — instead of the actual school itself.
This isn’t always accurate (case in point, Michigan State) but it is something that deserves some thought. After all, Gonzaga was a two-seed last year and reached the Elite Eight. Just three years ago, the Bulldogs were first-seed. This isn’t your typical 11-seed in the tournament, as we’ve already seen, but maybe, just maybe, Utah viewed them as such.
Also, the Middle Tennessee State upset against Michigan State may have had the Utes looking past the Sweet 16 matchup because they would no longer have to play one of the tournament favorites in the Spartans in a potential future game. I know this was my first thought when head coach Tom Izzo’s club dropped its opening round game, as it was for many Utah fans out there. The Spartans may have played too much of a distraction for Utah as the Michigan State loss had Utah looking at much loftier goals than just a Sweet 16 appearance.
While those reasons may or may not have played a factor in the mindset of the team, they were still present, and it’s impossible to tell the extent to which they contributed to Utah’s loss to Gonzaga.
The other reason for the loss is the fact that Utah’s best player and the Pac-12 Player of the Year Jakob Poeltl was sort of a no-show in the Gonzaga game. Yes, I am fully aware he was in foul trouble early in the game, partly due to a weak offensive foul which gave him his second foul midway through the first half. But that’s not the point, really.
Poeltl was a mere non-factor in this game. Fellow international post man and Gonzaga big Domantas Sabonis clearly got the best of this matchup and maybe turned some NBA scouts’ heads after basically dominating Poeltl.
As the play-by-play broadcast guys noted during the game, it looked like Poeltl was completely gassed in this game. His finished stat line boasted a mere four rebounds and just five points, a season low. When it boils down to it, it’s obvious why the Utes didn’t win this game — their team leader in points didn’t show up.
We’ll never truly know why Utah failed to show up against Gonzaga in Denver, but I do know that for Ute fans, the finish to this season was simply underwhelming. For what was a great season full of firsts, it’s just a disappointing way to end for the Utes.
@brock_jensen02