Can Utah basketball turn this season around?

Looking at the good, bad and areas for growth for the Runnin' Utes

Utah Runnin' Utes head coach Alex Jensen speaks to Utah Utes guard Obomate Abbey (21) forward Keanu Dawes (8) during the first half against the BYU Cougars at Marriott Center. | Aaron Baker-Imagn Images

What the realistic expectations for a team being led by a first-year coach and new batch of players are often hard to gauge given some of the quick turnarounds we've seen in college athletics over the years.

For Utah, it was thought that bringing in a former player who was at the epicenter of the program's glory years would restore the Runnin' Utes as a force to be reckon with on the hardwood.

Now, to be fair to Alex Jensen, it's not even been a full year since he was hired to take the helm of his alma mater. And he said prior to the season he doesn't want to be good for just one season or two, indicating he and general manager Wes Wilcox planned out a lengthy process for the program to follow.

Three weeks into conference play, it's clear Utah (9-11, 1-6 Big 12) has a long rebuild ahead of itself.

Saturday's disheartening loss to BYU — the seventh defeat in the last eight games for the Runnin' Utes — serves as the latest reminder that Jensen's philosophies haven't quite become everyday practice for his players. In fact, based on Jensen's painstakingly-true postgame comments about his team's effort down the stretch, the Runnin' Utes have taken a step back from where they were prior to their 91-78 loss to the Cougars in Provo.

"It was the first time this year I thought our guys quit at the end," Jensen said after the game. "They felt defeated, which is kind of disheartening because I think we've always done a good job fighting and playing. It was the first time I think where they kind of — for whatever reason — kind of quit tonight."

Again, it doesn't feel quite right to rip apart a team that's trying to navigate the toughest basketball conference in the country with a new head coach and roster. So, we'll take the "compliment-sandwich" approach and break down Utah's good, bad and areas of improvement at this point in the season.

The Good: Guard Play

Utah Runnin' Utes guard Don McHenry (left) reacts to making a 3-point basket with guard Terrence Brown (right). | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

Who knows where Utah would be right now if it wasn't for the consistent production it backcourt tandem of Terrence Brown and Don McHenry provide on a game-to-game basis. Especially when considering the Runnin' Utes don't have another true point guard who can set the table as effectively in the rotation.

Brown serves as the team's floor general while McHenry supports in a combo guard role, though both are capable of operating a pick-and-roll and creating shots for themselves and teammates as the two drink-stirrers of Utah's offense. Perhaps the best part about their dynamic is it hardly feels like a "my turn, your turn" deal; there's a flow and cohesion that allows them to thrive next to each other the court, as opposed to tension or animosity.

Their connectivity also allows the Runnin' Utes to run everything throw them on the offensive end of the floor. Brown boasts the highest usage rate in the Big 12 (33.5%), while McHenry isn't that far behind at 25.8%.

After leading the Northeast Conference in scoring at Fairleigh Dickinson, Brown is making a strong push for the Big 12 scoring title in his first season at Utah. The 6-foot-3 junior's 23.2 point-per-game average is just a tick behind PJ Haggerty (23.4 points per game) on the conference's leaderboard. At his current rate, Brown is on track to become the first Utah player to average 20 or more points in a season since Andrew Bogut put up 20.4 points per contest during the 2004-05 campaign.

Additionally, Brown leads the Runnin' Utes in assists (3.9), steals (1.7) and success rate at the free throw percentage (80.1%). He's also the second-best 3-point marksman on the team behind McHenry, whose 40.3% shooting percentage from long range ranks No. 6 in the Big 12. The Western Kentucky transfer is averaging 18 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game as well, giving Utah quite the second option to go to for a bucket.

Whether Jensen and the coaching staff envisioned leaning on their starting backcourt as much as they have going into the season, relying on Brown and McHenry to get the job done feels necessary to some extent when considering Utah doesn't have a consistent scoring threat in the post or another guard to take the weight off their shoulders. While a more-balanced approach could be seen as ideal from a sustainability standpoint, Brown and McHenry can cover up a lot of weak areas in the short-term.

The Bad: Defense

TCU Horned Frogs guard Jayden Pierre (1) goes to the basket against Utah Utes guard Obomate Abbey (21). | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

It doesn't take a basketball mind to figure out that it's hard for a team to win consistently when it allows more points than 334 teams in the country do on a nightly basis. At that point, it doesn't matter that the Runnin' Utes put up 80 points per game; according to simple math, yielding 81.5 to the opponent is going to result in a loss every time.

Utah's inability to keep opposing teams off the scoreboard underscores the historically-bad season it's been for the Runnin' Utes on that end of the floor. Utah's defensive rating according to KenPom.com (111.8) is on pace to be the program's worst in a single season since the 2006-07 campaign (112.1). For better context, Utah's finished with a 107.0 defensive rating or worse three times since 1996-97, and in two of those scenarios, the Runnin' Utes went a combined 17-44 (2018-19 was the only such season in which they didn't end below .500).

Utah doesn't put up much of a resistance inside the arc, where its opponents shoot 54% from this season. That's pacing toward being the program's worst 2-point field goal percentage defense since at least 1996-97.

The Runnin' Utes don't force many takeaways, either; their 14.6% turnover rate ranks No. 317 in the country and seventh-worst among power conference teams, according to KenPom. Add in the fact that Utah has the worst rebounding margin in the Big 12, and it becomes easy to point to the defensive lapses as reasons behind Utah's below .500 record.

"You got to take pride in guarding the guy you have; regardless of what scheme we are in, you have to take pride in defense," Jensen said after the BYU game. "The games where we do that — whether we shoot well or not — we have a better chance to win. So, got to take pride in the defensive end, regardless if we make or miss shots."

The good news for the Runnin' Utes: they won't have to see four of the nation's top-15 offenses in a seven-game span like they did to start Big 12 play. The bad news, however, is that they still have to play Kansas (Feb. 7), Houston (No. 15), Iowa State (Feb. 24) and Baylor (March 7) — three schools with top-25 offenses and another that rosters the potential No. 1 overall pick in this year's NBA draft, Darryn Peterson.

Room For Improvement: Togetherness

Utah Utes head coach Alex Jensen speaks to the team during a timeout. | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

At the root of Utah's problems, whether it be the offensive or defensive end, is the tendency for players to play as individuals as opposed to moving together as one unit. Yes, it's an entirely new roster and regime, but the good teams in the NIL/transfer portal era are able to come together and make up for the lack of year-over-year continuity much sooner than the bad ones, often because there's a collective buy-in on program culture.

Jensen and his staff are still embedding their ethos into the program, and this first-year group is essentially the building block for future teams to follow. So, while wins in the Big 12 will be hard to come by down the stretch of the regular season, it's still imperative the Runnin' Utes work toward creating better habits that can be expanded upon next season and beyond.

What does that look like exactly on the floor? More intensity on the defensive floor, for starters, as well as an emphasis to win the rebounding battle. Both of those areas of the game are largely dependent on effort, discipline and connectivity — everything the Runnin' Utes appear to be lacking in more times than not.