Utah Basketball Entering 'Do-Or-Die' Time If It Wants To Save The Season
It's safe to say that things haven't gone to plan this season for head coach Larry Krystkowiak and Utah.
Sitting at the halfway point, the Utes find themselves at 5-6 on the season and 2-5 in Pac-12 play, a far cry from where they should be realistically and type of talent they have on the team.
The Utes are coming off a rough stretch in which they went just 1-3 over a four-game home stand. Making matters worse, the Utes led by at least nine points at the half in each of those games but second half collapses — whether it be turnovers, rebounds or effort — were their ultimate undoing.
"I'm not here to make excuses, but I don't know if you guys. ... This is something that's a little bit troubling and I'm trying to protect our team, not make an excuse, but we just played four games in a week," Krystkowiak said following their lost to Cal on Saturday night. "That doesn't happen very often in college basketball. And if there were a few shots that came up short or maybe we didn't quite have it, I'd like to maybe chalk it up to just having a hell of a challenge ahead of us."
Jan 16, 2021; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Utes head coach Larry Krystkowiak reacts in the first half against the California Golden Bears at Jon M. Huntsman Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Swinger-USA TODAY Sports
Utah will have an opportunity to change things around when it travels to face Washington State on Thursday night. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. MT and will air on the Pac-12 Network.
In the valuable NET rankings, Utah checks in at No. 114 following its shocking loss to Cal last weekend. The Utes rose all the way to No. 63 after their victory over Stanford but then dropped dramatically.
Meanwhile Washington State is ranked No. 118 in the NET rankings.
In the KenPom rankings, Utah finds itself at No. 76 while the Cougars sit at No. 129.
It's not too late if the Utes want to make a legitimate push for the NCAA Tournament, but it has to start now. A weekend sweep over the Cougars and Huskies is just what this team needs to get its season back on track while any loss would essentially ruin any chance they might have.
“It’s more trying to play like we did in the first half,” Krystkowiak said on Tuesday. “We watch a lot of the video, the reason that we get out 10-point leads against those teams is because we’re really dialed in. It coincides with another team going in and making some adjustments and we’ve come out of the locker room and haven’t necessarily played the same style of basketball. We’re trying to be more consistent, find an identity and some DNA and be consistent with that.”
Jan 16, 2021; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Utes guard Rylan Jones (15) and Utah Utes guard Alfonso Plummer (25) react to their loss against the California Golden Bears at Jon M. Huntsman Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Swinger-USA TODAY Sports
Timmy Allen continues to elevate his game the deeper the season goes, averaging 17.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.5 steals per game. Over the past four games, Allen has put 22.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game, all while shooting an astonishing 54.7% from the floor and 33% from beyond the arc.
“I just know I am glad he is on our team,” Krystkowiak said about Allen. “He is a tremendous two-way player. He has really grown, putting time in with his shooting. But he is also a very willing playmaker. … He is bringing leadership to our team, as one of our captains. He is competing. He just hasn’t given up.”
If Utah is going to make a run at the postseason though, it's going to need more than just Allen to step up.
Alfonso Plummer has embraced his role as the primary scorer off the bench and is averaging 13.0 points per game while knocking down 35.2% of his shots from beyond the arc. Mikael Jantunen has also emerged as another scoring option in the starting lineup, averaging 10.8 points per game over the previous four games.
More contributions are needed though, primarily from starting guards Rylan Jones and Pelle Larsson.
Jones averaged 9.6 points and 4.5 assists per game last year, all while shooting 40% from the floor and 38.6% from beyond the arc. This year though, his scoring has dropped to 5.7 points while shooting 36.8% from the floor and 31.3% from three-point territory.
Larsson has shown glimpses of a star in the making — 12 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists game vs. Cal / 15 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists vs. Oregon. But he's also completely disappeared at different times — 3 points, 0 rebounds, 1 assist vs. Colorado. More consistency out of the freshman is needed if the Utes want to take the next step forward.
Jan 14, 2021; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Stanford Cardinal forward Jaiden Delaire (11) guards Utah Utes guard Pelle Larsson (3) in the second half at Jon M. Huntsman Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Swinger-USA TODAY Sports
First up for the Utes is Washington State (9-4, 2-4 Pac-12), the team one spot ahead of them in the Pac-12 standings at No. 7.
The Cougars are led by Isaac Bonton and his 18.9 points (second best in the Pac-12), 4.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.9 steals per game. His ability to get into the lane at ease and knock down the occasional three-pointer (33.3%) really opens up the Washington State offense.
Noah Williams is the sharpshooter that opens up the lane for Bonton, averaging 12.0 points on 43.6% shooting from three-point territory.
With those taking care of the offense, big man Efe Abogidi is the force in the paint by averaging a near double-double of 9.9 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game. Both his rebound and block numbers ranked 2nd in the conference.
After starting the season 9-1 with their lone loss being a four-point setback by Arizona, the Cougars have now lost three in a row (Stanford, UCLA and USC).
Jan 16, 2021; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Washington State Cougars guard Isaac Bonton (10) moves the ball down court against the Southern California Trojans during the second half at Galen Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
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