Utes started sloppy and had 6 turnovers pretty fast. Then finished the game with 11! Once the Utes started to hang on to the ball they pulled away.
Utes had a quickness advantage, so they played M2M the whole game. Great call. OSU really struggled to score. The D held OSU’s big guns in check. Tinkle and Thompson had OK games, but the Ute bigs shut down Kelly.
Allen and Gach were lethal on the break. When Gach gets rolling the Utes look like a tournament team.
This is a very promising start to the conference season. We were just better than they were. I wonder how we do this Saturday, especially with Oregon coming off a loss.
The Utes did really well last night. Decent crowd too considering school isn’t in session yet. I was a little worried they’d wear down with the short rotation Coach K has been using of late (I think it was only 8 guys again last night but haven’t checked the box score to verify) but they didn’t. I do think that could be an issue throughout the conference season, however. Would prefer to see confidence in at least 10 players.
Oregon’s going to be a really tough one Saturday afternoon. I hope we get some folks to come in for that. I always loved those Saturday afternoon games as a student. Left time for more fun after.
Gach has good explosion going to the basket. I like Utah’s chances in the final minutes when they have a lead, thanks to Gach and Allen, who can both create going to the basket. Allen is a foul-drawing machine.
Battin’s step back three was clutch.
Rylan Jones stroke behind the three point line is sweet. Even his misses looked good.
I guess K will be riding the Allen, Gach and Jones express this season. Those three played all but 11 minutes of the game.
The bigs looked pretty good overall, especially against the Beavers tough front line. The boys still have a lot to learn on defense, I can see improvement happening there.
If K can keep these guys playing controlled, organized sets, they have a chance to pull more surprises in this tough league.
I was impressed with the team. They are really tough and play well together. Gach and Allen can really get to the hoop and Jones is a marksman from deep. Most of the time they switch well on D and help each other. I hope people come out and support these guys, they deserve it.
My family and I will be at the game Saturday, and at the last minute I decided to go last night. I’m glad I did. I like this young team. They play hard and together. At times last night their passing was brilliant. In addition to Allen, Jones and Gach, who were fantastic, I noticed these guys:
Jantunen – He is a smart player with a high hoops IQ. He’ll contribute.
Brenchley – Don’t laugh! He had some nice moments.
Calrson – He needs to spend some time in the weight room, but last night I noticed he was bodying up on the OSU bigs and playing as tough as he could, refusing to be pushed around. That’s a change for him. He could be good over time.
Lahat: We don’t ever want the ball in his hands away from the basket, but he hits his free throws and made OSU player alter their shots. I think he will be beyond decent as time wears on.
Allen is a beast and a problem for the opposing team. He can get to the hoop, is tough and relentless, makes athletic moves and shots, and is very good at the free throw line. Love watching him.
I just took a quick look at the box scores for every PAC12 game yesterday. Only one other team only played 8 men. One played 9. All others played at least 10.
Good point, but I think they just have to get us some rest minutes. Maybe 5 minutes/game/kid. So I have hope that Plummer could do that for one. van Komen isn’t ready for big minutes but does affect shots so could do a little.
I’m sorry. I thought we were talking about something else. When I say “8 man rotation”, I’m talking about players who get more than just a few minutes. With that definition, most teams have a 7-8 man rotation in college basketball.
Of course, the point is that it would be nice if we could give a couple minutes to Plummer or MVK. It’s a long season, and we’re a bunch of freshmen.
Box score shows Allen played all 40 minutes, Jones 35, and Gach a couple of seconds short of 35 minutes. (Battin had about 31 minutes) Fear they may run out of gas in the second half tomorrow.
One thing is for sure, they need to stay healthy (knock wood). It was clear to see how big of a diff Rylan makes when he was out or struggling with the rib issue. And if Allen is ever out, lord help us. One thing I really like is they seem to know how to stay out of foul trouble for the most part. Overall we are way better than I dreamed we’d be, which is a nice place to be, because everything these guys do is just gravy.
I still have 2 lower bowl tickets for all of the remaining PAC games except Oregon on Saturday and Colorado at the end of the season. I’m willing to sell for $20 per game. If interested you need to let me know before the game on Saturday and I will leave the tickets for you at will-call and you can Venmo me the money when you pick up the tickets. Section C, Row 29, seats 5 & 6.
One small nitpick with your post. If you are going to use “pluck the ducks” you should use the famous “Lick the Beavers” in your title. It should read “Utes lick the Beavers 81-69”.
C’mon it’s tradition.
also: “screwing the Cougars” or “F***ing the Cougars” work with the alternate definition of “Cougar” better yet even “frustrate the Cougars”