I agree with this. This freshman class for us is seemingly shallow, but I guess it depends on how Foster works out. If she hadn’t been injured, maybe we see her a lot more and we are saying, “well, at least one worked out”.
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Watching UCLA vs USC…wow. Size, athleticism, depth…got it all.
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and frequent flyer miles
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The Utes spanking ASU by 36 was what we all expected, but they way they did it was impressive. They have these games when the offense is running smooth, and everybody gets an open look and they are unbeatable. Though nobody could really watch the game, I imagine that this was the team that beat ND. Knowing that team that played yesterday lives inside these players is awesome to think about.
Fun stat, this year in a home and home series with ASU, the total score for both games is 200(!)-142 for Utah.
As much fun as it is to see Kneepkens hit shot after shot like she is throwing it in the ocean, it is so much fun when McQueen does it. She couldn’t stop smiling most of that second half.
Wilkie couldn’t miss either, and what I like about her is when she is on she has a much quicker release than either Kneepkens or McQueen, she catches and shoots very quickly.
Frosh watch: Walker had her best game of the year, but it was against a poor ASU team with the team having a big lead. I hope it was good for her confidence. Ray played garbage time and one thing I noticed is that if she is going to be any good, she has to show it during these times when she is playing these garbage times minutes like tonight. Its like what @justaute said the other day when he accurately remarked about how Colorado’s freshman played in the garbage time in that game. Ray doesn’t have it and she just doesn’t stand out, which tells me that she is not on the path to being a starting point guard or even the main backup for this team.
The three-headed bigs (Johnson, Toure, Ross) all played decently. Johnson especially, once again, lead the team in assists. She isn’t scoring much but she is a veteran who knows how to make the offense work.
Next up is Oklahoma State on Tuesday at the Huntsman Center in the teams “Red-Out” game. Don’t need to tell most Ute fans to wear red. Twenty win OSU was upset by BYU yesterday 68-64. The game was tied 60-60 with 2 1/2 minutes left when Whiting missed both free throws but on the second the BYU player threw the OSU defender to the ground and rebounded the missed free throw and gave BYU the lead, which they kept, barely through free throws. OSU was clearly looking past BYU for their matchup against the Utes, and now the game on Tuesday becomes much harder as OSU is now pissed.
I learned yesterday that the BigXII tournament will be all 16 teams with the top 4 getting two byes and the next four getting one bye. We are in a fight with OSU and WVU for that fourth spot and they have both on the schedule. They have our destiny in their own hands to get that 2nd bye game.
During the game they showed the projection that the Utes will have a 6 seed, play well from here and get the #5 seed. One thing to remember, the team that was lead by Kim Smith almost 20 years ago that lost in overtime to Maryland (the eventual champion) in an Elite Eight game was a 5 seed.
Its always a good day to be a Ute.
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Four games left…Oklahoma State, at Cincinnati, at WVA, and TDS. No easy left. Top 4, double-bye B12 tourney implication vs OSU and WVU in that there is just a one-game swing between the current #4 in Utah and #5/#6 in OSU and WVU, respectively. And, neither UC nor TDS will be easy.
Reese/Vieira/Johnson/Toure really need to take care the ball and avoid easy turnovers. I know it seems as though I’m nitpicking, but having watched the entire season, including last night, we cannot afford having many careless turnovers.
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It has been better the last few games, but it could easily raise its head again. Must be diligent from here on. Every turnover will be magnified when playing these remaining teams.
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WVA just beat KSU 70-57. KSU kicked our a$$ at the Hunty. If we want to be a top 4 seed in B12, better get ready.
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The game was in Morgantown as well, which shows also that WVU’s home court advantage is real. Time to show up and ready to play.
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Rough 4th quarter. Nothing going in.
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Didn’t watch the game. It seems we squandered a golden opportunity to be in the top 4 of B12. Too bad.
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I dont know if injuries have been part of it for oklahoma state like ksu has dealt with but their schedule is funny. Theyve got 4 wins against the other 5 in the top 6 but have losses to kansas , byu, and houston!
Meanwhile, weve lost every game to the others in the top 6 so far but have beaten everyone else.
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OSU played great defense the entire game, even though the refs were calling literally everything, even if minimal or no contact. As Ben says, we had that 9 point lead and it just slowly dissolved over the 4th quarter.
The turning point of the game for me is Utah has a 60-58 lead, has several chances to extend and can’t, but OSU not doing much either, until their #3 Gray, hits a huge 3 pointer to move them to 60-61, with about something 4 minutes left. In the end, they hit a couple of shots and some FTs and that was it. Both teams squandered (mainly because of good defense that the Utes could not overcome) several possessions, until it breaks loose and they win.
I can’t say I wasn’t disappointed, but after OSU lost a tough one in Provo giving up a 10 point lead, I knew the Utes were in trouble. It would have been better OSU cruise to victory in Provo, then they aren’t as desperate. OSU celebrated like the had just won the conference championship, that is how motivated they were.
Oh well, on to Cincinnati, WVU and back home to finish the season against BYU.
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I think we’ll likely go 1-2 in the final three games.
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I said earlier this season that we would one of either OSU or Cincinnati, beat BYU, and lose to WVU. For that to be true, they have to win tomorrow. Cincinnati is certainly beatable.
So, I am saying 2-1 which would put them at 22-7 and 13-5 in conference. No chance for a 4 or 5 seed, I think whether they go 1-2 or 2-1, they get a 6 seed. Of course, that depends on not busting out in the first game of the conference tournament the way the soccer team did.
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Definitely don’t deserve a top 4-5 seed. Can’t beat any of the top 5 teams in B12. The fact that Petersen said the team lacks toughness, at this point of the season, is very disappointing.
We certainly could go 2-1 or even 3-0 for the remaining three games. I think we’ll have a tough time at UC.
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Good win vs Cincinnati today. Besides a good shooting day, glad our free throw got back into 80%. Had we shot close to that from FT against OSU, we would have won that game.
WVA is a good pressing team. Should be very interesting.
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Very satisfying win. Complete domination. Hope for a top 4 seed in the conference tournament is hanging by a thread, but its there!
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Too bad OSU does not have any tough games left. As WVA – just got spanked by TCU – is currently ranked below Utah at number 6, I don’t see a reasonable way for Utah to usurp OSU. Even if we tie OSU at number 4, OSU has the tie-breaker advantage.
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I hope we can get a good crowd at the last home game next Saturday afternoon against BYU. The seniors, McQueen, Inez and Johnson deserve a good send off.
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I finally was able to watch the game last night. You guys were right, that was a shooting exhibition. Hard to believe that after watching OSU shut down the outside game that other teams aren’t copying that. How many wide open 3’s were taken?! A lot.
How many lay-ups (not counting contested ones) did they miss? I counted at least 8. Gotta get better at finishing. At this point, the 3point percentage is almost better than our lay-up percentage (exaggerating to make a point).
I noticed that Walker got much more time this game. I wonder if Petersen is trusting her more. She came in and played point guard in the 1st quarter, when it is usually Wilke that does that.
When the team is feeling it offensively and they get into a rhythm they can beat almost anybody (i.e. Notre Dame). JJ Quinnerly and WVU will be a major test, especially at home. WVU’s weakness has been on the road. They are 15-0 at home and only 4-5 on the road (only 9 road games!). They beat that really good KSU team at home just last week by 13 points.
I have been able to free up work time and will be making the 3 1/2 hour drive to Morgantown to watch the team win (shock the world, baby). Other than player’s families, I might be the only other Ute there.
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