This is madness!

Postseason TV Schedule

Date	Time MST	Game	Channel	Comcast Salt Lake	Dish
Mar. 19th	7:30	NIT: #6 Washington at #3 BYU	ESPN	668 (HD)	140
Mar. 19th	9:00	NIT: #5 Stephen F. Austin at #4 Stanford	ESPN2	669 (HD)	144
Mar. 20th	8:00	NIT: #6 Detroit at #3 Arizona State	ESPNU	755 (HD)	141
Mar. 21st	2:40	NCAA: #12 Oregon vs. #5 Oklahoma State	TNT	667 (HD)	138
Mar. 21st	5:20	NCAA: #11 Belmont vs. #6 Arizona	TNT	667 (HD)	138
Mar. 21st	5:27	NCAA: #12 California vs. #5 UNLV	truTV	736 (HD)	204
Mar. 22nd	2:40	NCAA: #10 Colorado vs. #7 Illinois	TNT	667 (HD)	138
Mar. 22nd	6:00	NIT: #3 Arizona State at #2 Baylor	ESPN2	669 (HD)	144
Mar. 22nd	7:57	NCAA: #11 Minnesota vs. #6 UCLA	truTV	736 (HD)	204
Mar. 23rd	10:00a	NIT: #4 Stanford at #1 Alabama	ESPN	668 (HD)	140
Mar. 23rd	4:10	NCAA: #14 Harvard vs. #6 Arizona	TNT	667 (HD)	138
Mar. 23rd	5:10	NCAA: #12 Oregon vs. #4 Saint Louis	TBS	674 (HD)	139
Mar. 23rd	7:40	NCAA: #12 California vs. #4 Syracuse	TBS	674 (HD)	139
Mar. 28th	5:47	NCAA: #6 Arizona vs. #2 Ohio State	TBS	674 (HD)	139
Mar. 29th	5:15	NCAA: #12 Oregon vs. #1 Louisville	CBS	654 (HD)	2

The Ducks Kicked our Butts!

Well, I didn't predict that one very well. Oregon played excellent and took Utah out of its offense, beat the Utes up on the boards, and ran an efficient offense. And after I gushed about the play of Jarred DuBois, Oregon took him completely out of his game. And finally, Oregon played harder than Utah. They had more in the tank, more talent, and proved to be the better team. Props to Oregon. Oregon will give UCLA all they can handle, especially with the injury to Jordan Adams. And they will be a tough out in the NCAA tournament.

As for Utah, the Utes won four of their last five, including two games in the conference tournament. The Utes won a total of seven games against improving Pac 12 competition. And most importantly, the Utes learned how to win close games. They learned if they play harder than the other team, that they will have a chance to win. These are valuable lessons for the younger players. And DuBois, Martin and Washburn have helped lay an excellent foundation for the younger players. All in all, this has been a successful rebuilding season. The Utes are well-coached and have a bright future.

More to come ...

Look Who Has Learned How to Win

The pain of rebuilding has finally reaped some benefits. The Runnin' Utes have learned how to win games. And it has been a blast!! What are the keys to this four game win streak? I have three observations:

The players have learned to make the extra pass on offense. The coaches have made a slight adjustment on defense (switching from man to zone and back to man). And Utah finally has a go-to guy who can score in pressure situations.  

The Runnin' Utes have become less selfish in recent games. Their motion offense has been much more effective at spreading out the defense leading to wide open outside shots, and opening up the inside game. DuBois has benefited from having more open shots, which has in turn helped his confidence. Washburn and Olsen have more room to operate inside and they have taken advantage.  

Utah has also started to mix up its defenses and opposing teams have struggled to adjust. Utah has started games in a sagged in man-to man. But as soon as the opponent gets in a rhythm, the Utes switch to zone. This switching up has been effective in getting teams out of their rhythm and is good for 5-6 stops per game. In some games, that has been the difference. This has been an excellent adjustment by the coaches.

Finally, Jarred DuBois is the man. He has learned how to take over games and will his team to victory. The shot against Cal was epic, but he was amazing to open that game as well. Utah lacked a go-to guy all season. Washburn did a great job, but could be shut down by double teams and more physical big men. And Jordan Loveridge isn't quite there yet. But in the last four games, DuBois has played aggressively while still playing under control and within the offense. He has more open shots and, therefore, makes more shots. And this has increased his confidence. He has been outstanding. And I couldn't be more happy for this fine young man.

I don't know if Utah will win tonight. I predict a close game. The Utes will have a chance to win. I have to be honest. I didn't expect Utah to turn the corner this season. I thought it would happen some time next year. Coach K and his staff have done a great job keeping his team engaged in team basketball. That is a tough thing to do when a team is not winning. But the players have bought in and the boys are reaping the rewards. Let's hope we'll see them have a chance to make it to the big dance tomorrow night. But even if they don't, I think most Utah fans will agree that, with this performance in the Pac-12 tournament, this first rebuilding season has been a success.

Jason Washburn

I prepared a short tribute to the great Jason Washburn for pachoops.com. Don't miss it.

And be sure to catch the other entries of the Waxing Seniority series.

Weekly Postseason Tracker

Conference RPI: #6

NCAAs:

		Arizona (24-6, 12-6) | RPI: #13 | SOS: #28 Top-100 Wins (11): Miami (Fla.) (4); vs. Florida (6); vs. Colorado (37); San Diego St. (32); vs. Southern Miss (35); vs. Stanford (64); at Washington (88); vs. Washington (88); at Arizona St. (92); vs. Arizona State (92); vs. UTEP (98) Sub-100 Losses (1): at USC (103)
		California (20-10, 12-6) | RPI: #48 | SOS: #33 Top-100 Wins (6): at Arizona (13); vs. Colorado (37); vs. UCLA (31); at Oregon (54); vs. Oregon (54); at Denver (58) Sub-100 Losses (0): None.
		Oregon (23-8, 12-6) | RPI: #54 | SOS: #109 Top-100 Wins (7): vs. Arizona (13); at UNLV (23); at UCLA (31); vs. Stanford (64); vs. Washington (88); at Washington (88); vs. Arizona St. (92) Sub-100 Losses (1): at Utah (176)
		UCLA (23-8, 13-5) | RPI: #31 | SOS: #32 Top-100 Wins (11): at Arizona (13); vs. Arizona (13); at Colorado (37); vs. Missouri (34); vs. California (48); at Stanford (64); vs. Stanford (64); vs. Indiana St. (75); at Washington (88); vs. Washington (88); vs. Arizona St. (92) Sub-100 Losses (3): vs. USC (103); vs. Cal Poly (161); at Washington State

NIT:

		Arizona State (20-11, 9-9) | RPI: #92 | SOS: #116 Top-100 Wins (5): at Colorado (37); vs. Colorado (37); vs. UCLA (31); vs. California (48); Arkansas (80) Sub-100 Losses (3): at USC (103); at Utah (176); vs. DePaul (198)
		Colorado (20-10, 10-8) | RPI: #37 | SOS: #19 Top-100 Wins (9): vs. Arizona (13); vs. Colorado St. (15); at Oregon (54); vs. Oregon (54); vs. California (48); Baylor (62); vs. Air Force (69); at Stanford (64); vs. Stanford (64) Sub-100 Losses (2): at Utah (176); vs. Oregon State (179)
		Stanford (18-13, 9-9) | RPI: #64 | SOS: #38 Top-100 Wins (6): at California (48); vs. California (48); vs. Oregon (54); vs. Denver (58); vs. Northern Iowa (84); at Arizona St. (92) Sub-100 Losses (2): vs. USC (103); at USC (103)

CBI:

		USC (14-17, 9-9) | RPI: #103 | SOS: #17 Top-100 Wins (6): vs. Arizona (13); at UCLA (31); at Stanford (64); vs. Stanford (64); vs. Washington (88); vs. Arizona St. (92) Sub-100 Losses (4): at Nebraska (102); at Georgia (127); vs. UC Irvine (147); at Washington State (182)
		Washington (17-14, 9-9) | RPI: #88 | SOS: #40 Top-100 Wins (7): vs. St. Louis (27); vs. Colorado (37); at California (48); at Stanford (64); at Arizona St. (92); vs. Arizona St. (92); Loyola (Md.) (99) Sub-100 Losses (5): at USC (103); vs. Albany (162); vs. Nevada (167); vs. Utah (176); at Oregon St. (179)

OUT:

		Oregon State (14-17, 4-14) | RPI: #179 | SOS: #111 Top-100 Wins (3): at Colorado (37); vs. New Mexico St. (59); vs. Washington (88) Sub-100 Losses (4): at USC (103); vs. Towson (155); at Utah (176); vs. Washington St. (182)
		Utah (13-17, 5-13) | RPI: #176 | SOS: #67 Top-100 Wins (5): vs. Colorado (37); vs. Boise St. (38); vs. Oregon (54); at Washington (88); vs. Arizona St. (92) Sub-100 Losses (6): at USC (103); at Oregon St. (179); at Washington St. (182); at SMU (213); vs. CS Northridge (238); vs. Sacramento St. (281)
		Washington State (13-18, 4-14) | RPI: #182 | SOS: #91 Top-100 Wins (1): vs. UCLA (31) Sub-100 Losses (3): at USC (103); vs. Oregon St. (179); at Pepperdine (212)