Utah beat a feisty but over-matched St. Martin's team. There was a lot to like about tonight's game. Utah dominated with its athleticism. But the Utes struggled at the free throw line and didn't have the type of inside presence you would hope for against a much smaller team.
My attention was piqued from the announcement of the starting lineups. Utah started three players from Los Angeles (Wright, Taylor, and Tucker), one local standout (Loveridge), and one foreign player (Lenz). While the Utes still have a lot of work to do in recruiting, I like the trend of mixing some of the better local players like Loveridge, Parker Van Dyke and Brekkot Chapman with solid players from California and elsewhere. The great Majerus teams followed that pattern, and I am glad to see Coach Krysto getting back to that winning recruiting formula.
Now on to the game. The Utes started a little slowly. They didn't score a fast break basket until about seven minutes left in the first half. The defense failed to cause deflections and turnovers. But as the young men began to amp up the defensive pressure, the Saints started to turn the ball over and Utah began to get out in transition.
Utah also failed to get the kind of offensive post play that I had hoped to see. Lenz has improved and Olsen is coming along nicely. But the Utes will need their post players to present a scoring threat inside to be successful in conference play. I would like to see the Utes create some open shots by getting the ball inside and having the big guys be a threat to score, which will force perimeter defenders to help inside. When perimeter defenders have to sag down, then the big men can find open shooters on the perimeter. We didn't see much of that tonight. Though Utah did a good job creating open shots by swinging the ball from side to side, they will be much more successful if they can work side to side and inside out. Utah will need that kind of variation in its offensive sets to be successful against the better teams.
The Utes' free throw shooting was atrocious. They shot only 24 of 45 from the line. I'm not too worried about it (yet) since many of the misses may be chalked up to Freshmen playing in their first game in the Huntsman Center. But it is certainly something I'll be monitoring. The good news is the Utes got to the line. If the kids can get to the line and hit their foul shots, that will go a long ways to helping them win in conference. But if this is not an aberration, then the free throw shooting woes will cost the Utes some games.
Overall, I really liked how Utah played tonight. Delon Wright can get to the basket and can pass the ball. Jordan Loveridge played great on both ends of the floor. And once the Utes upped the team defensive pressure, they started to score in transition. Van Dyke, Taylor, and Tucker all had some good moments and look solid. And, as would be expected, Utah dominated the boards against a smaller, less athletic opponent. If the Utes can improve their post play and hit their foul shots, they'll win some ball games. The Utes are much more athletic than they have been the past two years and they continue to improve on schedule. I will be watching to see if Utah can get stronger post play, create more open shots from the inside out and make its foul shots. I also hope to see a little more pressure on defense, which will lead to deflections, turnovers and points in transition.
There is a lot of reason to be optimistic. But there is still a lot of work to be done. Go Utes!
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