It has been said that winning on the road in Division I NCAA basketball is one of the hardest things to do in sports. The Wall Street Journal had an article on this a few years back. It speculated several reasons for college teams having trouble winning on the road: crazy fans close to the court, difficult travel schedules, unfamiliar sight-lines, home-cooking referees, and inexperienced players.
I never liked any of these excuses -- basketball is basketball. The basket is the same height, the ball is the same weight, and the floor is the same size. And yet good teams lose to inferior teams on the road all the time. UCLA is probably better than Utah, yet Utah beat the Bruins last week. Utah is probably better than Washington State, yet the Cougars took it to the Utes. I expect a different outcome in both return games when the roles are reversed. All of these factors probably make it more difficult to play on the road because it makes it more difficult to maintain a high level of concentration. For me, the reason teams struggle on the road is that it is more difficult to maintain a high level of concentration on the road than it is at home.
Utah has only won one conference road game since joining the PAC-12, a 74-65 win over the Washington Huskies last season. In that game, Utah shot 60% from the field and pretty much dominated a pretty decent squad. What I remember from that game was a high level of concentration from the Utes and few mental mistakes. In all of Utah's close road losses this season, including tonight's four point loss to Arizona State, Utah made several mental mistakes that cost them 6-10 points over the course of those games. For example, in tonight's game, Utah dropped two uncontested rebounds out of bounds. One of the drops happened right before the half that permitted ASU to score going into the half. ASU used that momentum to pull ahead of Utah early in the second half. In another instance, ASU threw the ball away and it was going out of bounds. Instead of letting the ball go out of bounds, a Utah player unsuccessfully tried to save it to a teammate. ASU retained possession of the ball. These may seem like insignificant plays and they don't even register on the official stat sheet. But if you make 6-8 of those mistakes during the course of a game, and the other teams scores about half of the time, then you are giving up 6-8 points that you would not otherwise be giving up. If Utah gives up 6-8 fewer points in its road games, it would be 18-1 and 6-1 in conference instead of 14-5 and 3-4. This may seem simplistic, but I truly believe that until Utah learns how to minimize these mental lapses, it will continue to struggle on the road.
Utah is a good team. It is a better team now than it was at this point last season. But it is not yet a great team. When you are building a program from the ground up like Coach Krystko is doing, your team goes through stages. First your team has to learn how to play hard, and you have to start recruiting more talented players. Utah has done that. Then you have to develop team chemistry and learn how to win games. Utah has great chemistry, and it knows how to win games. But this Utah team has failed to maintain a high level of concentration for 40 minutes of basketball on the road. It has had stretches where it plays outstanding. But in all of its road losses, Utah has gone through stretches where it drops rebounds, makes costly turnovers, takes bad shots, and loses concentration on defense. And until Utah learns to minimize these types of mistakes, it will continue to lose road games that it is capable of winning.
It may be a frustrating process to watch. But every team goes through it. Some overcome and become great teams. Some don't and regress. From what I have seen from this coaching staff and from these kids, I expect Utah to evolve into an excellent team that can win games on the road. But it is far from a foregone conclusion.
Thursday, January 23, 2014
March and December 1961 - Utah vs. Arizona State
When I think of Arizona State basketball, I think of Ned Wulk. He coached the Sun Devils from before the WAC was formed until after ASU joined the Pac-10. He was the only coach I ever faced in my 21 games against ASU.
His teams always played fast and were almost always tough. The first time we met was in the Elite Eight round of the 1961 NCAA Tournament in Portland. They had a trio of scorers led by an elusive 5'8" point guard named Larry Armstrong. He was averaging right around 20 ppg, but earned 27 against us. Their other scorers, Jerry Hahn and Ollie Payne, combined for another 26. Fortunately, our boys were at the top of their game; Billy McGill, Jim Rhead and Rich Ruffell combined for 72 points and 36 rebounds. We held a big first half lead and cruised to an 8-point win and a trip to the Final Four in Kansas City.
The following season, we put the Sun Devils on our non-conference schedule twice -- first in Tempe, and then in Salt Lake three weeks later. They were virtually the same team they were the year before -- led again by the trio of Armstrong, Hahn and Payne. But this time they were anxious for revenge. I, frankly, wasn't very optimistic we could win in Tempe, and even less so when Billy McGill picked up four fouls in the first half. Yet somehow we persevered and gave ourselves a chance to win it in the end. At the final second, McGill lobbed an in-bounds ally-oop pass to Ed Rowe for the tie, but it was just out of his grasp. ASU got its revenge by the score of 78-76. Armstrong led the way with 22 points.
That set up the rubber match three weeks later at the Nielsen Field House. By then, the Sun Devils had climbed to #10 in the national polls. We were so familiar with ASU by that time, and they with us; there was no point in trying to out-smart each other. Instead, we just tried to out-run each other.
The game was fast-paced and neck-and-neck. Each team scored in bunches, but neither could pull away. We shot 50% and ASU shot 47%. McGill had 28 points by halftime, yet we trailed by two points. It wasn't until there were nine minutes left when we had a bit of a lead and could slow down the pace. Five minutes later, we began to freeze the ball and held out for the 88-80 victory. McGill finished with 47 points, but the Sun Devils got theirs as well: Payne had 24, Armstrong had 22 and Hahn had 20 (off 9-for-11 shooting).
And with that, the Utah-Arizona State rivalry had begun. The next season we started playing each other as members of the newly-formed WAC. Coach Wulk and I had many great duels over the years -- like the time Mike Newlin scored 32 points against Seabern Hill's 31 points to lead us to a 93-92 come-from-behind victory in Tempe. But that's another story for another day.
His teams always played fast and were almost always tough. The first time we met was in the Elite Eight round of the 1961 NCAA Tournament in Portland. They had a trio of scorers led by an elusive 5'8" point guard named Larry Armstrong. He was averaging right around 20 ppg, but earned 27 against us. Their other scorers, Jerry Hahn and Ollie Payne, combined for another 26. Fortunately, our boys were at the top of their game; Billy McGill, Jim Rhead and Rich Ruffell combined for 72 points and 36 rebounds. We held a big first half lead and cruised to an 8-point win and a trip to the Final Four in Kansas City.
That set up the rubber match three weeks later at the Nielsen Field House. By then, the Sun Devils had climbed to #10 in the national polls. We were so familiar with ASU by that time, and they with us; there was no point in trying to out-smart each other. Instead, we just tried to out-run each other.
The game was fast-paced and neck-and-neck. Each team scored in bunches, but neither could pull away. We shot 50% and ASU shot 47%. McGill had 28 points by halftime, yet we trailed by two points. It wasn't until there were nine minutes left when we had a bit of a lead and could slow down the pace. Five minutes later, we began to freeze the ball and held out for the 88-80 victory. McGill finished with 47 points, but the Sun Devils got theirs as well: Payne had 24, Armstrong had 22 and Hahn had 20 (off 9-for-11 shooting).
And with that, the Utah-Arizona State rivalry had begun. The next season we started playing each other as members of the newly-formed WAC. Coach Wulk and I had many great duels over the years -- like the time Mike Newlin scored 32 points against Seabern Hill's 31 points to lead us to a 93-92 come-from-behind victory in Tempe. But that's another story for another day.
Monday, January 20, 2014
Weekly Postseason Tracker
Conference RPI: #3
NCAAs:
NIT:
CBI:
OUT:
NCAAs:
 |
Arizona (18-0, 5-0) | RPI: #3 | SOS: #28
Top-100 Wins (8): at San Diego State (14) | vs. Duke (18) | at Michigan (29) | at UCLA (30) | Arizona State (60) | New Mexico State (76) | Washington (87) | vs. Drexel (96)
Sub-100 Losses (0): None.
|
|---|---|
 |
Colorado (15-4, 4-2) | RPI: #20 | SOS: #13 Top-100 Wins (6): Kansas (1) | Oregon (27) | Harvard (36) | UC Santa Barbara (70) | Wyoming (97) | Oregon State (100) Sub-100 Losses (0): None. |
 |
Oregon (13-4, 1-4) | RPI: #27 | SOS: #21 Top-100 Wins (5): BYU (40) | vs. Georgetown (57) | vs. Illinois (58) | at Ole Miss (68) | Pacific (84) Sub-100 Losses (0): None. |
 |
UCLA (14-4 3-2) | RPI: #30 | SOS: #31 Top-100 Wins (5): at Colorado (20) | Arizona State (60) | UC Santa Barbara (70) | Drexel (96) | Alabama (98) Sub-100 Losses (1): at Utah (135) |
 |
California (14-4, 5-0) | RPI: #33 | SOS: #57 Top-100 Wins (5): at Oregon (27) | at Stanford (54) | vs. Arkansas (67) | Washington (87) | at Oregon State (100) Sub-100 Losses (0): None. |
 |
Stanford (12-5, 3-2) | RPI: #54 | SOS: #48 Top-100 Wins (3): at Oregon (27) | Connecticut (28) | Washington (87) Sub-100 Losses (0): None. |
NIT:
 |
Arizona State (13-5, 2-3) | RPI: #60 | SOS: #98 Top-100 Wins (1): at DePaul (86) Sub-100 Losses (0): None. |
 |
Washington (11-8, 3-3) | RPI: #87 | SOS: #61 Top-100 Wins (2): Colorado (20) | at Arizona State (60) Sub-100 Losses (2): UC Irvine (128) | vs. Boston College (142) |
 |
Utah (14-4, 3-3) | RPI: #135 | SOS: #254 Top-100 Wins (3): UCLA (30) | BYU (50) | Oregon State (100) Sub-100 Losses (1): at Washington State (133) |
CBI:
 |
Oregon State (10-7, 2-3) | RPI: #100 | SOS: #83 Top-100 Wins (3): Oregon (27) | Stanford (54) | at Maryland (61) Sub-100 Losses (4): vs. Akron (120) | at Utah (135) | at Hawaii (149) | Coppin State (198) |
OUT:
 |
USC (9-9, 0-5) | RPI: #101 | SOS: #33 Top-100 Wins (2): vs. Xavier (24) | at Dayton (50) Sub-100 Losses (2): at Utah (135) | at Long Beach State (141) |
 |
Washington State (8-10, 1-5) | RPI: #127 | SOS: #40 Top-100 Wins (1): vs. Purdue (88) Sub-100 Losses (2): UTEP (111) | TCU (179) |
Sunday, January 19, 2014
Week 12 TV Schedule
| Date | Time MST | Game | Channel | Comcast Salt Lake | Dish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan. 22nd | 8:00 | Oregon State at Washington State | Pac-12 Net | 757 (HD) | 413 |
| Jan. 22nd | 9:00 | California at USC | ESPNU | 755 (HD) | 141 |
| Jan. 23rd | 7:00 | Utah at Arizona State | Pac-12 Net | 757 (HD) | 413 |
| Jan. 23rd | 7:00 | Colorado at Arizona | ESPN2 | 669 (HD) | 144 |
| Jan. 23rd | 9:00 | Oregon at Washington | FoxSports1 | 691 (HD) | 150 |
| Jan. 23rd | 9:00 | Stanford at UCLA | Pac-12 Net | 757 (HD) | 413 |
| Jan. 25th | 3:00 | Oregon State at Washington | Pac-12 Net | 757 (HD) | 413 |
| Jan. 25th | 5:00 | Colorado at Arizona State | Pac-12 Net | 757 (HD) | 413 |
| Jan. 26th | 3:00 | Stanford at USC | Pac-12 Net | 757 (HD) | 413 |
| Jan. 26th | 5:00 | Oregon at Washington State | Pac-12 Net | 757 (HD) | 413 |
| Jan. 26th | 6:00 | California at UCLA | ESPNU | 755 (HD) | 141 |
| Jan. 26th | 6:00 | Utah at Arizona | FoxSports1 | 691 (HD) | 150 |
Thursday, January 16, 2014
March 8, 1960 - Utah vs. Southern Cal
As you know, I'm a USC guy. So I'll always have a special place in my heart for the Trojans. But they were a cause for some frustration as a coach. I was 3-8 coaching against Troy.
All three of those wins were memorable. We beat them down at their place in 1969. Two years earlier we blew a big lead at our place and had to hold on for dear life. Merv Jackson had 27 points against Bill Hewitt's 25, and Walt Simon clinched it for us on the free-throw line in the final seconds.
But the most memorable of my games against the Trojans was down at the Smith Fieldhouse in Provo. It was the first round of the 1960 NCAA Tournament.
We were great that season. We ranked #6 in the nation and won the Skyline Conference by averaging 84.6ppg. The Trojans were solid and earned an at-large berth to the tournament over UCLA.
The thing I remember most about that game was USC's John Rudometkin -- a player we tried to recruit. Rudometkin had a phenomenal day, which included 17 rebounds in the first half alone. It seemed we were playing too relaxed at first. And then it happened: Billy the Hill blocked a layup by Rudometkin, but the refs called goal-tending and counted the basket.
Let me explain something: Billy McGill was called with goal-tending a lot that year and I had gone over the films very carefully. I am sure half the calls against Billy had been wrong. So that goal-tending call -- at that crucial point of an important game -- really made me blow my stack. Suffice to say, I earned myself a technical foul. And maybe it was worth a technical foul to let them know they can't burn down your house without a protest.
In any event, I think my technical foul sparked something because we went on a run to end the half with a ten point lead, 44-34.
The second half was a battle. Rudometkin ended up with 31 points and the Trojans' 5'11" guard, Jerry Pimm, added 16 (yes, that Jerry Pimm). But we stuck to our zone defense and never surrendered the lead.
The other remarkable thing about that game was we only played six guys. We started with our "speed unit": McGill, Sweet Al Holmes, Joe Morton, Bill Cowan and Rich Ruffell. McGill had 27 points and Sweet Al had 17p/17r. But our sixth man that day, Jim Rhead, was huge. He came off the bench to score 11 points and help keep us ahead in the second half. We left Provo with a 80-73 win and advanced to the regional semis in Seattle.
All three of those wins were memorable. We beat them down at their place in 1969. Two years earlier we blew a big lead at our place and had to hold on for dear life. Merv Jackson had 27 points against Bill Hewitt's 25, and Walt Simon clinched it for us on the free-throw line in the final seconds.
But the most memorable of my games against the Trojans was down at the Smith Fieldhouse in Provo. It was the first round of the 1960 NCAA Tournament.
We were great that season. We ranked #6 in the nation and won the Skyline Conference by averaging 84.6ppg. The Trojans were solid and earned an at-large berth to the tournament over UCLA.The thing I remember most about that game was USC's John Rudometkin -- a player we tried to recruit. Rudometkin had a phenomenal day, which included 17 rebounds in the first half alone. It seemed we were playing too relaxed at first. And then it happened: Billy the Hill blocked a layup by Rudometkin, but the refs called goal-tending and counted the basket.
Let me explain something: Billy McGill was called with goal-tending a lot that year and I had gone over the films very carefully. I am sure half the calls against Billy had been wrong. So that goal-tending call -- at that crucial point of an important game -- really made me blow my stack. Suffice to say, I earned myself a technical foul. And maybe it was worth a technical foul to let them know they can't burn down your house without a protest.
In any event, I think my technical foul sparked something because we went on a run to end the half with a ten point lead, 44-34.
The second half was a battle. Rudometkin ended up with 31 points and the Trojans' 5'11" guard, Jerry Pimm, added 16 (yes, that Jerry Pimm). But we stuck to our zone defense and never surrendered the lead.
The other remarkable thing about that game was we only played six guys. We started with our "speed unit": McGill, Sweet Al Holmes, Joe Morton, Bill Cowan and Rich Ruffell. McGill had 27 points and Sweet Al had 17p/17r. But our sixth man that day, Jim Rhead, was huge. He came off the bench to score 11 points and help keep us ahead in the second half. We left Provo with a 80-73 win and advanced to the regional semis in Seattle.
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
Weekly Postseason Tracker
Conference RPI: #4
NCAAs:
NIT:
CBI:
OUT:
NCAAs:
|
Arizona (17-0, 4-0) | RPI: #5 | SOS: #32
Top-100 Wins (8): at San Diego State (14) | vs. Duke (28) | at UCLA (37) | at Michigan (49) | New Mexico State (55) | vs. Drexel (80) | Washington (81) | at USC (95)
Sub-100 Losses (0): None.
|
|---|---|
|
Colorado (14-3, 3-1) | RPI: #11 | SOS: #7 Top-100 Wins (5): Kansas (1) | Oregon (22) | Harvard (34) | UC Santa Barbara (64) | Wyoming (88) Sub-100 Losses (0): None. |
|
Oregon (13-3, 1-3) | RPI: #22 | SOS: #23 Top-100 Wins (6): vs. Illinois (32) | vs. Georgetown (44) | BYU (50) | Pacific (76) | at Ole Miss (79) | San Francisco (92) Sub-100 Losses (0): None. |
|
UCLA (13-3 2-1) | RPI: #37 | SOS: #53 Top-100 Wins (4): Arizona State (61) | UC Santa Barbara (64) | Drexel (80) | USC (95) Sub-100 Losses (0): None. |
|
California (12-4, 3-0) | RPI: #33 | SOS: #50 Top-100 Wins (3): at Oregon (22) | at Stanford (57) | vs. Arkansas (85) Sub-100 Losses (0): None. |
|
Arizona State (13-4, 2-2) | RPI: #61 | SOS: #114 Top-100 Wins (2): Marquette (91) | at USC (95) Sub-100 Losses (0): None. |
|
Stanford (10-5, 1-2) | RPI: #57 | SOS: #45 Top-100 Wins (2): at Oregon (22) | Connecticut (27) Sub-100 Losses (1): at Oregon State (136) |
NIT:
|
Washington (11-6, 3-1) | RPI: #81 | SOS: #76 Top-100 Wins (2): Colorado (11) | at Arizona State (61) Sub-100 Losses (2): UC Irvine (114) | vs. Boston College (130) |
CBI:
|
Utah (12-4, 1-3) | RPI: #182 | SOS: #300 Top-100 Wins (1): BYU (50) Sub-100 Losses (1): at Washington State (133) |
|
Oregon State (9-7, 1-3) | RPI: #136 | SOS: #121 Top-100 Wins (2): Stanford (57) | at Maryland (69) Sub-100 Losses (4): at DePaul (102) | vs. Akron (107) | at Hawaii (140) | at Utah (182) |
OUT:
|
USC (9-7, 0-3) | RPI: #95 | SOS: #42 Top-100 Wins (2): vs. Xavier (29) | at Dayton (42) Sub-100 Losses (1): at Long Beach State (138) |
|
Washington State (8-8, 1-3) | RPI: #133 | SOS: #54 Top-100 Wins (0): None. Sub-100 Losses (2): UTEP (156) | TCU (161) |
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