#17 Utah vs. Stanford
Thu, Mar 12 2015, 09:30 PM MST
MGM Grand Garden Arena-Las Vegas, Nevada
TV: ESPN
Radio: ESPN 700
Line:Utah -7
The Utes stumble into their first round
match-up against Stanford tonight at the MGM Grand Arena in beautiful Las
Vegas, Nevada at 9:30 PM MST. Stanford, a bit of an underperforming team this
season, is coming off of a thrilling win last night over Washington in which
Chasson Randle hit a clutch three with 2.4 seconds remaining to give the
Cardinal the 71-69 victory. Randle was held in check most of the night by a
pesky UDub zone but his lack of production was offset by stellar play from
Anthony Brown, a 6'6" forward/guard combo who went 4-7 from three for 16
points and also the dominating interior play of big man Stefan Nastic. Facing
an undersized Washington team, Nastic was very aggressive, going 10-16 from the
field for 21 points and 5 rebounds in the victory. His presence should prove
difficult for Utah's defensive front court, as they have allowed big men to
wreak havoc on them in the month of March. Washington State's Jordan Railey
went off for 16 points on 6-10 shooting in just 17 minutes of time before
fouling out in their March 5th 67-59 loss to the Utes and Washington's
undersized bigs also gave Utah problems in a 77-68 loss back on March 7th.
These two teams last met on February 12th at the Jon M. Hunstman
Center where the Utes rolled to an easy 75-59 victory. Delon Wright had his
usual impressive stat line (13 points, 5 rebounds and 4 steals) but Dallin
Bachynski came out and played like a beast. He ended the game with 13 points
and 6 rebounds playing in place of Jakob Poeltl who battled foul problems and
only played 13 minutes. The Cardinal were led by Anthony Brown that night who
had 16 points on 3-6 shooting from beyond the arc and Marcus Allen added 13 in
the loss. Nastic was largely ineffective in the game and held to 7 points on
2-9 shooting before fouling out in the second half. Brekkott Chapman and Jordan
Loveridge also had nice games that night. Going off for 12 points each, both
were major factors in the win.
Utah players and coaches have said that the team's problems stem
from a lack of effort and not from anything pandemic to the program. However,
it's hard not to notice the many deficiencies the Utes have displayed in the
second half of the season, and especially since the home loss against Arizona
on February 28th. Opposing defenses have largely taken away the paint from Utah
and are now forcing them to the perimeter with a stingy 2-3 zone defense. That wasn't a problem early in
the season when Brandon Taylor was hot; however, he has cooled a bit in the
second half of the season. Also opposing defenses have started to focus in on
him more and that makes it so Delon Wright basically has to win games just by himself.
Because other players, most notably, Brekkott Chapman and Dakari Tucker, have
largely disappeared over the last month offensively, this has exposed the Utes
as team that has trouble scoring the ball. Previously the deficiencies were
masked by depth and hot shooting but that has worn off as the season has gone
on and the Utes need to re focus. Stanford is a well coached team that has
underwhelmed all season long, they have a big man in Nastic that can give
Utah's front court problems in the paint and Chasson Randle and Marcus Allen
create match-up nightmares on the perimeter. This isn't a game to take lightly and the Utes
will need to re-group and come out with the same focus they had at the start of
the season. After the Arizona loss, it was almost like the wind was let out of
the sails for the Ute players. The whole season they were focused on winning
the conference and after that loss, they haven't played with the same energy
and passion. That has to change if Utah doesn't want to be one and done in both
Tourney's this year
Thu, Mar 12 2015, 09:30 PM MST
MGM Grand Garden Arena-Las Vegas, Nevada
TV: ESPN
Radio: ESPN 700
Line:Utah -7
The Utes stumble into their first round
match-up against Stanford tonight at the MGM Grand Arena in beautiful Las
Vegas, Nevada at 9:30 PM MST. Stanford, a bit of an underperforming team this
season, is coming off of a thrilling win last night over Washington in which
Chasson Randle hit a clutch three with 2.4 seconds remaining to give the
Cardinal the 71-69 victory. Randle was held in check most of the night by a
pesky UDub zone but his lack of production was offset by stellar play from
Anthony Brown, a 6'6" forward/guard combo who went 4-7 from three for 16
points and also the dominating interior play of big man Stefan Nastic. Facing
an undersized Washington team, Nastic was very aggressive, going 10-16 from the
field for 21 points and 5 rebounds in the victory. His presence should prove
difficult for Utah's defensive front court, as they have allowed big men to
wreak havoc on them in the month of March. Washington State's Jordan Railey
went off for 16 points on 6-10 shooting in just 17 minutes of time before
fouling out in their March 5th 67-59 loss to the Utes and Washington's
undersized bigs also gave Utah problems in a 77-68 loss back on March 7th.
These two teams last met on February 12th at the Jon M. Hunstman
Center where the Utes rolled to an easy 75-59 victory. Delon Wright had his
usual impressive stat line (13 points, 5 rebounds and 4 steals) but Dallin
Bachynski came out and played like a beast. He ended the game with 13 points
and 6 rebounds playing in place of Jakob Poeltl who battled foul problems and
only played 13 minutes. The Cardinal were led by Anthony Brown that night who
had 16 points on 3-6 shooting from beyond the arc and Marcus Allen added 13 in
the loss. Nastic was largely ineffective in the game and held to 7 points on
2-9 shooting before fouling out in the second half. Brekkott Chapman and Jordan
Loveridge also had nice games that night. Going off for 12 points each, both
were major factors in the win.
Utah players and coaches have said that the team's problems stem
from a lack of effort and not from anything pandemic to the program. However,
it's hard not to notice the many deficiencies the Utes have displayed in the
second half of the season, and especially since the home loss against Arizona
on February 28th. Opposing defenses have largely taken away the paint from Utah
and are now forcing them to the perimeter with a stingy 2-3 zone defense. That wasn't a problem early in
the season when Brandon Taylor was hot; however, he has cooled a bit in the
second half of the season. Also opposing defenses have started to focus in on
him more and that makes it so Delon Wright basically has to win games just by himself.
Because other players, most notably, Brekkott Chapman and Dakari Tucker, have
largely disappeared over the last month offensively, this has exposed the Utes
as team that has trouble scoring the ball. Previously the deficiencies were
masked by depth and hot shooting but that has worn off as the season has gone
on and the Utes need to re focus. Stanford is a well coached team that has
underwhelmed all season long, they have a big man in Nastic that can give
Utah's front court problems in the paint and Chasson Randle and Marcus Allen
create match-up nightmares on the perimeter. This isn't a game to take lightly and the Utes
will need to re-group and come out with the same focus they had at the start of
the season. After the Arizona loss, it was almost like the wind was let out of
the sails for the Ute players. The whole season they were focused on winning
the conference and after that loss, they haven't played with the same energy
and passion. That has to change if Utah doesn't want to be one and done in both
Tourney's this year
