The Utah Utes suffered their first loss of the season at the hands of their biggest rival. The Utes are now 5-1, which is still a very respectable record, but the No. 18 BYU Cougars have advanced to 6-0 and will likely move higher up the rankings.

The loss stings quite a bit for Utes fans for several different reasons. First, they lost at home, which stings. Second, the Utes lost to BYU, which stings. Third, they had the chance to make a statement victory and failed, which stings.

So, how’d it happen?

Getting Beat On The Glass

Utah has now been outrebounded twice in six games. The first time came against Boston College, where the Utes grabbed four fewer rebounds than the Eagles.

This time, the Utes were outrebounded 45-28. I’m no math whiz, but I can tell you that the Cougars got at least four more rebounds than the Utes did.

This is particularly concerning for the Utes, who have prided themselves on rebounding this season. Losing the rebounding battle by 17 gave the Cougars far more possessions than they should have had. On top of that, BYU was able to grab 18 offensive rebounds, which led to them being able to take more shots than the Utes did.

Giving up 18 offensive boards is inexcusable, even if the team identity didn’t revolve around rebounding.

The Pick and Roll

It would appear, as well, that the Utes haven’t seen a pick and roll before. I’m exaggerating a ton, as they’ve all played great defense in days past.

Against BYU, though, it looked like their first time seeing such an offense.

The Cougars were the beneficiaries of several easy baskets at the rim, thanks to some sloppy post defending and miscommunications from the Utah defense. This was especially noticeable in the second half, when BYU went on an 18-6 run to take control of the game.

If Craig Smith’s Utes want to be able to contend with high-powered programs like BYU, they need to improve their post defense considerably. Switching more often, if possible, would certainly help. If the personnel just doesn’t fit for that, then Coach Smith could consider switching to a box-and-one defense for when they play teams with aggressive pick and roll attacks, especially if the guard struggles with shooting.

Finding the Good

The Utes did hold the Cougars to a measly 35% from the field in the first half, which kept the game close. C Branden Carlson netted 17 points, one and a half points more than his usual score. Guards Rollie Worster and Lazar Stefanovic pitched in with 13 and 12 points, respectively.

Despite their failings on the glass and the struggles against the pick and roll, the game was actually close, even to the end. Against a great team like BYU, that actually means something. The Utes will be able to improve from this loss, as there were specific things that they could change tactically that would help the team. They didn’t get outclassed, they weren’t of inferior ability, they just lost a tough, physical game against a good team.

All that bodes well for the Utes moving forward. They’ll need that too, as their next game comes against a fellow Pac-12 team, the No. 24 USC Trojans. That game will be played in California on Wednesday, December 1st.

Assessing the Crystal Ball

In my preview for this game, I consulted my crystal ball, a wonderfully magic item that is really bad at making sports predictions. Let’s see how it did this time.

  • Branden Carlson gets a double-double. Carlson finished with 17 points and 6 rebounds, so a little short there.
  • BYU ends the half with the lead. Wrong again, as the Utes led by two going into the second half.
  • Utah outrebounds BYU by 15+. Perhaps the ball was confused at which team was which, but this was off the mark.
  • Utah holds BYU to under 32% shooting from 3. A broken clock is right twice a day, I suppose. BYU shot 12% from three, a miserable mark.
  • Utah comes out with the upset. See above.

So, the ball ended up 1/5. Perhaps fading the ball would be a good gambling strategy. Just keep your eyes peeled for more atrocious takes from this crystal.

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