Youthful Utes ready for Pac-12 play on Thursday night
Entering the 2019-20 season, there were question marks regarding the Utah men's basketball team.
For one thing, this would team would easily be the youngest and least-proven of head coach Larry Krystkowiak's Utah career. Armed with one junior and one senior, the Utes' top seven players in terms of minutes played are all freshmen or sophomores.
So the question remained as to how this young team would mesh and come together throughout the non-conference portion of its schedule in time for Pac-12 play, which stars on Thursday night against Oregon State.
Twelve games into the season and the Utes find themselves at 9-3, with big wins over No. 17 Kentucky and BYU and questionable losses to Coastal Carolina and Tulane.
There have been moments where the Utes look as if they can play with anyone in the country, like their 69-66 victory over then-No. 6 Kentucky on Dec. 19 from Las Vegas. Utah held Kentucky's offense in check and led for the entire second half, showing poise and maturity down the stretch to pick up that win.
"When we were under control, we were pretty darned good when we shared the ball," Krystkowiak said following the win. "I thought there were some stretches when we lost our composure, turning it over and maybe forced some shots. For our guys to kind of stay in the fight, that was pretty cool."
But there have also been moments where the Utes look as if they've never played basketball together, showing their youth and inexperience. Two days after that victory over the Wildcats, Utah was thrashed at the hands of No. 13 San Diego State, falling 80-52 and never looking even remotely competitive.
"There's no question it was a challenge. It's like an extended Pac-12 road trip where you are playing against two ranked teams," Krystkowiak said postgame about facing two straight top 25 teams. "We would have had to be real good to be in this game. It was a super physical game and you could see from our guys we could use some time in the weight room."
The good news is that the Utes have yet to play since that loss to the Aztecs, having 11 days off to prepare for conference play against arguably the toughest combination the Pac-12 has to offer; Oregon State and No. 4 Oregon.
“We can kind of decompress with our families wherever we are and come back and a few of the injuries and bruises can get healed up and we’ll get ready for a real challenging Pac-12 schedule," Krystkowiak said.
Leading the way has been the emergence of sophomore Timmy Allen, already a two-time Pac-12 player of the week and the conference's leading scorer. Allen, who is averaging a team-high 21 ppg and 7.4 rpg, including 2.7 apg, hit the game-winner against Kentucky and has proven that he can take over a game when needed.
Freshmen guard Rylan Jones has been the biggest surprise of the season, averaging 11.1 points and 5.0 assists per game while knocking down 46.9-percent of his shots from beyond the arc. His ability to consistently hit from deep has opened up driving lanes for Allen and Both Gach (11.6 ppg, 3.7 rpg and 3.2 apg).
Dec 18, 2019; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Utah Utes guard Rylan Jones (15) looks to pass the ball against Kentucky Wildcats guard Immanuel Quickley (5) during the first half at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports
With Pac-12 play set to begin tomorrow against Oregon State, every team in the conference enters with a "clean slate," according to Krystkowiak. And now it's time to find out how much this young Utes team has grown, and how far they still have to go.