In the first half, the Rebels were just DRAINING three pointers. Off-balance, way behind the line, covered, open. It didn't seem to matter. For the Utes, Cullen was off, Jacobson had one field goal, and not much was happening. But Kevin Bradley came off the bench smoking. Hit a couple of rather large threes to keep Utah close while they were struggling to find some offense. Nate came off the bench very aggressively, but it seemed to be "Don't breathe on Kambala" Day, and he got 2 fouls very quickly.

Utah was doubling Kambala whenever he caught a post passs, but the UNLV jumpers were falling, and they were able to find the open guy before the Utes could rotate back. Also, a few times Utah defended great for a large portion of the shotclock, and some Rebel would leave his feet with no place to go, but throw a whack pass that ended up bouncing to another Reb who would bury a long shot.

Jackson and Allred played a little in the first half and did pretty well.

SOMEONE, maybe Delron Johnson, blocked a shot of Brittons' so hard off the wall that my wife said if it had hit a cheerleader, it would have killed her. We could hear both smacks in the top row - when he swatted it, and when it hit the wall. Wow. A minute later, he smacked one of Jeff's shots out of bounds as well.

Cullen found his stroke a little, and hit a 3 with four second left in the half to tie it at 33.

In the second half, the Utes started to wear down the Rebels, and Brotherson got hurt, and Britton had a great baseline spin move for a dunk. But Britton got into foul trouble, and utah started turning the ball over, and UNLV stayed even. Nate came in and was doing a nice job on offense (he is MUCH more of a threat from the post than Burgess), but got fouls 3 and 4 very quickly. Allred came in and had a great spin move into the middle of the lane, for a short jumper over Kambala, but then came right out again for Burgess. Burgess played good defense, and grabbed some big rebounds down the stretch.

I think the last tie came with 3:44 left in the game (and some of the Hunty faithful decided it was time to go) and from there on out, it was all Utah. Britton came back in, and when the Utes got a couple stops, they were able to push the ball down the floor against a tired UNLV team and get some easy hoops. One time, Bradley and Spivey combined for a steal, and Bradly had a step on the one Rebel defender who hustled back, but missed his layup. Then Spivey missed the putback, but Britton made HIS putback, and that was a killer. Kambala hadn't even got past his own top of the key, and three UNLV players were milling around at halfcourt.

Spivey hit his foul shots down the stretch, and UNLV had used up all their 'make a tough three pointer' cards, and the Utes pulled away to a 10 point lead.

The crowd got going in the second half, which was nice. Cullen had a nice second half as well -- didn't mean to leave him out.

The Utes now have wins over two tough conference foes (UNLV looks better than Wyoming, which surprises me). The crowd has come alive. Hunsaker still makes some puzzling substitutions, but he doesn't stick with bad lineups as long anymore.

Nick Jacobson is solid. I don't think he's really found his stroke from the field yet, but he plays great. Nice defense, nice ballhandling, runs his head off on offense trying to get open. Buries the free throws. I can deal with 3 and a half more years of this guy wearing Crimson.

Nate and Burgess and Allred did a nice job on Kambala. Maybe we all want them to play better, but having three centers like that is a luxury.

I'd still like to see Utah give Spivey some help against backcourt pressure. He's still struggling a bit taking care of the ball and making the right pass, although he was more assertive on offense tonight. Utah has a bunch of guys who can handle the ball, so why not help him?

VERY good win. Exciting game.

A good solid win.

Utah Positives:

• - Free Throw shooting, especially down the stretch
• - Nate Althoff showing agressiveness, especially offensively. Nate does well against big, slow, strong opponents like Kas, and not as well against quick centers/others. He was an offensive force and I think banged Kas hard enough that Kas lost desire. A very good game for Nate except rebounding.
• - Burgess played great defense, and less so on offense. He needs to go to Pete Newell's big man camp if Majerus can't help him, because his footwork is lousy. He does seem to be getting better every game on the defensive end. Did a nice job on Kambala even though he's outweighed by thirty pounds. I think he should stick with center and put back on 20 lbs. of muscle. Coach K knew what he was doing.
• - Spivey is showing good decision making. He got lazy with the ball twice in the first half, but handled it well after that. Is directing the offense now instead of getting lost.
• - Britton had an OK game, but I noticed the other teams are now focusing on him, so sometimes his contribution is not as obvious.
• - They did not wilt down the stretch, but turned the defensive intensity up a notch and intimidated the Rebels that last 4 minutes.
• - They pulled out a win even without their best effort.
• - Cullen is a solid all around player who contributes in a lot of ways. He snuck in for a big rebound with about 2:00 minute left that took the wind out of UNLV's sails.

Other points:

• - Did not sustain defensive intensity after jumping out to a big lead.
• - Jackson came in but was a defensive liability as he couldn't stop UNLV's jet quick mini guard. Hunsaker saw that and pulled him after 2 scores against him.
• - I like Allred more and more. He went right at Kambala on both ends and scored on a tough shot. As he learns the game from Majerus, he will be much better than Althoff ever was. Maybe already is getting there.
• - Jacobson gets too pumped out there still on offense. All of his shots, although beatiful, are long, indicating adrenaline. Love his free throw shooting and plays good defense. Very aggressive offensively, so when he settles down a little and learns some tricks, he will be a 10-15 point per game scorer.
• - Jeff played a great opportunistic game. Very good athlete who keeps getting better with experience.

The two things I don't like are the offensive selfishness and rebounding woes. If it weren't for Burgess, we'd have been killed on the boards. Rick would never allow that.

Offensive selfishness is like a bad head cold that won't go away, and Bradley is the worst. He is a great shooter and when he has open shots, it's money. But he shot on a couple of occassions where I know Rick would have pulled him out. The worst was a 3 point attempt on a fast break where he had an open phil cullen underneath with an open passing lane. he missed the shot. He rarely passes after a drive. Spivey, on the other hand, has learned to dish the ball after a drive. I gave that to him for christmas.

Good win. This effort won't get it done on the road, but it's encouraging to see a win at home over a good team with something less than their best effort. They played better against WYO. who I think has a better team.

Rebel report

Kambala is a brute on offense with a great shot, but he is very average defensively and doesn't like it when he's getting banged harder than he is banging. I really think Nate beat him down today.

Diggs is a stroker and you can't leave him open. Not as good when creating his own shot.

The little guard, Johnson, played a heck of a game. Dalron Johnson, on the other hand, was nothing offensively. He made some big blocks, but the other aspects of his defense were average. I think he benefited from other teams focusing on Kas and dickel last year.

The Rebels are not a very disciplined team offensively, they rely on their natural talent, which they do have. Not a great passing team. Kas will play at the next level, but he needs to work on his defensive intensity. Diggs may have a shot too. I think right now they are behind us and Wyo. and about as good as the Y and UNM.

Fun game to watch.

Earlier in the year the offense was tentative at times.

To combat the stagnation I suspect Coach Hunsaker has given more of a green light to Jacobson & Bradley for outside J's early in the offense. I think he's also told Britton to break down his defender with dribble & spin moves rather than go over with mid-range J's.

I haven't heard him say anything like that in the post-game shows but I haven't heard him criticize those early J's off the break as selfish either.

Another observation from the last two games -- the Utes are looking to run midway in the second half. Early in the game they are more deliberate.

First the positives.....

The team seemed to rally down the stetch rather than wilting. This, I believe is a great thing. With only a few minutes left to play and the game tied, the Utes asserted themselves and took care of business.

Burgess had a solid game. He "D"ed up well, rebounded, ran the floor, and had some nice baskets down low. Has room for improvement. Finally, I can say that I was impressed rather than disappointed by him.

I like Allred off the bench. It is nice to have a guy like him, with size, coming off the bench and not being a liability.

Now the points of question:

I still see a tendency for the Utes to take SOME early, deep shots on offense. Twice, Bradley came down the floor and fired up a three on a fast break. He was lucky to make the one at the top of the key as it was nearly blocked from behind. Jacobsen also does this....
At one point, they had a break w/ numbers, and a man (either Cullen or Johnsen) steaking down the left wing uncovered...rather than make the unselfish pass for an easy finish, the guard(Jacobsen or Bradley...can't remember. Think it was Bradley.) pulled up and missed the three. I know it is trivial, but I see some selfishness on this team that I am not used to....probably used to seeing Jensen w/ wide open shots and passing them up for an easy lay up.

Also, I am feel a little uncomfortable with Hunsaker's substitutions. This was moreso in the first half. Not sure that Puzey is going to be much of a contributer until he loses that hockey mask. Also....only four minutes for Jackson???? What gives?

Too bad Nate and Britton got into foul trouble. Nate seemed to play with some emotion this game but was hampered with the fould.

All in all, a good game and a great win. The team has room for improvement but vastly improved since the beginning of the season. Turnovers are still a problem...but they were better at hanging on to the ball in the second half. This team plays with heart and they are fun to watch. I think the win down the stretch in a close game like this is something for this team to build on....."a character builder."

Sorry to be so long-winded. I'd love your comments.....

GO UTES!!!!

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