Posted By: Gilly
Date: Tuesday, 20 November 2001, at 11:09 p.m.
They are making it harder to get to a game every week. And I understand this is nothing compared to how January and February will be. I think attendance will suffer (as if it isn't low enough already).
On to the game:
Highlight of the first half was the introduction of KVH. Nice rendition of Utah
man.
The Utes had 10 points after 10 and a half minutes, and 26 at the half. The
offense was struggling, to say the least.
After Abe Jackson hit a few shots, though, the Ute defense really clamped down
on him. Caton and Jacobson both had 2 fouls in the first half, and the first
three utah fouls of the game were all committed against Jackson, but it was
worth it. Osmondson came in for a brief stretch, and didn't hurt the overall
offensive effort (who could?)
After Spivey got to the hoop early, he never penetrated again. THe matchup
zone, or whatever Boise State was playing, kept him dribbling the ball on the
perimeter.
Here is the current state of the Utah offense: When Jacobson is out of the game,
there is no outside threat, and when Britton is out, there is no penetrator.
In the second half, the Utes were able to get Jacobson more than 2 shots like
he had in the first. That was nice to see. His best move was a drive to the
baseline past Jackson, and a leaning funky jumper with the foul. Nice. I hope
in the future the Utes do a better job of finding him when he's hot.
Britton kept taking the ball to the hoop and getting hacked. THat was nice to
see, because for the most part the offense was stagnant. Eventually, Boise State
wore down and the Utes were able to pound it into Burgess for some easy baskets.
The Twilight Zone moment of the evening was when Burgess hit three fouls shots
in a row, and then Jacobson missed one.
After the Utes were 3 for 7 from the line in the first half, they hit most of
their foul shots in the second half (don't have the exact numbers). Britton
made at least four in a row.
Koford again was effective. He's a very nice backup center. When he comes in the Utes put him at the foul line and run a high post offense that gives them a different look. It's a nice change of pace, and the motion and the cuts off the high post seem to be getting better each game, and Koford had a nice bounce pass to someone cutting down the lane for a layup.
Osimani is struggling. He still looks good and looks like a player, but he's struggling.
Cullen came out cold, but finally hit a three in the second half that was pretty big. Osmondson played some, didn't notice him doing anything great or terrible.
All in all, the team played a much better second half. Caton and Jeff Johnsen worked like mad to shut down Jackson.
For you Britton bashers out there, he showed tonight why he's so important. He was the only one who could create anything for himself, just as he was last year against some tough teams like USC, Weber State, and in the away BYU and CSU games. He had some nice defensive plays tonight and some tough rebounds as well.
Jacobson can really shoot, and Britton can really drive, but I think the Utes need to develop more offensive threats to be a good team.
Last modified .