The Utah game

[BlueK]

Is anyone a little less worried about this game after Utah getting pounded 90-66 to Miami the other night? Sure, Miami is a pretty good team, but should any legit top 20 team ever lose like that to anyone? Miami is good, but they're still not Duke or N. Carolina. If you do follow the stat gurus like Pomeroy, it's pretty clear so far that defensively Utah isn't in the same league with their teams of the last couple of years. Their offense has been ok, but their defense has been terrible, even allowing S. Utah to shoot over 50% against them.

BYU so far has held every opponent down to a bad shooting percentage. You can certainly argue that it has come against weaker opposition, but the point is that Utah is allowing all their opponents, weak or not, to shoot the ball well so far. Because of how both teams have changed for this year I think we have a much better shot at winning this game than some may have thought going into the season.

[hawkwing]

I expect a loss to Utah until proven otherwise.

[BlueK]

Yeah, I get why fans can be cautious. But the numbers so far seem to show some major chinks in the Ute armor that weren't there last year. Utah fans should be worried about their defense right now. It's been their strength the last couple of years, but every team so far has played well offensively against them, including a S. Utah team that is basically the same as UVU.

[IowaCougar]

I expect a win in every game until proven otherwise!

[BYULV]

I expect a loss to Utah until proven otherwise.

Football, yes
Basketball, no.

[TheDean]

Is anyone a little less worried about this game after Utah getting pounded 90-66 to Miami the other night? Sure, Miami is a pretty good team, but should any legit top 20 team ever lose like that to anyone? Miami is good, but they're still not Duke or N. Carolina. If you do follow the stat gurus like Pomeroy, it's pretty clear so far that defensively Utah isn't in the same league with their teams of the last couple of years. Their offense has been ok, but their defense has been terrible, even allowing S. Utah to shoot over 50% against them.

BYU so far has held every opponent down to a bad shooting percentage. You can certainly argue that it has come against weaker opposition, but the point is that Utah is allowing all their opponents, weak or not, to shoot the ball well so far. Because of how both teams have changed for this year I think we have a much better shot at winning this game than some may have thought going into the season.

Utah lost their starting PG from last year to the NBA and their defensive Center they had for the last 3 years to graduation. Which is why their defense isn't as good as the last 2 years. Utah will win very few Pac12 game this year.

I'm not worried at all about the Utah game as long as BYU desides to show up and play something they didn't do 2 years ago and it showed by get pasted by 20+ or taking them and the Pac 12 refs to lightly like last year.

[hawkwing]

I'd be worried if I were you. I'd be worried if Utah was the 349th ranked team in the country.

[BlueK]

It's normal for fans to be nervous unless the team they cheer for is flawless or is playing a really bad team. The thing is, Utah this year has plenty of flaws compared to last year. They're ok, but far from great. And they're beatable. They're still getting a pass so far from the experts because of last year. The fact is, their defense has been pretty bad compared to what they've been like the last couple of years. Their own fans are already complaining about it.

It's really tough to win on the road in college basketball, but I think BYU has a decent chance here if the players remember how they played against Belmont and do the same things on offense. They just needed to find their identity on offense and I think they did in the last game. The talent is there. Collinsworth just needed to get used to playing with a different set of players with different size and skill sets from last year. Defensively BYU is actually much improved from last year. They don't have to be a defensive juggernaut this year if the offense is flowing. They just have to be better than last year, and that appears to be the case so far. I think there's a good chance a lot of people are going to be surprised after Wednesday night.

[Cougs_Rule]

I'd be worried if I were you. I'd be worried if Utah was the 349th ranked team in the country.

Hawk, Clearly, you are not an equal opportunity malingerer. Your exaggerated if not conjured up skepticism about Bball/Rose is more about bringing balance to the BYU force of football/Bronco doubters than it is objective assessment of the hoops team. I can't actually believe that you suffer from the level of concern for hoops as you have displayed. This malingering exceeds any ambivalence for BYU hoops that you would seem to otherwise have.

[kjjson]

I just wish I had a way to watch the game.