SB Nation - Utah Utes

Checking in With the RPI: 12/17/09

Michael Rueckert — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 06:59:16 -0000

It's now time for our twice a week segment where we take a look at the RPI rankings for the Mountain West Conference teams.

As a league the Mountain West is rated 7th in the RPI.

All the RPI info was found at Real Time RPI. Ratings are after the jump.

Air Force

Record = 5-3

RPI = 226

SOS = 187

Great Wins (RPI 1-50) =

Solid Wins (RPI 51-100) =

Bad Wins (RPI 100+) = Western States (D-II), Dickinson State (D-II), Charleston Southern, North Carolina Central, Prairie View A&M

Bad Losses (RPI 100 or greater) =Northern Colorado

Eh Losses (RPI 51-100) = Washington State

Good Losses (RPI 1-50) = Missouri State

BYU

Record = 9-1

RPI = 65

SOS = 228

Great Wins (RPI 1-50) =

Solid Wins (RPI 51-100) = Bradley,

Bad Wins (RPI 100+) = Idaho State, Hawaii, Southern University, Weber State, San Francisco, Arizona State, Fresno State, Wagner

Bad Losses (RPI 100 or greater) = Utah State

Eh Losses (RPI 51-100) =

Good Losses (RPI 1-50) =

Colorado State

Record = 7-3

RPI = 106

SOS = 209

Great Wins (RPI 1-50) =

Solid Wins (RPI 51-100) =

Bad Wins (RPI 100+) = UC Davis, Winston Salem, Mayville State (D-II), San Francisco, Colorado, Montana, Denver

Bad Losses (RPI 100 or greater) = Oregon, Northern Colorado

Eh Losses (RPI 51-100) =

Good Losses (RPI 1-50) Indiana State

New Mexico

Record = 11-0

RPI = 16

SOS = 104

Great Wins (RPI 1-50) = California, Texas A&M

Solid Wins (RPI 51-100) = Louisiana Tech, San Diego

Bad Wins (RPI 100+) = New Mexico State (2 wins), Nicholls State, Miami (OH), Hawaii, UC Riverside, Northern Arizona

Bad Losses (RPI 100 or greater) =

Eh Losses (RPI 51-100) =

Good Losses (RPI 1-50) =

San Diego State

Record = 8-2

RPI = 27

SOS = 72

Great Wins (RPI 1-50) =

Solid Wins (RPI 51-100) = San Diego, Arizona

Bad Wins (RPI 100+) = UC San Diego (D-II), Santa Clara, Fresno State, Northern Arizona, UCSB, Cal State Fullerton

Bad Losses (RPI 100 or greater) =

Eh Losses (RPI 51-100) = Pacific

Good Losses (RPI 1-50) = St. Mary's

TCU

Record = 5-5

RPI = 143

SOS = 94

Great Wins (RPI 1-50) =

Solid Wins (RPI 51-100) =

Bad Wins (RPI 100+) = Mid-American Christian (non D-I), Cal State Northridge, SMU

Bad Losses (RPI 100 or greater) = Arizona State, Nebraska, Wichita State

Eh Losses (RPI 51-100) = Louisiana Tech

Good Losses (RPI 1-50) = Texas Tech

UNLV

Record = 9-1

RPI = 34

SOS = 74

Great Wins (RPI 1-50) = Pittsburgh

Solid Wins (RPI 51-100) = Nevada, Arizona, Louisville

Bad Wins (RPI 100+) = Southern Illinois, Holy Cross, Santa Clara, Southern Utah, Weber State

Bad Losses (RPI 100 or greater) =

Eh Losses (RPI 51-100) =

Good Losses (RPI 1-50) = Kansas State

Utah

Record = 5-5

RPI = 200

SOS = 138

Great Wins (RPI 1-50) =

Solid Wins (RPI 51-100) = Illinois

Bad Wins (RPI 100+) = Utah State, Southern University, Weber State, Idaho State, Michigan

Bad Losses (RPI 100 or greater) = Idaho, Seattle, Oklahoma

Eh Losses (RPI 51-100) =

Good Losses (RPI 1-50) = Oklahoma State

Wyoming

Record = 5-5

RPI = 281

SOS = 277

Great Wins (RPI 1-50) =

Solid Wins (RPI 51-100) =

Bad Wins (RPI 100+) = Peru State (non D-I), Boise State, Pepperdine, LMU, Northern Colorado

Bad Losses (RPI 100 or greater) = South Dakota State, Denver, Monmouth, Hampton,

Eh Losses (RPI 51-100) =

Good Losses (RPI 1-50) = Tennessee

In a Perfect World (Conference Realignment)

Evan Pfaff — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 21:30:13 -0000

by Tony Gutierrez - AP

Could a University of Houston QB be soon hoisting the Big 12 Championship trophy? (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

View full size photo »

Today the Big Ten conference issued a statement that they are exploring the possibility of expanding.

Every few years we hear the same rumblings and every few years there are articles published about what realignment would look like. But not since Penn State was admitted into the Big Ten has anything official been released. With that, below is the definitive article on the topic.

And even though this is a basketball blog, I will focus on the BCS aspect of realignment to argue my points. I will discuss basketball, though, and all points held for football can loosely translate over to hoops as well.

Currently there are six BCS conferences and those 6 all get automatic BCS-bowl bids. Those conferences are Big East, SEC, Big 10, Big 12, Pac-10, ACC. Of those six, three of the conferences have enough football teams to have a conference championship game (the Big East would have enough if more of their charter schools had D1 football programs).

Part of the BCS issue is that you have some conferences without 12 schools, who don't currently have conference championship games. Adding conference championship games will ultimately help the BCS by crowing, on a field, a true conference champ. This will help with BCS bowl bids, and especially the BCS championship game. (Think of a rule where you have to at least win your division to get a BCS bid.

The other BCS issue is of the non-BCS schools and where they should lie. My realignment program take that into account.

Without further ado, after The Jump is the Big12Hoops.com Realignment plan.

MIZZOU MOVES TO THE BIG 10.

Why is this good for the Big 10? By admitting Mizzou into the Big 10, the Big 10 would secure a coveted TV market, namely St Louis. They would also get a share of the Kansas City TV market. By expanding westward, revenues from the Big 10 Network and apparel sales would grow. The Big 10 would also secure a 12^th team and legitimize a conference championship game. The divisions would be as follow:

Big 10 East: Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, Indiana, Purdue, Penn State

Big 10 West: Mizzou, Illinois, Northwestern, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa

Under this scenario all regional rivalries remain in tact

Why is this good for Mizzou? The Big 12 seems to forget about schools not named Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska and Kansas (basketball). There is no television network, so Mizzou's games are generally only regionally shown. There is Big Monday for basketball, but that is mainly reserved for Texas and KU. Under this, Mizzou's football games could be carried on the Big 10 Network and basketball games will be tied into the Big 10 ESPN deal. All this leads to a major recruiting advantage in both revenue generating sports.

Mizzou also has a rival in Illinois that would heat up instantly and the heated rivalry with Kansas will replace the Illinois basketball and football games on the schedules. Instead of St Louis, though, the KU games will be played at the Sprint Center and Arrowhead in KC.

But what about... Iowa State? The Cyclones seem to also be a natural fit and could easily add fuel to the rivalry with in-state foe Iowa Hawkeyes. The problem is that the Big 10 gains little from that arrangement. They are already pretty entrenched in the Hawkeye State and the addition of ISU wouldn't help their regional or national reputation.

THE UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON JOINS THE BIG XII

Why is this good for the Big 12? The University of Houston is a large campus, in a region of Texas that is currently underdeveloped with college sports. Houston is the 4^th largest city in the country, and by planting a team there, the Big 12 will get even more Texas viewership.

The big question would be on alignment, since there will now be 5 Texas schools. My proposal is for

Big 12 "North": Nebraska, Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State

Big 12 "South": Texas, Houston, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Baylor, Colorado

The division names will have to be rebranded, but adding Colorado to the South is acceptable because Coloradoans joke that there are more Texans in the state than natives.

Why is this good for Houston? Historically, the Cougars have had a good football team, and have won a basketball national championship. Having a Big XII logo on their court will increase their recruiting presence in the city and state and potentially turn them into powerhouse.

But what about... TCU? TCU would be a good choice, if they were bigger. Their 8000 student just wouldn't cut it if the conference wishes to remain the BIG 12. Houston's enrollment is approximately 30,000 students. Commuter school or not, Houston would help retain the "Big" in Big 12.

BYU AND UTAH GO TO THE PAC-10

Why is this good for the Pac-10? By including Utah and BYU into the Pac-10, the conference will have the 12 schools needed for an automatic conference championship games. Both programs have historically legitimate football and basketball programs, and they will bring their rivalry with them. Geographically, they are far enough West to warrant admission into the conference.

The division would be as follows

Pac-10 North: Washington, Washington State, Oregon, Oregon State, BYU, Utah

Pac-10 South: Arizona, Arizona State, California, Stanford, UCLA, USC

Why is this good for BYU and Utah? Both recruit well from the West, and inclusion into the conference will aid that. And by coming over as a pair (and as rivals) they bring legitimacy to the expansion eastward.

But what about... geography? The state of Utah doesn't border any states of current Pac-10 members, and that may cause some issues, but distance isn't really something the conference has ever regarded. Consider that Tucson, AZ to Seattle, WA is 1100 miles, or 400 miles farther than Tucson to Provo, UT.

ADD MORE TEAMS TO THE MOUNTAIN WEST

Why is this good for the Mountain West? As it stands under this scenario, the Mountain West is down to 7 members (the current 9, minus BYU and Utah). To get up with the big boys, the MWC needs to add 5 schools. The 5 that should move to the MWC should be: Boise State, Nevada, New Mexico State, Rice, SMU.

There is already talk of Boise coming over to the MWC, so that is a no brainer. The others are coming over as "rivals" to existing MWC schools. Nevada will face UNLV, New Mexico State will pair with New Mexico, Rice and SMU will pit against TCU is a three-way battle for Texas.

Having 12 schools will allow the conference to host a championship game, matching the winners of each division, which would be as follows:

MWC North: UNLV, Nevada, Air Force, Wyoming, Colorado State, Boise State

MWC South: San Diego State, New Mexico, New Mexico State, TCU, Rice, SMU

Why is this good for the 5 programs? The shift from either the C-USA or WAC will legitimize the programs (see the next point). All will also enter the new MWC with a foe. Everyone wins.

But what about... the MWC still remaining relatively minute as compared to their BCS brethren? Why would these schools shift from one conference to another, just for shits and giggles? See next point.

ADMIT THE MOUNTAIN WEST INTO THE BCS

Why is this good for the BCS? Controversy will mainly be avoided. By admitting the redesigned MWC into the BCS you are accepting the current BCS gate crashers. You are bringing in the current at-large schools causing heartache and giving yourself another conference champion that the country can latch onto.

Why is this good for the MWC? Why isn't it good for the MWC?

But what about... the C-USA and WAC? These two conferences are now in shambles. What to do? See next item.

MERGE THE C-USA AND WAC

Why is this good for the two conferences? Because of the success of some of their schools, and regional ability to move, the Conference USA and WAC are currently left in shambles (under this proposal). Essentially afterthoughts as they are, now they are left with 15 schools between them. They could either split them up 8 and 7 or combine forces and form a 15 league mega conference. In terms of basketball, as we have seen with the Big East, and their 16 school hoops conference, too many schools doesn't water down the pool.

But what about... regionality? The C-USA is currently a conglomerate of throw-ins from around the country. Under this plan, that would just increase to a truly national conference. The members of it would be: Fresno St, Hawaii, Idaho, La Tech, San Jose St, Utah St, UTEP, Tulane, Tulsa, UAB, Cent Florida, ECU, Marshall, Memphis, Southern Miss

Using the scenario outlined above, 18 schools will change conferences. This sounds like a lot, but as you can see many will be moving as groups and either with or to a rival.

But what about the Big East? Well, the Big East is the one conference I am leaving alone. In their football world, they are lacking the 12 members to create a championship game. But when you include their basketball members, they are a 16-team powerhouse.

One final thought. I reserve the right to claim this entire scenario null and void if Notre Dame ever decides to join the Big 10. If that were to happen, I would still endorse some shifting, but nothing to the extent of this proposal. More on that if a Notre Dame to the Big 10 rumor starts getting some legitimate traction.

RPI WATCH: 12/13/09

BracketCat — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 17:00:31 -0000

More photos » by Laura Rauch - AP

The circle is complete: By beating the brains out of Lon Kruger's team, perhaps we finally have erased the demons that have plagued K-State basketball for 20 years — roughly ever since he ditched us for Florida. (AP Photo/Laura Rauch)

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Sorry, guys. I accidentally set this to publish at 11:45 p.m. tonight when I meant for it to go last night. My bad.

Wow, what a Saturday.

I guess I'll start with us. I've adding a ranking indicator, because now that Xavier beat Cincinnati today (likely knocking them out of the Top 25), it's a 99-percent certainty that we will be ranked at this time tomorrow.

Meanwhile, our RPI is an eye-popping TWO. I don't think we're likely to top Duke anytime soon, so this basically is the pinnacle for our resume this year, at least from a numbers standpoint. Kudos to Frank Martin for drawing up a PERFECT non-conference schedule, one that now is ranked fourth, after briefly spiking at second last night.

UNLV was added to the ledger of Top 50 wins, and Wazzu's win over Air Force, coupled with playing us, moved the Cougars into the Top 100. That gives us six quality wins so far, and to that you can add Fort Hays State's movement into the Division II Top 25 last week. We've beaten some damn good teams.

What does all this mean? Barring an absolute collapse in Big 12 play, we're going to be in the NCAA Tournament. And if things keep up like this, we'll have a pretty high seed, too. We almost don't need this feature anymore — the resume speaks for itself. But I'll keep tracking everything, nonetheless.

Here's a little trivia for you: Four teams in the country have three RPI Top 50 wins. Who are they? Answers after the jump. Oh, and be sure to vote in my poll.

Answer: Georgetown, Kansas State, Texas, Villanova

Bonus Answer: Kansas has ZERO Top 50 wins. LOL!

Current Kansas State Ranking = TBD

Current Kansas State Record = 9-1

Current Kansas State RPI = 2

Current Kansas State SOS = 4

Great Wins (RPI 1-50) = Loyola, Dayton, UNLV

Solid Wins (RPI 51-100) = IUPUI, Washington State, Xavier

Bad Losses (RPI 101 or greater) = none

Loyola (6-2, 1-1) | RPI = 40: Win over San Francisco (66-63)
Western Illinois (4-6, 0-2) | RPI = 320: Loss to Eastern Illinois (44-41)
Boston (4-6) | RPI = 146: Win at Marist (88-72)
No. 25 Ole Miss (8-1) | RPI = 34: Win over McNeese State (83-67)
Dayton (7-2) | RPI = 24
IUPUI (8-3, 2-0) | RPI = 60: Win over Indiana-South Bend (92-56)
No. 22* FHSU (7-1): Win over Missouri Western (67-54)
Washington State (8-2) | RPI = 88: Win over Air Force (75-68)
Xavier (5-3) | RPI = 68
No. 18 UNLV (7-1) | RPI = 29: Loss to Kansas State (95-80)
Alabama (6-3) | RPI = 91: Loss to No. 5 Purdue (73-65)
UAPB (0-6) | RPI = 273
Cleveland State (4-6, 0-2) | RPI = 232: Win over Wilberforce (113-61)
South Dakota (5-4) | RPI = 119
Missouri (6-3) | RPI = 161: Win over Fairleigh Dickinson (87-36)
No. 16 Texas A&M (8-2) | RPI = 18: Loss to New Mexico (84-81)
Colorado (6-4) | RPI = 229
No. 2 Texas (8-0) | RPI = 5: Win over Texas State (87-54)
Oklahoma State (7-1) | RPI = 26
Baylor (7-1) | RPI = 105
No. 1 Kansas (9-0) | RPI = 21: Win over La Salle (90-65)
Nebraska (7-2) | RPI = 151: Win over Oregon State (50-44)
Iowa State (7-3) | RPI = 155
Oklahoma (7-3) | RPI = 142: Win at Utah (78-73 in overtime)
No. 23 Texas Tech (9-0) | RPI = 18

*Division II Top 25

Checking in With the RPI: 12/13/09

Jeremy Mauss — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 02:07:33 -0000

Checking in with the RPI will be twice a week Thursday's and Sunday's. That is because most of the games are on Wednesday and Saturday, so those next days will have the most change in RPI.

As a league the Mountain West is rated 6th in the RPI.

All the RPI info was found at Real Time RPI

Air Force

Record = 5-3

RPI = 200

SOS = 153

Great Wins (RPI 1-50) =

Solid Wins (RPI 51-100) =

Bad Wins (RPI 100+) = Western States (D-II), Dickinson State (D-II), Charleston Southern, North Carolina Central, Prairie View A&M

Bad Losses (RPI 100 or greater) =

Eh Losses (RPI 51-100) = Northern Colorado, Washington State

Good Loses (RPI 1-50) = Missouri State

BYU

Record = 8-1

RPI = 62

SOS = 222

Great Wins (RPI 1-50) =

Solid Wins (RPI 51-100) = Bradley,

Bad Wins (RPI 100+) = Idaho State, Hawaii, Southern University, Weber State, San Francisco, Arizona State, Fresno State

Bad Losses (RPI 100 or greater) = Utah State

Eh Losses (RPI 51-100) =

Good Losses (RPI 1-50) =

Colorado State

Record = 7-3

RPI = 117

SOS = 210

Great Wins (RPI 1-50) =

Solid Wins (RPI 51-100) =

Bad Wins (RPI 100+) = UC Davis, Winston Salem, Mayville State (D-II), San Francisco, Colorado, Montana, Denver

Bad Losses (RPI 100 or greater) = Oregon

Eh Losses (RPI 75-100) = Northern Colorado

Good Loses Indiana State

New Mexico

Record = 10-0

RPI = 14

SOS = 96

Great Wins (RPI 1-50) = California, Texas A&M

Solid Wins (RPI 51-100) = UC Riverside, San Diego

Bad Wins (RPI 100+) = New Mexico State (2 wins), Nicholls State, Miami (OH), Hawaii, Louisiana Tech

Bad Losses (RPI 100 or greater) =

Eh Losses (RPI 75-100) =

Good Loses (RPI 1-50) =

San Diego State

Record = 8-2

RPI = 37

SOS = 105

Great Wins (RPI 1-50) =

Solid Wins (RPI 51-100) = San Diego

Bad Wins (RPI 100+) = UC San Diego (D-II), Santa Clara, Fresno State, Northern Arizona, UCSB, Cal State Fullerton, Arizona

Bad Losses (RPI 100 or greater) =

Eh Losses (RPI 51-100) =

Good Loses (RPI 1-50) = St. Mary's, Pacific

TCU

Record = 5-5

RPI = 144

SOS = 109

Great Wins (RPI 1-50) =

Solid Wins (RPI 51-100) =

Bad Wins (RPI 100+) = Mid-American Christian (non D-I), Cal State Northridge, SMU

Bad Losses (RPI 100 or greater) = Arizona State, Nebraska, Wichita State, Louisiana Tech

Eh Losses (RPI 51-100) =

Good Loses (RPI 1-50) = Texas Tech

UNLV

Record = 7-1

RPI = 29

SOS = 40

Great Wins (RPI 1-50) = Pittsburgh

Solid Wins (RPI 51-100) = Nevada

Bad Wins (RPI 100+) = Louisville, Southern Illinois, Holy Cross, Santa Clara, Arizona

Bad Losses (RPI 100 or greater) =

Eh Losses (RPI 51-100) =

Good Loses (RPI 1-50) = Kansas State

Utah

Record = 5-5

RPI = 209

SOS = 155

Great Wins (RPI 1-50) =

Solid Wins (RPI 51-100) =

Bad Wins (RPI 100+) = Utah State, Southern University, Illinois, Weber State, Idaho State, Michigan

Bad Losses (RPI 100 or greater) = Idaho, Seattle, Oklahoma

Eh Losses (RPI 51-100) =

Good Loses (RPI 1-50) = Oklahoma State

Wyoming

Record = 5-4

RPI = 294

SOS = 314

Great Wins (RPI 1-50) =

Solid Wins (RPI 51-100) =

Bad Wins (RPI 100+) = Peru State (non D-I), Boise State, Pepperdine, LMU, Northern Colorado

Bad Losses (RPI 100 or greater) = South Dakota State, Denver, Monmouth, Hampton,

Eh Losses (RPI 51-100) =

Good Loses (RPI 1-50) =

An Ugly Win Is Still A Win, Sooner Streak Now At Five

ccmachine — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 05:10:42 -0000

More photos » by Mike Terry - AP

What the heck is the big guy (#5) doing in the background? (AP Photo/Deseret News,Mike Terry)

Browse more photos »

Oklahoma's men's basketball team had 13 of their shots blocked by Utah on Saturday afternoon. They only shot 34% from the floor and missed 8 free throws. The Sooners missed crucial free throws down the stretch in regulation that could have sealed the game and didn't score for the first two minutes of the overtime period. Yet somehow OU managed to pull out a road win against the odds. Even with their double-double machine, Tiny Gallon, sitting on the bench in foul trouble.

Oklahoma's 78-73 win over Utah was anything but a thing of beauty but it was desperately needed. It was a measure of improvement as they last time they played in an opponent's gym they were practically run out of it. It was a test of character, will and merit and the Sooners passed. The best thing to come out of this game wasn't necessarily the win but the confidence established that the Sooners can win when things don't go their way.

"I think a lot of our guys grew up today. This certainly was not a pretty game. To win on the road and only shoot 34 percent isn't good. But one of the things that we did do was show a lot of toughness." - Jeff Capel

Willie Warren was awful, again, from the floor (7-22) but yet he managed to drop off a game high 27 points by shooting his was out of a slump, drawing fouls and converting free throws. Warren made 11 of his 12 free throws and hit a three-point shot in the overtime that gave Oklahoma the lead for good. He was 2-2 in the overtime and both shots were clutch. When Warren reaches the point where his shots start falling then the rest of the college basketball world had better watch out. Until then, drawing fouls and dishing out dimes seems to be as good a plan as any.

With Tiny Gallon in foul trouble for the entire game Oklahoma was dominated down low. Utah's 7-3 center, David Foster, swatted six Sooner shots himself and OU was outscored in the paint 16-10. To counter this Oklahoma went to the guards to carry the day and despite the poor shooting percentages they got the job done. Tommy Mason-Griffin had what was possibly his best game as a Sooner, finishing with 18 points and Tony Crocker banked 12.

However, rebounding was Oklahoma's guards saved the day. Tiny Gallon was limited to just 10 minutes of playing time and while he scored almost a point per minute he only managed to grab 3 boards. Going up against a seven-footer Tony Crocker, Cade Davis, Willie Warren and Tommy Mason-Griffin pulled down 28 rebounds. Crocker got 10 for his third double-double of the season and second consecutive and Warren was just two boards away from his own double-double with 8 rebounds.

Again, it was ugly but it was just what the Sooners needed. Oklahoma returns home to face Northern Colorado next Saturday and then UTEP in Oklahoma City on the 21^st before traveling to Spokane to play Gonzaga on New Year's Eve. That leaves two opportunities to build on this confidence and get ready for the toughest challenge to this point of the season.

It's the fundamentals, stupid! Utes shoot themselves out of win over Sooners

JazzyUte — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 00:10:45 -0000

Basketball more than any sport relies on fundamentals. If you lack it, you're not going to win many games. That was on full display Saturday as the Utes wilted in overtime and lost to the Oklahoma Sooners 78-73.

Certainly they had the talent to win this game. They did, after all, lead 42-36 at the break and managed a comeback to tie and send it to overtime. Yet, when they needed points the most - whether it was to take control at the end of regulation or in overtime - they came up empty. Without question, much of this has to do with basketball intelligence, poor shot selection and even worse free throw shooting.

I won't even begin to discuss the missed free throws at the end of regulation. Okay, I'll touch on it because I believe that's where the game was lost. Granted, Utah overcame them and forced it beyond regulation, however, that was where they really could have taken control of the game and because of three missed free throws by Carlon Brown, they didn't.

What did cost them the most, though, was the shot selection in overtime. Utah failed to play like a team with the lead, even though they had it. Instead of slowing the tempo down after forcing a few Oklahoma turnovers, they pushed and pushed and then settled for terrible shots that ultimately did not fall. Luka Drca should not be taking a three when Utah is either up or tied with minutes left. They literally shot themselves out of the win tonight.

That is fundamentals and something the Utes have lacked a good portion of the season. To be good and to contend with the elite of the conference, they can't afford ill-advised shots, stupid turnovers or missed free throws. In short, they must shore up their fundamentals or this team is going to get killed more often than not.

Of course, I don't want to sound like I'm completely disappointed with this team. Utah battled a decent Oklahoma program and played well in stretches. Like I said, they have the talent to be really good. And maybe it's the inexperience that's creating a big bulk of the problems. But I can't help but look at the last ten games and see missed opportunities. There is no excuse for this team to be 5-5. At worst, they should probably be 7-3.

Hopefully these mistakes are corrected and by January this team is playing smarter. But right now, it is very difficult watching them struggle like they do.

OU Wins On The Road 78-73 Over Utah!

ccmachine — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 23:49:39 -0000

Willie Warren - 27 points/8 boards/4 assists

Tommy Mason-Griffin - 18 points/6 boards/3 assists

Tony Crocker - 12 points/10 boards

Utes look to establish some consistency against Sooners

JazzyUte — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 09:19:21 -0000

If Utah is going to produce a half-decent rebuilding year under Jim Boylen, this is a game I think they need to win. I won't go as far as to say it's a must-win like last week's Michigan contest, but it's close. It's close because it's another home game and it provides Utah a chance to pad its record against the Power Conference elite (they're 2-1 right now).

The Sooners roll into Salt Lake with a 6-3 record. Not entirely bad, but far from where most expected them to be prior to the start of the season. Especially when you realize their losses came to VCU, San Diego (not San Diego State - the younger, far less intelligent but cooler brother of the Toreros), and Houston. To be fair, they do appear to be playing a bit better as of late, rolling Arizona last week.

But Arizona is bad, too. So, like Utah, they aren't very consistent.

With that said, they're better than Michigan. This is not going to be an easy game for the Utes to win. They need an effort like against Michigan, but better. I say better because there were some problems against the Wolverines that would have cost them the game against a better team.

But I feel good about their chances and I think a win here could establish the consistency needed to push ahead prior to the conference slate. I won't really talk about NCAA Tournament hopes, but if Utah can start beating the teams they should beat *cough, Idaho* and get these toss-up games at home, they'll put together not only a nice season, but a respectable resume.

Which, right now, is pretty bad. Utah's Pomeroy rating is 118 (their RPI is actually worse) and that's with wins over Utah State (18) and Illinois (59). Ouch.

Opportunity To End Road Woes Presents Itself For OU At Utah

ccmachine — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 06:30:00 -0000

More photos » by Keith Johnson - AP

At 7-3 Utah's David Foster is going to present a tall challenge for Oklahoma's Tiny Gallon. (AP Photo/Deseret News,Keith Johnson)

Browse more photos »

The last time Oklahoma's men's basketball team played a true road game was November 21^st when they were run out of the gym at VCU. At the time we thought the Sooners just ran into a buzz saw as Jeff Capel went back to the school that launched him to Oklahoma and it was the biggest game to be hosted there. Then OU traveled to Alaska and the team fell on their face against San Diego and Houston to produce a three game losing streak. Since then they've won four in a row to boost their record back up to 6-3 but still the fact remains that they win by an average of 16 at home and have a 1-3 record away from Norman with an average margin of loss at 11 points.

The Sooners are on the road again today at Utah and the Utes are coming off a home win over Michigan which, along with a win at Illinois, provides some legitimacy to their five wins this season. However, as impressive as those victories may be they still have home losses to Idaho and Seattle which leaves the impression that this is a winnable game for Oklahoma.

Like Wednesday night's game this contest could very well be determined by the battle of the boards. Utah's top to scorers are guards Carlon Brown (12.7ppg) and Marshall Henderson (10.7) who average a shooting percentage of 38.2% and 38.8% respectively from the floor. It won't stop them from shooting though as they'll average a combined 20 shots from the floor during the game which means that they're be about 14 shots coming off the rim to be rebounded.

Doing the work on the glass for Utah is Kim Tillie who grabs around seven boards per game which is a team high. He also scores nearly 10 points per game to become Utah's best player in the post. Sophomore David Foster is the Utes' biggest body at 7-3/255 but somehow only manages to grab 5 boards and score six points per game.

Utah isn't going to light it up from outside either. They are a below average long-range shooting team which means that they'll try to work the ball into the paint as well as drive and dish to someone for a mid-range jumper, Luka Drca averages four points per game.

This could wind up being the toughest test of the young season for Tiny Gallon as he'll be charged with shutting down the paint on defense, rebound on both ends of the floor and trying to draw Utah's big men into foul trouble. That isn't too much to ask from a freshman, is it?

Q&A With Crimson and Cream: Talking Oklahoma Hoops

Jeremy Mauss — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 22:00:19 -0000

The award winning series (or at least I think it is at least a good idea) is back for hoops season as we interview other SB Nation sites in a short five question Q&A. This first one is Oklahoma's Crimson and Cream Machine talking about Saturday's matchup with Utah.

1.What has been the reason for Oklahoma being so streaky of late as they are 3-3 in their last six games?

I think that the slow start can be attributed mostly to so many new guys taking the floor and not yet fully understanding the system or their roles on the team.

This team has three former McDonald's High School All-Americans in the starting five and I think that initially posed a problem. These guys were used to carrying the load for their teams and now they have to share it. Even as a sophomore Willie Warren has had to adjust to this because last year he was the compliment to Blake Griffin and now this year has to learn to allow Tommy Mason-Griffin and Tiny Gallon to be a compliment to him.

I think that in the last four games we've seen them get their legs underneath them, so to speak, and while the competition hasn't been great (Nicholl's St., Arkansas, Arizona, Centenary) is hasn't been all that bad either. This road trip to Utah will be a good gauge of their progress.

2. . Who are the key players that Utah must account for offensively?

Before Wednesday night's game I would have just said Willie Warren and Tiny Gallon but seeing how Tony Crocker dropped off 29 points in the first half I think that the Utes will need to be aware of where he is on the floor as well. Freshman Steven Pledger will come off the bench and is a pretty good shooter from just about anywhere on the floor.

3. What is with Willie Warren? He has NBA talent but had a DNP coaches decision against Nichols State, he is considered selfish, and needs a lot of shots to get his points.

Willie has struggled in taking the leadership role that the team needs from him. Last year the team belonged to the Griffin brothers and while he was a key component he wasn't the guy everyone looked to. Now he is and as I stated before he's had to learn to allow others to compliment him instead of trying to carry the team on his own. Like most pure scorers he does take a lot of shots and when he's on he's one of the best in the nation but its when he's off that he has to trust those around him to do what he can't.

The DNP was because of illness.

4. What are the teams expectations this year after losing Blake Griffin to the NBA?

I think that its a realistic expectation to see them finish around 4th in the conference. From there we'll see what they can accomplish in the dance.

5. Who wins and what will be the difference?

I think that this is a must win game for Oklahoma. They are on a four game winning streak and things are starting to come together for them. As previously stated this will be a measure of progress because the Sooners have been really bad on the road so far. I say that their athleticism and triple threat scoring options allows to keep the streak going.

SB Nation - Utah Utes

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