Larry doesn’t have Utah in the top4 each year. He’s done it the last three but there is clear regression in in the program over the last couple seasons. I don’t expect Utah to finish 4th this year, either, but would be pleasantly surprised if they did. This season has been pretty unimpressive for Larry solely because the Pac-12 is not a very good basketball conference right now and the Utes are failing to take advantage of it. It’s also a season where Utah has some embarrassing losses. Maybe the biggest collection of bad losses in a season since the 2014 season. USC, UCLA and Colorado completely toyed with the Utes. Those would be acceptable losses if any of those programs were nationally significant this season. But they’re not.
Larry is a decent coach but there’s no excuse for Utah missing the NCAA Tournament at the rate they are. They’re likely off the bubble now this year, which is now the second-straight year without a tournament berth. If the team doesn’t get to the Dance next year, absolutely we should discuss whether he’s the right coach for Utah basketball.
Really, I see a lot of comparisons between Larry K and Dave Rose down at BYU. I think Larry K has more talent to work with than Rose, but is also in a tougher conference. Still, both coaches under-perform to what they should be able to do at their respective programs. We laugh at BYU’s lot in life and Utah’s isn’t much better. We’re both becoming mainstays in the NIT. Well, yawn to that.