NIT

[Hahnenwk]

Why didn’t Utah make the NIT?

[alexsmith]

They lost 7 of 8 to end the season…

[Hahnenwk]

They had a better record than Colorado

[NarfUte]

Colorado had a better NET ranking, which is all the rage these days. Also had a better quad 1/2 record. Wazzu also had the same record as Colorado but a higher NET than Utah. We were on the NIT bubble but squandered any postseason opportunity.

[EagleMountainUte]

Quick and easy reminder. 

[pedro]

After watching Pitt and MSU tonight, I’m positive we would’ve beat either team.  Too bad.

[alexsmith]

Potentially, but we did lose to MSU earlier this year 52-49. Heckuva ball game to watch tonight!

[AZUTE]

The season needed to end. We didn’t need another lose where Utah barely scored 55 points that wouldn’t have help anyone.

[Utes 69]

hate to beat a dead horse on the mens BB team, Mike Saunders sat the bench 95% of the time. what a waste!

pretty sure he could have help win a few more games. 

[AZUTE]

While I agree Saunders could’ve helped win a game or three more but at what cost?

The word from insiders is he was not a good teammate and didn’t listen to the coaches. He was terrible on D and would freelance on O.

If he gets 20 minutes a night what message does that send? Smith is trying to rebuild a winning culture and he’s at the stage where he has to find the upgraded talent that fits the culture. That is not always easy to do.

This is a make or break offseason for Smith.

[UteBacker]

If you guys haven’t watched “Last Chance U” on Netflix yet, check it out.  It does a pretty deep dive into the inner workings of basketball and football teams at the collegiate level (the lowest level).  You gain a lot of insight into what the coaches, players, and families go through during the course of a season.  Sometimes the players with clearly the most talent are also the biggest headcases and present a huge challenge to the coaching staff.  I don’t know anything about what Mike Saunders brought to the table because I’m not close to the program, but he could be lucky that Coach Smith even let him sit on the bench and watch games.  There are times on Last Chance U when a coach will put up with a player’s antics because he knows if he kicks that player off the team it could have drastic life-altering consequences for that kid.  I’m guessing this was the case with Tavion this year too…

[Charlie]

I error on the side of our coaches when they have reluctance for something we don’t see. Coaches want to win much more than fans do and know incredibly more about players than we do. We are glancing at a room thru a keyhole while Smith is inside that room every day. I prefer to wonder why with his talent he was unable to give the coaches what they needed for him to see the court more. I also know the coaches collaborate at a high level. What ever was noted had lots of good eyes noting.

[utefansince79]

The last few weeks with a loaded back end of the schedule, untimely injuries, and lack of depth had the team worn down.  The games in Colorado and in Vegas against the Trees, most of the team seemed to lack any energy (I noted here or elsewhere that Stanford seemed to be running pre-game layup drills with all their easy shots right at the hoop) and any trip to the NIT would have been a very short one.   

Still looking forward to next year.  Overall this season was significantly better than last and in particular that victory over Arizona was a lot of fun. (Loved that every time the visiting Wildcat fans started that all too familiar and obnoxious U of A chant that it was quickly silenced.)  We add a few more wins next season and we will be in the post-season.

 

 

 

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