Utah (13-17, 6-10 MWC) dropped their final regular season Mountain West Conference game on Saturday at home to UNLV (23-7, 11-5 MWC) by a score of 78-58. The Rebels jumped out to a huge lead early and never looked back. Utah trailed 47-22 at halftime in what was probably the worst half the Runnin' Utes have played all season. Tre'Von Willis, Oscar Bellfield and Quintrell Thomas all had 12 points for UNLV. Jiggy Watkins of Utah led all scorers with 18 points while Jason Washburn had 12 and Chris Hines 10.
It was a disappointing home finale and I don't exactly have a reason for it. Utah just looked bad in all phases of the game for the opening 20 minutes. At least in the first meeting in Las Vegas, both teams seemed to struggle in an ugly game. UNLV came out sharp in this one, shooting well, playing strong defense and doing a good job on the defensive glass. They looked like a team very ready for the NCAA Tournament.
For whatever reason, the Utes just haven't been able to play many complete games this year. I will say they kept playing hard and didn't appear to quit, but UNLV is just too good of a team to give a 27 point lead (they were able to cut it to as low as 16) and expect to win against. I do think it says something about the character of the guys for continuing to play hard, it's just frustrating that they didn't play better to start the game. Again, I think Utah could have given them a competitive game, but the first half doomed the Utes. Utah just didn't come out with the right energy and attitude. It was very frustrating. Utah's loss ensures them the 7-seed in the MWC Tournament in Las Vegas starting Thursday, meaning they get a first round match-up with #9 San Diego State.
Jay Watkins dressed for the game and was able to play one possession toward the end of the game. I went into detail in my post last night about how great J-Wat has been for the program, so I was glad that he was able to get into the game despite his lingering back injury. He was a guy who really got it and was in touch with the fan base. I was among the students he gave a high-five to after the game -- a really classy move after such a tough loss. He also took a sign that said "The MUSS loves Jay Watkins" with him and seemed genuinely touched by it. Really cool stuff.
In other MWC games on Saturday, #3 BYU (28-3, 14-2 MWC) and #9 San Diego State (29-2, 14-2 MWC) both won at home to earn a share of the conference title. The conference tournament field is all set now, with tie-breakers being taken into account. Here's how it sets up for the first round on Thursday, with seedings noted (BYU gets the winner of the play-in game Wednesday):
(1) BYU (28-3, 14-2 MWC) vs. (8) Wyoming (10-20, 3-13 MWC)/(9) TCU (10-21, 1-15 MWC), 1 p.m. MT
(4) Colorado State (19-11, 9-7 MWC) vs. (5) New Mexico (20-11, 8-8 MWC), 3:30 p.m. MT
(2) San Diego State (29-2, 14-2 MWC) vs. (7) Utah (13-17, 6-10 MWC), 7 p.m. MT
(3) UNLV (23-7, 11-5 MWC) vs. (6) Air Force (15-14, 6-10 MWC), 9:30 p.m. MT
The semis are at 7 and 9:30 p.m. MT on Friday and the title game is at 5 p.m. MT on Saturday. Should be an entertaining tournament. Hopefully my Runnin' Utes can at least show decently down there.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Couldn't Jay get a medical hardship? and couldn't Boylyn get one too?
ReplyDelete