Runnin' Utes top Montana 80-71

Pictured: Will Clyburn goes in for a dunk in the Runnin' Utes' 80-71 win over Montana Wednesday night.

The Utah Runnin' Utes (2-0) defeated the Montana Grizzlies (0-2) tonight in Salt Lake City by a score of 80-71. Will Clyburn led the Utes with 21 points, Josh Watkins had 20 and Jay Watkins had 18. Will Cherry led Montana with 21 points.

The Utes led most of the way and appeared to bust it open early in the second half when they stretched an 11-point halftime lead to 20, largely behind the play of Jay Watkins and Clyburn. However, the Grizzlies were able to cut into the lead by cashing in on some open 3s, being more aggressive, and grabbing more offensive rebounds. The lead got whittled down to as low as six before the Utes put the clamps on. I think Utah might have just lost some focus with such a big lead, but give Montana credit for not quitting either. The thing that stood out most to me was how quickly the Grizzlies were able to get back in the game; Utah needs to maintain focus even with a big lead.

The most important thing is that the Utes are now 2-0 which hasn't been the case the last couple of years at this time. Clyburn looks like he could be a star as he's looked really solid in the first two games. Another JC transfer, Josh Watkins, has also looked good so far at point guard. Sophomore starter Shawn Glover just didn't have it tonight, I don't know what the problem was exactly, but he just made a number of mental mistakes out there and didn't appear to be hustling as much as he should have been. Coach Jim Boylen adjusted accordingly and didn't have him out there much. We'll see if Glover can straighten it out. The Utes next play at home on Saturday against in-state rival Weber State (1-1) at 4 p.m. MT.

A word about some of the fans, in the student section in particular: At least one person at the Utah game tonight was chanting "Jimmer." I think it is stupid to degrade your rival when you aren't even playing them. Utah wasn't playing BYU tonight, there was no reason for that kind of chanting. In fact, the Utes aren't playing BYU for a couple of months. Tonight the focus should have been more on Montana. The "Jimmer" chant just seemed oddly out of place. Also out of place was a large cardboard cut-out of former BYU player Jonathan Tavernari making a funny face. Again Utah wasn't playing BYU and furthermore Tavernari has exhausted his eligibility and is no longer on the BYU team. Again, just very out of place. Utah fans would do well just to focus on the game at hand. To be fair most Utah fans are at least fairly knowledgeable about the team and what to cheer about, etc. and I enjoy associating with most of them at games. There were just a couple of things that irked me tonight, although not enough to ruin the overall experience of watching my team win.

Down the road a ways tonight, the #23 BYU Cougars (2-0) knocked off the Utah State Aggies (1-1) in Provo by a score of 78-72. I didn't watch the game but my understanding is that Jimmer Fredette was a big reason that BYU was able to come out on top, as well as a flagrant foul call late against the Aggies' Tai Wesley. This game sounds like it was tight the entire way; I thought BYU would win by 7-10 points but I didn't expect it to be a one possession game in the waning minutes. To me that shows that Utah State is a very capable team as they nearly pulled the upset in a hostile environment.

Runnin' Utes host Montana tomorrow night

The Utah Runnin' Utes (1-0) host the Montana Grizzlies (0-1) in basketball tomorrow night at the Huntsman Center. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. MT. The Utes defeated Grand Canyon 72-48 last Friday night, but this will be their first game against a Division I school. Montana dropped their season opener at Nevada. I'm looking forward to seeing how the Utes handle playing against a team that should provide some tougher competition. Junior Will Clyburn led the Utes with 14 points in his first game with Utah last Friday. The game will not be televised, so if you want to see it, join me at the Huntsman Center. The game will be available on the radio in Salt Lake City on AM 700 and the radio feed will also be broadcast online at kall700sports.com. I think the Utes should be able to handle the Grizzlies, but we'll see. There are so many unknowns this time of year. I'll be tweeting updates during the game and you can follow those at twitter.com/dpaysports. I will be back on here after the game for some analysis.

Utes embarrassed again

The #15 Utah Utes (8-2, 5-1 MWC) were completely embarrassed today by the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (5-5) by a score of 28-3 in South Bend, Indiana. The Utes led 3-0 early, but then had a punt blocked deep in their own territory and returned for a touchdown and the Irish never looked back, taking a 14-3 lead into halftime. Shaky Smithson fumbled the opening kick off of the second half and the Irish quickly converted that into another score and later tacked on another touchdown.

Jordan Wynn was 24-39 passing with no touchdowns and an interception. He looked terrible for the second consecutive week, often missing open receivers and making poor decisions. He should have had at least one more interception. I can't fathom why Coach Whittingham again left Wynn in despite so many struggles. Wynn looked to me like a guy who had lost his confidence. Terrance Cain got in for two plays while Wynn got a bit banged up, but was promptly re-inserted into the game. I think you seriously have to consider starting Cain next week and if Wynn does start, he has to have a short leash.

I don't know what is wrong with the Utes. They just looked completely inept on offense and didn't seem to be able to do much for a while after Notre Dame took the lead on the blocked punt. The Utes had a couple of drives end with failures to convert on fourth downs in the red zone late in the game. I guess it's good that they moved the ball, but the failure to score is disconcerting. I didn't think the defense looked too bad, in reality they only deserved to have 14 points pinned on them. It was just a bad way to look on national television.

Utah plays at San Diego State (7-3, 4-2 MWC) next Saturday night at 8 p.m. MT. The Aztecs lost on the road today to #3 TCU (11-0, 7-0 MWC) by a score of 40-35. That'ws the closest game TCU has played all year. That doesn't bode well for next week and I think I'll have to pick SDSU to win that one.

In basketball, the Utah Runnin' Utes (1-0) opened their season last night with a 72-48 win over Grand Canyon (0-1), a Division II school. It's tough to gauge how much the win really means since it was against a Division II school, but I did enjoy getting to see the new faces of the Runnin' Utes. Will Clyburn in particular looked good and looks to have a good shot, going 2-4 on 3 pointers and scoring 14 points to lead all scorers. The Utes defense looked good as well in the win. I think we'll know more after Wednesday when the Utes take on Montana (0-1) at home at 7 p.m. MT. The Grizzlies are a Division I school that made the NCAA Tournament last season by winning the NCAA Tournament so they should provide a bit more competition.