Welp, here goes, one game to the sweet 16. It's going to be a tough one, because Utah is truly a good team. Not a great one, but definitely a good one. In Delon Wright, we may be facing the single best player that we've seen this season. So hope this helps, here is some of the stuff we should look for on Saturday.
Offense - Everything runs through Wright when the Utes have the ball. They run a motion offense, a ton of pick and rolls and besides pace of play, Utah very much reminds me of an NBA type offense. They value spacing. They try to get the ball inside to Jakob Poeltl - their NBA prospect freshman center. They have great shooting on the wings in Brandon Taylor and Jordan Loveridge. They have a dirty work guy inside named Chris Reyes. A lot of talent, and yet Utah many times struggles mightily to score the basketball. Part of this is due to pace of play. 85 percent of their possessions go at least 25 seconds. And outside of Wright and Taylor, they don't have many guys who can go and get their own shots. Wright truly means everything to this team, and Taylor truthfully isn't that far behind. You take their offense and combine it with their defense, and this game on Saturday may struggle to get to the 60's. If we can find a way to score 70, it may be tough for the Utes to beat us.
DEFENSE - This is where the Utes are elite. Wright is a plus defender. Taylor - for his lack of size - is a wonderful defender. Poeltl is a wonderful defender and Utah funnels a lot towards him and his shotblocking abilities. Schematically, the Utes play a lot of man, and will mix in some zone. They don't extend their defense all that often. They just lock up from the three point line down to the hoop. That said, not sure they've seen a guy like Josh Smith this season. They have seen a guy like DSR in Joe Young from Oregon. DSR isn't as aggressive offensively as Young, but he's got the same ability to break a team down like Young did, and the Utes really struggled with him twice this season. So how they defend DSR and who they defend him with will be interesting to see for sure.
DELON WRIGHT - We've seen a Wright clone this season. He's an awful lot like Kris Dunn from Providence, only better IMO. Both are NBA guys, but Wright is a little more refined in his game. Wright is tall at 6-5, he's a wonderful point guard. He gets into the lane at will. He's by far the best Utah player in transition. He finishes at the rim, and he's a better shooter than his numbers suggest. He's simply a load. Defensively, he's one of the most opportunistic guys I've seen in a long time at the college level. He jumps passing lanes. He's an elite shotblocker for his position and he's an elite rebounder for his position. He's a triple double threat. He reminds me of a 6-5 Rajon Rondo. He's also a great foul shooter, so we want to keep him off the line. He'll make them. Does he have a weakness? Well, he doesn't shoot it great from three, and he doesn't attack offensively for 40 minutes. He's unselfish, almost to a fault. And defensively, while he's a great help defender, he's not a great man defender. I've seen guys get after him a little bit (Young, Nigel Williams-Goss from Washington)....
BRANDON TAYLOR - Has had a career year. Is by far Utah's best perimeter shooter. He's small at 5-9, but he's great off the dribble, and he gets great elevation on his jumper, so people rarely bother his shot. He was a lot more like a spot up shooter in years past, now he gets to the basket and can finish. He's Utah's best perimeter defender as well. I think he actually may be the guy who matches up with DSR, not Wright. Taylor is in many ways the heart and soul of this team. He's the vocal leader on the floor (Wright is not very vocal) and he's the guy whom everyone listens to. He's in a lot of ways almost as important to this team as Wright is. He's made a ton of big shots this year, and he's as tough as they come.
JORDAN LOVERIDGE - After Wright, he's the second best overall offensive talent on the team. He started his career as a power forward, and is now playing the three. Have to pay close attention to him because he can get hot from the perimeter and torch people. Has a high release point on his jumper, so he's hard to deal with. He can go inside and get it done as well. Is a junior, and has been at Utah since the days where Utah was awful.Whomever is guarding him can't give him too much room. He provides spacing with his shot.
CHRIS REYES - Dirty work guy. Hustler. Small at 6-6, but very athletic and hard nosed. Isaac has to keep him off the glass, so that's a concern. He's not going to create offense against us, but he is more than capable of making his impact felt by generating extra possessions. Is a good post defender, and a guy who can block shots.
JAKOB POELTL - Probably an NBA guy. Probably the most talented big Utah has had since Andrew Bogut. He's 7-0, very mobile and athletic. He's good on the block and good in pick and roll. He can do a lot of damage without needing the ball. Poeltl is foul prone. He spent most of Pac-12 conference season battling foul issues. He has Josh Smith syndrome: He gets called for a ton of BS because he's big, and guards run into him and flop and get the call. Him and Josh will be a key matchup. This game may very well hinge on which one of those guys can stay on the floor. Poeltl is a bad free throw shooter. So we have 15 fouls in the middle, and we should use them.
DAKARAI TUCKER - He's the first wing off the bench for the Utes. Great three point shooter in the corners. Seriously, he's like 50 percent from the corners. Get him anywhere else and those percentages drop drastically. Not great off the dribble, but can get to the basket in a sneaky way. Is long and athletic. Is a very needed veteran presence.
Brekkott Chapman - Very talented freshman off the bench. Very talented. left handed. Can play inside and out. Could become a star at this level. His problem now? Can't keep out of foul trouble. Has issues defending and rebounding. It's limited his playing time in recent weeks. But he's someone more than capable of scoring 15 points and coming out of nowhere to do so.
Dallin Bachynski - Is the only Ute remaining on the team from Larry Krystokowiak's 6-25 team from 2012. He's got size at 7-0. He's older and he's strong and athletic. He's capable of hitting a foul line jumper and he's another dirty work guy.
Isaiah Wright - Is a freshman back-up point guard. Another very talented rookie. Will probably play about 10 minutes. Can make a jumper. Is good defensively
That will be Utah's rotation, by and large. In a pinch, you may see Kyle Kuzma, or maybe Jeremy Olsen. Coach K is a lot like the other coach K: He has a lot of talent on his bench, but he can't play them all. He has his set rotation and he largely sticks to it.
Utah is as good a defensive team we will see all season. I would say we are more athletic, but that really doesn't mean much. Expect a low possession, low scoring affair. This will be a great challenge for us. The crowd will be against us, so we have to prepare for that as well.