These were different Cougars.
The Runnin’ Utes were blown out by No. 7 Houston 70-36 on Wednesday evening at the Fertitta Center. The loss ended a three-game winning streak for Craig Smith’s unit following an emotional overtime victory over in-state rival BYU on Saturday.
“You have to eliminate losing to win,” Smith said after the loss. “We have to get better. … This is big boy basketball, and we didn’t get to that point tonight.”
The turnover bug returned for the Runnin’ Utes. They gave up the ball 26 times, and the Cougars converted those opportunities into 29 points.
Utah also struggled to shoot the ball going 13 of 43 from the field and 5 of 17 from 3-point range. Smith credited Houston’s length and physicality for his team’s struggles on offense.
“Basketball is a game of decisions and multiple efforts,” Smith said. “When you play these guys you have to elite multiple efforts. And they play with multiple efforts all the time in everything they do. Whether it’s boxing out, going to the glass, getting in the gap and having active hands and feet … they’re just so quick to the ball.
With the loss, the Utes are now a combined 2-8 against Quad 1 and Quad 2 opponents.
They’ll need that metric to improve if they have hopes of making the NCAA Tournament in March. But, if Utah can’t limit its turnovers, its struggles will continue.
“When we take care of the ball, we do some great things,” Utah’s head coach said.
Utah was ranked No. 71 in the NCAA’s Net Rankings heading into the contest, good for the 11th ranking in the conference.
According to ESPN analyst Joe Lunardi’s latest NCAA bracketology, there are eight Big 12 teams inside the tournament bubble, with Utah sitting on the outside looking in.
Cincinnati is the only other Big 12 program on the bubble, according to Lunardi’s projections.
It’s clear: The Utes will need to pick up more Quad 1 and Quad 2 wins fast if they want to start being considered in the Big Dance.
The good news for the Runnin’ Utes? They have another Quad 1 opportunity on the horizon with a home matchup against No. 25 Baylor at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday in Salt Lake City.
“You can learn from this,” Smith said. “We’re new to the Big 12. We were picked at the bottom. We’re working to climb and you have to be able to adapt and adjust. This is game seven [in the conference] for us. You have to learn, grow and then move on.
“I thought our guys stuck with. It will test your willpower when you’re getting embarrassed. … But, at the end of the day, those turnovers and some of those offensive rebounds were hard to overcome.”
