Utah Basketball: Utah Utes Looking to Build off Last Year’s NCAA Run
By Cam Boon
After making their first NCAA Tournament appearance since the 2008-2009 season, the Utah Utes are primed to come back in 2015-2016 and take the next step in the rebuild that head coach Larry Krystkowiak has put together, now in his fifth year.
The Utes re-signed their head coach to a $26 million extension, making sure he was not about to go anywhere.
Utah plays in a PAC-12 conference that did not bring about too much trouble for the Utes in 2014. The team finished 13-5 in conference play, second only to Arizona.
Both teams made the Elite Eight, but were knocked out by ensuing national finalists. The Wildcats fell to the Wisconsin Badgers, while the Utes bowed out to the eventual national champion Duke Blue Devils.
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The goal this year is simple for Krystkowiak’s squad: Make the school’s first Final Four appearance since the 97-98 season. To do that, he will have to recover from the loss of the team’s leading scorer, Delon Wright. The former guard, currently employed by the Toronto Raptors, averaged 14.5 points per game last season. Not only that, but he averaged 5.1 assists and 4.9 rebounds, turning into Krystkowiak’s do-everything guard.
To fill the shoes, the Utah Utes will look to the next two leadings scorers from last season, both of whom are still on the roster.
Brandon Taylor and Jordan Loveridge, both seniors, want to make sure the team does not take a step back.
Both players averaged double digits in the point category last season, while Loveridge averaged 3.9 rebounds.
Another man you cannot miss, literally, is the big man in the middle. 7’0″ Jakob Poeltl is a sophomore coming off an impact season as a freshman.
He averaged 9.1 points, 6.8 rebounds and close to two blocks per game, bringing a dynamic presence to the paint.
As far as the schedule is concerned, the Pac-12 is not as strong as it has been in recent years, with only three teams hitting the preseason polls.
This leaves two matchups with No. 14 California and a pair with No. 12 Arizona for the Utes, with all three of these teams looking for good seeds in the NCAA Tournament.
Out of the conference, there are some subtly tough games for the Utes. This is outside of their trip to Wichita State to take on the 10th-ranked Shockers, and an Elite Eight rematch with the Duke Blue Devils at Madison Square Garden.
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The Utes scheduled themselves not too favorably when it comes to preparing their team for conference road tests. Coach Krystkowiak only slated one true road game for his squad, the game in Wichita. All other games are either at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City or at a neutral site.
He scheduled one tournament for the team, a trip to Puerto Rico in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off, a tournament they should at least be a finalist in.
The team will be in for a rude awakening for road environments when they start their conference schedule, with their first three contests in the Pac-12 being on the road.
There is no reason why this team should not be successful again. The void of Wright is a little tough to fill, but could be done by committee. If they can fully do it, Krystkowiak’s Utes could be headed back to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament.