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Utah Basketball: 2017-18 season preview for the Utes

By Tristan Freeman

LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 09: Utah Utes cheerleaders perform during the team's quarterfinal game of the Pac-12 Basketball Tournament against the California Golden Bears at T-Mobile Arena on March 9, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. California won 78-75. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 09: Utah Utes cheerleaders perform during the team's quarterfinal game of the Pac-12 Basketball Tournament against the California Golden Bears at T-Mobile Arena on March 9, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. California won 78-75. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /
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LAS VEGAS, NV – MARCH 09: Utah Utes cheerleaders perform during the team’s quarterfinal game of the Pac-12 Basketball Tournament against the California Golden Bears at T-Mobile Arena on March 9, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. California won 78-75. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV – MARCH 09: Utah Utes cheerleaders perform during the team’s quarterfinal game of the Pac-12 Basketball Tournament against the California Golden Bears at T-Mobile Arena on March 9, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. California won 78-75. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

After a starting their program’s PAC-12 era at the bottom of the league, Utah basketball has steadily climbed up the conference ladder.

After coming off a year where Utah finally “arrived” in the PAC-12 conference and ended up a No. 3 seed in the NCAA tournament, they had to find a way to replace the production of several key players, especially lottery pick Jakob Poeltl.

It was clear early on who the best player on the team was with Kyle Kuzma leading the way. His importance was shown when he went down for a game against San Francisco in the Diamond Head Classic around Christmas. They ended up losing that game in a shootout. Kuzma finished the season with 16.4 ppg and 9.3 rpg.

Utah was just “okay” in conference play. For the most part, they beat the teams they were supposed to beat and stayed competitive with the top teams. There was, however, one exception: the home game against the Oregon State Beavers. Utah was straddling along the bubble fence right up to that game, and Oregon State still hadn’t won a conference game late in the season.

The Beavers won that game, sealing the Utes fate for the NIT, where they lost in the first round. The losing continued in the off-season, with Lorenzo Bonam’s graduation and Kuzma’s early departure to the NBA. They were some of the only ones who averaged double-figure scoring, so in this season, it’s key to find players that can recoup the lost offense.

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