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Utah Basketball: 3 keys for the Utes against BYU

By Jason Burgess

TUCSON, AZ - JANUARY 27: Head coach Larry Krystkowiak of the Utah Utes gestures at official Dick Cartmell during the first half of the college basketball game against the Arizona Wildcats at McKale Center on January 27, 2018 in Tucson, Arizona. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images)
TUCSON, AZ - JANUARY 27: Head coach Larry Krystkowiak of the Utah Utes gestures at official Dick Cartmell during the first half of the college basketball game against the Arizona Wildcats at McKale Center on January 27, 2018 in Tucson, Arizona. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images) /
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TUCSON, AZ – JANUARY 27: Donnie Tillman
TUCSON, AZ – JANUARY 27: Donnie Tillman /

1. The Utes must hold their own on the boards

A big key for Utah in this game will be rebounding, especially on the offensive end. BYU scores 86 points per game and because of that Utah will have to try and slow them down. One way to do that is to grab more than their 10.43 offensive rebounds per game. By getting second-chance opportunities, which in turn will give BYU fewer possessions, it will also help slow the Cougars’ propensity to get up and down the floor.

This could be a tough task for Utah as just one player, junior center Jayce Johnson is the only player on the roster with double-digit offensive rebounds on the season (16) and Tillman, the team’s top rebounder at 7.1 per game has grabbed just nine offensive boards on the year. Their opponents are the sixth defensive rebounding team in the country with 31.8 per game and have six players that have pulled down at least 20 defensive rebounds so far this season.

Along with Tillman and Johnson, Utah will have to use its frontcourt depth and length to neutralize the Cougars’ advantage on the boards. That means guys like freshmen Riley Battin (6-9), Both Gach (6-7), Timmy Allen (6-6) and senior Novak Topalovic (7-0) will have to step up in a big way on the glass.

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