Busting Brackets
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Utah Basketball: 2019-20 season preview for Utes

By Jason Burgess

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - MARCH 14: Utah Utes fans gesture as a player shoots a free throw during a quarterfinal game of the Pac-12 basketball tournament against the Oregon Ducks at T-Mobile Arena on March 14, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Ducks defeated the Utes 66-54. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - MARCH 14: Utah Utes fans gesture as a player shoots a free throw during a quarterfinal game of the Pac-12 basketball tournament against the Oregon Ducks at T-Mobile Arena on March 14, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Ducks defeated the Utes 66-54. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK, NY – MARCH 29: Tyler Rawson #21, Gabe Bealer and Sedrick Barefield #0 of the Utah Utes react in the fourth quarter against the Penn State Nittany Lions during the 2018 NIT Championship game at Madison Square Garden on March 29, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY – MARCH 29: Tyler Rawson #21, Gabe Bealer and Sedrick Barefield #0 of the Utah Utes react in the fourth quarter against the Penn State Nittany Lions during the 2018 NIT Championship game at Madison Square Garden on March 29, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images) /

Utah Basketball finished third in a down PAC-12 last season but failed to make the Big Dance. Can Larry Krystowiak get his team back there in 2019-20?

To say the Pac-12 had a rough regular season in 2018 would be an understatement, mostly due to performance early in the season that was, shall we say not up to power-five standards, and league play didn’t offer much improvement. In the end, the league ended up with three teams in the NCAA Tournament.

One team that was passed over for a bid, despite finishing third with an 11-7 record and an overall mark of 17-14 were the Utah Utes. Larry Krystowiak’s squad was going to have trouble as an at-large candidate given the fact that they went 0-3 vs other power-five schools and also suffered double-digit losses to BYU and Nevada.

After not receiving a bid to the NCAA Tournament, the Utes decided not to play post-season hoops, instead choosing to get a jump on this season, but the summer didn’t get off to the greatest start for Utah Basketball as they were placed on probation for two seasons by the NCAA for recruiting violations. The punishment won’t affect the team’s ability to play in March but they will have recruiting restrictions placed upon them.

Nonetheless, as some of the perennial powers in the conference look to rebound, the Utes look to keep pace with them while trying to grab the March Madness bid that eluded them last season. The 2019-20 season for the Utah Utes is filled with hope for some but could be filled with growing pains and frustrations if the season doesn’t meet expectations, just two years removed from an appearance in the NIT title game.

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