And this is how it probably ends.
Utah basketball, fighting for respectability, fighting to prove its head coach is worth keeping, collapsed Saturday afternoon in a Senior Day mess, falling to the UNLV Rebels 78-58. It was a game never in doubt from the tip and one that probably all but sealed Jim Boylen's fate as the Runnin' Utes' head coach.
He's out of here.
Though this season has been filled with disappointment, I find this game to be the most disappointing.
Never should Utah lose by 20-points at home. I don't care how badly perceived the team is or who they're playing - a 20 point rout on your own floor is unacceptable. This is not Utah basketball. I know we've been conditioned on losing the last five years, but we should never accept this type of performance.
The Utes were awful. They shot just 38% from the field and trailed 47-22 at the half. It was a disaster from the start and a game Utah never really contested. If this team was trying to save Jim Boylen's job, they certainly failed. Maybe even they have conceded the inevitable and decided it was much easier to just mail it in.
Whatever the reason, Utah's regular season came to an end with a whimper and now the Utes prepare for the Mountain West Tournament, where they'll face the San Diego St. Aztecs in the first round - a team that bulldozed 'em twice already this season.
The outcome of that game is probably all but written and that means this season is pretty close to ending.
And now the season is all but done. The Jim Boylen Era, which started with so much hope and promise, appears to be on the verge of ending.
Now Utah enters another a state of uncertainly. Hopefully it leads to better results.
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