- Ugh, what an abortion. I still am having a difficult time understanding how the Utes could completely meltdown like this. Up 11 early in the second half and they collapse faster than the economy of a Banana republic in Latin America. It was an ugly game, dominated by turnovers and in the end Utah was beaten by the far better coached team. And trust me, that wasn't easy to type. I never thought the day would come where I said Steve Fisher out coached anyone.
- Whose idea was it to have Nevill playing out by the perimeter? He's an inside guy and toward the end of the game, Nevill's standing about 20 feet from the basket, his least effective spot on the court. Nevill should have gone inside, yet he played too soft after picking up some quick fouls in the second half. I understand he didn't want to foul out, leaving a big void at the center spot for the Utes, but those fouls took him completely out of the game. Even when he came back in, Giacoletti failed to run any offensive sets that put Nevill down under the basket for either the score or a foul.
- When Nevill was forced out of the game because of foul trouble, the bottom fell out. But what I find even more troubling is that Giacoletti waited way too long before finally calling a timeout to regroup his team. It's like knowing a dam is going to break, watching the dam breaking and then only leaving your house when the water starts seeping in. It was too late and the momentum was far too much for the Utes to overcome. Yet it was pretty clear the Utes were on a destructive path early, and Giacoletti did nothing to stop it. When the Aztecs cut Utah's lead to 8, there was a moment when neither team really couldn't get anything going. Instead of realizing things were slowly coming apart, Giacoletti allowed his team to play through it and while the Utes woes continued, San Diego State got hot and made their damaging 20-4 run. This team does not have the experience to withstand that type of run and Giacoletti should have known this.
- I think the Air Force win gave some of us a false hope. While I wanted to see more from this Utah team before I made a judgment on whether or not Giacoletti should return, I think his career at Utah is quickly slipping away. San Diego State proved to be the better team Saturday, but only because Utah made them the better team. That's poor coaching and the fact Utah has yet to really show any progress this season falls squarely on Giac's shoulders.
- Utah had another outing where they shot the ball poorly. Against Wyoming they compensated for their poor shooting with a lack of turnovers. Against San Diego State they weren't so lucky, turning the ball over 21 times. Couple that with a shooting percentage of only 37% and it's a wonder the Utes only lost by 10.
- I really wish this season would end, because I hate not knowing what's in store for this team. This speculation is killing me and I really want to know whether Giacoletti is returning or not. I think it's obvious that will not happen until the year ends, and I'm fine with that. I just wish it'd get here.
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