So much for the March to March, eh? And just like that, Utah's season feels eerily similar to last -- a less than desirable ending.
Even though Utah's window for postseason play slowly began closing after their loss to New Mexico Saturday, it slammed shut with their 67-61 loss to the Horned Frogs Wednesday night. It marked Utah's third straight loss and capped off another lackluster road effort.
I don't really need to get into why Utah lost, as that would be rehashing every defeat this season (the formula never seems to change), but with all the advancements Utah has made this season, they've not shown in the second half of the conference season. And unless they figure out how to win on the road soon, the Utes could be looking at only a one game improvement in Mountain West play when compared to last year. That isn't where fans thought this program would be, but that's where it likely will finish this year.
A quick look at the game:
| MIN | PTS | FG | FG% | FT | FT% | 3PT | 3PT% | OR | DR | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R. Wall (G) | 21 | 7 | 1-3 | 33.3 | 4-4 | 100.0 | 1-1 | 100.0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| J. Ebie (G) | 32 | 3 | 1-2 | 50.0 | 1-3 | 33.3 | 0-0 | 0.0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| B. Hackett (G) | 33 | 19 | 7-10 | 70.0 | 4-6 | 66.7 | 1-2 | 50.0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| J. Ortiz (F) | 16 | 4 | 2-9 | 22.2 | 0-0 | 0.0 | 0-0 | 0.0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| K. Langford (F) | 33 | 16 | 5-13 | 38.5 | 6-10 | 60.0 | 0-0 | 0.0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| A. Parker | 23 | 14 | 7-10 | 70.0 | 0-1 | 0.0 | 0-0 | 0.0 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| N. Owens | 16 | 2 | 1-1 | 100.0 | 0-0 | 0.0 | 0-0 | 0.0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| K. Mitchem | 13 | 2 | 0-1 | 0.0 | 2-2 | 100.0 | 0-1 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| L. Tauscher | 6 | 0 | 0-2 | 0.0 | 0-0 | 0.0 | 0-0 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| M. Morones | 5 | 0 | 0-1 | 0.0 | 0-0 | 0.0 | 0-0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| M. Scott | 2 | 0 | 0-2 | 0.0 | 0-0 | 0.0 | 0-2 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Utah Players
| MIN | PTS | FG | FG% | FT | FT% | 3PT | 3PT% | OR | DR | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C. Brown (G) | 15 | 5 | 2-4 | 50.0 | 0-0 | 0.0 | 1-1 | 100.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| T. Kepkay (G) | 30 | 10 | 3-7 | 42.9 | 2-2 | 100.0 | 2-3 | 66.7 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| L. Borha (G) | 31 | 5 | 2-6 | 33.3 | 0-0 | 0.0 | 1-3 | 33.3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 |
| S. Green (F) | 35 | 9 | 3-8 | 37.5 | 1-2 | 50.0 | 2-6 | 33.3 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| L. Nevill (C) | 21 | 15 | 5-9 | 55.6 | 5-6 | 83.3 | 0-0 | 0.0 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 |
| L. Drca | 25 | 5 | 1-3 | 33.3 | 3-4 | 75.0 | 0-1 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| K. Tillie | 19 | 4 | 1-4 | 25.0 | 2-2 | 100.0 | 0-0 | 0.0 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| J. Bryant | 18 | 8 | 3-4 | 75.0 | 1-2 | 50.0 | 1-2 | 50.0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| M. Grim | 4 | 0 | 0-0 | 0.0 | 0-0 | 0.0 | 0-0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| C. Grant | 2 | 0 | 0-0 | 0.0 | 0-0 | 0.0 | 0-0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Losing sucks, but what else can you do? I guess instead of hoping for the postseason, I'll be cheering for a winning season, at least that'll be somewhat of a step in the right direction.