Talk about bad timing. After winning and dominating most of the basketball season, the University of Utah juggernaut suddenly is faltering, and just in time for the tournament season.
The Utes will enter this week's Western Athletic Conference tournament in the Delta Center as the No. 1 seed, but a week ago they didn't look like one. They lost to New Mexico and UTEP on the road to end the regular season, forcing them to share the regular-season conference championship with BYU.The Utes, 22-5, begin WAC tournament play Thursday night at 6:30 against the winner of the Wyoming-San Diego State game, which will be played tonight. They can only hope to recover their old form by then.
Meanwhile, here is a state-of-the-Utes assessment heading into tournament play:
The Larry Cain Problem - A sprained ankle severely hampered Cain's effectiveness last week. He had no points and one rebound against New Mexico and two points and five rebounds against UTEP. He played no more than 23 minutes in either contest.
"He has no lateral movement, and it's a lateral game," says Majerus. "That was not Larry Cain out there."
Even if Cain's ankle recovers completely this week, Majerus wonders how effective he'll be. "He hasn't practiced since (Feb. 27)," says Majerus. "He's a manufactured, self-made player, and that kind of player has to practice."
Majerus will try to play Cain sparingly in Thursday's first game, hoping to give the ankle more rest.
The Darroll Wright Problem - Wright was suspended from the team the last three games of the regular season after being cited for possession of marijuana as well as for academic shortcomings. Most observers believe that he'll return for the WAC tournament, but Majerus says he hasn't decided yet and probably won't decide until Thursday. The Utes took Wright on the UNM-UTEP road trip, but only to monitor his studies and put him through workouts.
"We'll see what his attitude is," says Majerus. "It's up to him. He's handled himself well so far."
The Depth Problem - Even before this latest turn of events, the Utes were a thin, eight-man team. "Now we're down to six scholarship players without (Cain and Wright)," says Majerus.
The Utes' weak bench was badly exposed last week. They led New Mexico by one point with 81/2 minutes to play - and scored only two more points the rest of the game. "We just wore out," says Majerus. At one point in the UTEP game, four Ute players signalled to Majerus that they needed to come out of the game for rest.
"I looked at our bench and we had only three players," says the coach.
Majerus will substitute earlier and more often in the WAC tournament to keep his players fresher.
Cain's injury was one reason the Utes, one of the country's top rebounding teams, were outrebounded in both games last week - a real rarity during the Majerus era. Wright's suspension cost the Utes' their leading scorer and rebounder off the bench, and one of the team's top athletes. His athleticism would have helped the Utes against athletic teams such as UTEP and New Mexico.
Says Majerus, "We're like an automobile with one broken part and one missing part."
Majerus's assistant, Joe Cravens, is hopeful: "Give us a few days to get Darroll back in the rotation and to get Larry healthy and we'll be right back where we were."
Putting the losing streak in perspective - OK, the Utes were swept on last week's New Mexico-UTEP road swing, but that's nothing new. Under Majerus, Utah is 1-7 on that trip. The Utes have won only once in their last 12 games at UTEP, and twice in their last 10 games at UNM.
All their problems notwithstanding, the Utes still had chances to win both games last week. Who could have predicted that the steely-nerved Utes would falter during crunchtime against New Mexico? Who would have thought that UTEP, the worst free-throw shooting team in the WAC, would make 16 of 19 free throws? Who would have thought that Majerus would virtually hand the Miners seven points?
About that technical - Against UTEP, the Utes were trailing by just one point when Majerus protested a foul call. Referee David Hall whistled him for a technical. The Miners made both free throws, both technicals and, on the resulting possession, made a trey - for a seven-point swing.
"The technical hurt us bad," says Majerus. "But I'd do it again. I didn't swear. I told (Hall) I didn't want to get homered. That's all. I never left the box. David Hall is on an ego trip. I think he's on vendetta against us. I'm going to try to talk to him, but I have more access to (Mormon Church leader) Thomas Monson than these officials. He wouldn't come talk to me . . . Then he wants to come over with three or four minutes in the game (to talk) and now I haven't got time. I'm trying to get us back in the game."
The Utes and the WAC tournament - It hasn't been pretty. The Utes are 8-9 in WAC tournament play, and they have never won the championship. They have met archrival BYU in the tournament for three consecutive years and have lost the last two.
Given last week's performance, the Utes need a good showing here now more than ever. "We just have to win this thing," says Ute forward Josh Grant. "We need something to trampoline us into the NCAA tournament."