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Last week, I attended Big 12 Basketball media day in Kansas City, Missouri. Guess who was also there? Former Utah star Timmy Allen.
Allen transferred to Texas, and the Longhorns are ranked No. 5 in the Associated Press preseason poll. I had never talked to Allen before, but he was amiable and he expressed his appreciation for the time he spent with the Utes.
“It’s a lot different at Texas. The weather is different and my basketball situation is a lot different. I’m really thankful for my three years at Utah,” he said. “I have a lot of basketball memories that will last a lifetime. I made a lot of great relationships with people and teammates that I created during those three years.”
Utah’s basketball program has undergone a major overhaul as Craig Smith is in his first season at the helm. The Runnin’ Utes are picked to finish 10th in the Pac-12 preseason basketball poll.
Smith said last week he still wasn’t sure about his starting five, which he said was a good thing.
Utah tips off the 2021-22 season at home on Nov. 9 against Abilene Christian.
Numbers game
12-13: Utah’s overall record in the Pac-12 last season.
8: Where the Utes finished last year in the Pac-12 standings.
17.2: Team-high points per game averaged by Timmy Allen last season.
From the archives
Extra points
- Utah football report card: Utes’ defense doesn’t hold up its end of the bargain in loss to Oregon State (Deseret News)
- Devin Lloyd gets called for targeting, will miss 1st half vs. UCLA (Deseret News)
- This Utah playmaker’s emergence has been years in the making. Here’s how come (Deseret News)
- How Tavion Thomas went from homelessness to finding a place at Utah (Deseret News)
- Bowl projections: Kyle Whittingham vs. Bronco Mendenhall? (Deseret News)
Fanalyst
Comments from Deseret News readers
“It’s going to be a good game. UCLA doesn’t present the same matchup challenges that Oregon State did. Also, they won’t be coming off a bye and we get them at home. Both of us are coming off of a tough loss to an Oregon team. We are absolutely going to give up some big plays because ULCA is very good at doing that, but as long as we minimize our mistakes and just keep the pressure on, we’ll be in good shape. I haven’t look at the odds yet, but I’d think that home field advantage swings it in our favor.”
— Not_paying_for_the_Trib
“I suspect we’ll fare better at RES against UCLA....I don’t anticipate getting gouged like we were against OSU & that’ll make things easier for our back-end .... We’ll surrender some yards but not to the same extent.”
— AZUte5
Up next
Oct. 28 | 8 p.m. | Soccer | vs. Arizona | @Tuscon, Arizona | Pac-12 Network
Oct. 29 | 7 p.m. | Women’s volleyball | vs. Oregon | @Eugene, Oregon | Pac-12 Network
Oct. 30 | 8 p.m. | Football | vs. UCLA | @Salt Lake City | ESPN
Oct. 31 | 2 p.m. | Soccer | vs. Arizona State | @Tempe, Arizona | ASU Live Stream
Oct. 31 | Noon | Women’s volleyball | vs. Oregon State | @Corvallis, Oregon | Pac-12 Network