SALT LAKE CITY — The first thing Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak talked about after his team’s 73-57 loss to UCLA Sunday afternoon was the Utes’ poor shooting.
“The first half there was sure a lid on the rim and we missed a bunch of open shots,” he said, adding that many of the shots were uncontested.
He also talked about how there has been “a different storyline” in each of the Utes’ five league road losses, blowouts to experienced and physical Colorado and Arizona teams, “not enough plays” against Arizona State and a close loss to USC in which the Utes led for most of the game.
But a common theme among all the losses was poor shooting, which hurt the Utes again on Sunday.
The Utes shot 39.3% against the Bruins, marking the sixth time in nine league games that the Utes have shot under 40% from the field.
Krystkowiak believes he has good shooters and has no good reason why his team hasn’t shot well in league play, except that it’s harder on the road.
“I’m not a psychiatrist with each guy — we do plenty of shooting,“ he said. “(Shooting’s) a big part of the game, it’s the million-dollar question. It’s something you need to talk about and fix if you’re not getting the kind of shots you’re looking for.”
In Pac-12 play, the Utes rank 11th in field goal percentage at 40.2% and if not for their 63% outing in the win over Washington State, they would certainly rank last.
“We’ll continue to put time in. That’s one of the many skills it takes to win a game,” said Krystkowiak.
“Shots will fall or they won’t, but we can’t let that affect how we defend the ball,” said Timmy Allen, who had 13 points and a career-high eight assists Sunday. “This is the grind-it-out part of the season — we either give in or chest up and get on to the next possession or the next game.”
The Utes, who fell to 3-6, 10th place in the Pac-12, will play Stanford on Thursday night (8 p.m.) and Cal on Saturday night (6 p.m.) at the Huntsman Center.
Utes on the air
Utah (12-9, 3-6) vs.
Stanford (16-5, 5-3)
Huntsman Center
Thursday, 8 p.m.
TV: Pac-12 Networks
Radio: 700 AM