The offensive numbers weren’t pretty, but the University of Utah men’s basketball team remains undeterred after getting swept in its first Pac-12 road swing of the young season.
“We are on the right path,” said sophomore point guard Rylan Jones following the Utes’ 64-46 loss at USC on Saturday, a setback that saw the Utes make just 17 of 61 shot attempts, including just 4 of 30 in the second half.
It was Utah’s lowest scoring output since it fell 62-45 at Washington on Feb. 20, 2019.
“We were getting good looks, we just missed them,” said Jones. “We just have to find our rhythm on offense, get in a groove, see a couple go in, and I think that will kick off some wins.”
Utah’s shooting was more than respectable in Thursday’s 72-70 loss at UCLA — 50% from the field and 41% from 3-point range — but the Trojans are known as one of the best defensive teams in the country, and it showed. The Utes got nine of their shots blocked, but when they went outside they simply misfired: they were 3 of 22 from deep.
“We were getting good looks, we just missed them. We just have to find our rhythm on offense, get in a groove, see a couple go in, and I think that will kick off some wins.” — Utah point guard Rylan Jones
USC is the tallest team in the country, according to Kenpom.com, a fact that Jones and coach Larry Krystkowiak both referenced after Utah’s shooting struggles at the empty Galen Center.
“They got a lot of length. I thought we shared the ball well. We got some pretty good looks. We just missed them,” said Jones, who was 1 of 3 from the field. “I think we just gotta keep getting better on offense, and have our defense lead to our offense, and we just gotta make shots. That’s pretty much it.”
The good news for the Utes is that their next four games are at home, beginning Wednesday with a late-night special (9 p.m. MST) against Oregon State. The Beavers improved to 5-3 overall, 1-1 in league play, with a 73-64 win over California on Saturday. They are scheduled to host Stanford on Monday in Corvallis before departing for Salt Lake City on Tuesday to play their third game in five days on Wednesday.
“I think the season is going to be a ‘survival of the fittest’ scenario and you have to have a mindset that you are not playing too many games in a row,” Krystkowiak said.
It will also be important for the Utes to shrug off their offensive woes against the Trojans, and just chalk it up to USC’s defensive prowess, the coach said. The Trojans are ninth in the country in field-goal percentage defense (36.3%) and holding opponents to 31.5% shooting from 3-point range.
So the Utes have some company.
Krystkowiak said if the Utes keep playing good defense, the offense will take care of itself.
“But we gotta make some strides (offensively),” he said. “It is going to be on us to put our guys in position to be successful. Our guys have to make plays after the play, where it is a little bit more of an audible. … And you need to get some rhythm and get some confidence together.”
While not making excuses for the poor shooting — Timmy Allen was 2 of 14, Alfonso Plummer was 3 of 11 and Riley Battin was 1 of 6 — Jones said it has been difficult to get into an offensive rhythm due to the season “being a little weird” this year.
“It is hard to find your rhythm, because rhythm (comes from) consistency and there is no consistency this year,” he said.
Krystkowiak was pleased with the defensive effort in both games, especially the way the Utes got into the passing lanes and forced 15 USC turnovers. The Utes had 15 points off turnovers, often turning their eight steals into fast breaks for easy layups or dunks.
“Our guys are buying into some things defensively and our offense is behind our defense right now,” he said. “So that is going to be a challenge for us. I look forward to jumping into it this week.”
Bottom line, though, the coach said, is that Utah’s offense is putting too much pressure on its defense when it shoots as poorly as it did Saturday “with teams of this caliber.”
Through seven games, Utah (4-3, 1-2 Pac-12) is shooting 42% from the field and 32% from 3-point range.
“I told them, ‘we are going to put some time into offense, and we better not forget how important defense is,’” Krystkowiak said. “But we have got to make some strides as we head into conference right now getting a lot more functional offensively than we have.”
So four made field goals in the entire second half never happens again.