With only a handful of parents and family members allowed to attend Saturday’s regular-season finale pitting Utah against Arizona State at the Huntsman Center, the usual Senior Day activities won’t take place this year.
Former walk-on Brooks King, a redshirt junior who was put on scholarship last year, and senior Alfonso Plummer will receive some nice parting gifts — although Plummer won’t necessarily be departing — and a video presentation will be shown on the big screen before tipoff (more on Plummer’s situation later).
“It won’t be a typical ceremony (because) it doesn’t have the same elements maybe that a normal year would have,” coach Larry Krystkowiak said.
“Well, when the NCAA came out and said you can come back, Fons (Plummer) was excited about that. So that’s my hope. Beyond that, we are not talking about next year. We are talking about trying to beat Arizona State. Those meetings aren’t really relevant right now.” — Utah basketball coach Larry Krystkowiak
But there is still something riding on the first matchup of the season between the Utes and Sun Devils (noon MST, FS1), a makeup game for one that has been postponed twice. Saturday’s winner will be the No. 7 seed in the Pac-12 Tournament that starts next week, while the loser will get the No. 8 seed.
Utah (10-12, 7-11 Pac-12) and Arizona State (10-12, 7-9) will actually finish in the eighth and ninth spots in the league race, but because fifth-place Arizona is ineligible for postseason play, both will move up a notch.
The No. 7 seed will take on No. 10 Washington next Wednesday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, while the No. 8 seed will deal with No. 9 Washington State. The Utes split their series with the Huskies, each winning on their home floor, and won 71-56 in their only matchup with Washington State.
“You always have to be careful what you wish for,” Krystkowiak said, declining to speculate on the difference between the seeds, “so it is just a matter of letting it all play out.”
Of course, the 8-9 game winner gets the No. 1 seed on Thursday, while the 7-10 game winner gets the second seed. But as was spelled out Thursday by the Deseret News, there is not a lot of difference between the Pac-12’s top four teams, which all appear NCAA Tournament-bound: Oregon, USC, UCLA and Colorado.
Speaking of getting what they wish for, the Utes would like to see the high-scoring Plummer return for the extra year granted by the NCAA due to the pandemic, Krystkowiak reiterated Friday in a Zoom meeting with reporters.
“Well, when the NCAA came out and said you can come back, Fons was excited about that, so that’s my hope, you know?” Krystkowiak said. “Beyond that, we are not talking about next year. We are talking about trying to beat Arizona State. Those meetings aren’t really relevant right now.”
Later Friday, Plummer, who is the second-leading scorer on the team with a 13.1 average, told the Deseret News he hasn’t decided yet what he will do. He said he has really enjoyed his two seasons at Utah — he began his college career at Arizona Western College in Yuma, Arizona — but will weigh all his options after the season and talk to as many people as possible before deciding.
“Right now, my focus is basketball, and we will see what is going to happen after the season,” he said, noting that he will get his degree in international studies this spring but is also close to getting another degree in sports management that could be accomplished with one more year in school.
“Nothing has been decided yet,” he said.
As for King, who prepped at Centennial High in Boise, Idaho, he’s got another year of eligibility left, having redshirted in 2017-18, but is also graduating with a degree in finance and is ready to move on.
“Brooks is done playing basketball,” Krystkowiak said. “Fons is not done playing basketball.”
King has appeared in only three games and played only two minutes, as blowouts have been rare for Utah this season, both ways. He hasn’t taken a shot.
The game doesn’t figure to be a blowout, although ASU was routed 75-61 by Colorado Thursday, snapping a three-game winning streak, so there might not be a King sighting.
“Against Arizona State, you’ve got your hands full with some elite players,” Krystkowiak said.
The Sun Devils got 15 points from Holland Woods and 10 from Kimani Lawrence against the Buffs, but the player that stirs the drink is Remy Martin.
He leads the Pac-12 in scoring and is 21st in the country with a 20.5 average. ASU’s second-leading scorer, among players who are healthy now, is Alonzo Verge Jr., who has a 12.7 average and a team-high 79 assists.
Marcus Bagley, brother of NBA player Marvin Bagley, played Thursday for the first time since Jan. 30 and had seven rebounds.
“They play a unique style, probably unlike any (in the league), in terms of pace and really looking to play up tempo and getting out in passing lanes and to disrupt guys,” Krystkowiak said. “They are more undersized than a lot of teams in our league, so it is a unique scout, but I think we’re both at the point of the season where there is enough information on them.”
Arizona State (10-12, 7-9) at Utah (10-12, 7-11)
Saturday, noon MST
At the Jon M. Huntsman Center
TV: Fox Sports 1
Radio: ESPN 700 AM