The end of Alex Jensen’s first season as Utah basketball head coach has gotten rocky, as the Runnin’ Utes head into the Big 12 tournament on a five-game losing streak.
Worse yet, two of Utah’s most uncompetitive efforts all season came in losses against Colorado and Baylor last week.
In both of those contests, the Utes gave up more than 50 points in the first half, and against the Bears, Utah gave up more than 100 points for the first time this season.
Expectations are low for Utah (10-21, 2-16) going into the conference tournament at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City when the No. 16 seed Utes play No. 9 seed Cincinnati in the first round Tuesday (1 p.m. MDT, ESPN+).
Jensen still wants to see that fire in his team, after using words like embarrassing, selfish and disappointing to describe their effort in recent contests.
“(It’s) the same message. It’s an opportunity and it’s hard because there’s no excuse to come out and start the games the way we have,” Jensen said. “We’ve done it before and those have been our best games of the year, I think, is when we’ve come out and started well and sustained it for five or 10 minutes and kept fighting instead of getting down.
“I expect more from the group and I hope they expect more from themselves.”
In the 101-76 loss to Baylor last Saturday, the Bears hit 21 of their first 25 shots and led by as many as 26 points in the first half before taking a 53-33 lead into the break.
In the first half, Baylor converted 10 Utah turnovers into 22 points, and by game’s end, it was 31 points on 16 turnovers.
The Bears also shot 61.5% for the game and dominated most statistical categories.
That loss ensured that Utah had the worst Big 12 conference finish of the past five seasons. The Utes’ two conference wins is the fewest since Iowa State went 0-18 in league play in the 2020-21 season.
Utah will be a heavy underdog against Cincinnati at the conference tournament — ESPN Analytics only gives the Utes a 19.1% chance of victory.
When the Utes and Bearcats met three weeks ago for the only time during the regular season, it was one of Utah’s best chances to earn a Big 12 win that slipped away.
The Utes overcame a nine-point first-half deficit and had one of their better defensive games of the season, as Utah held a 65-60 lead with under two minutes to play.
Cincinnati scored the game’s final nine points, though, squandering a chance for the Utes to grab a road win.
“I thought we played hard, and it’s a shame, because I told them all along, we’re good enough to win these games and they’ve done a better job,” Jensen said after that loss. “You got to forget yourself and figure out how you fit into the team and do that job, and we’ll be fine.”
In Kansas City, Utah will face a Cincinnati team that has had its share of ups and downs this season.
While the Bearcats (17-14, 9-9) have wins against Iowa State, Kansas and BYU to bolster their résumé, they are likely on the wrong side of the NCAA bubble going to the Big 12 tournament and need to make a run to enhance their chances.
The winner of Tuesday’s game will face No. 8 seed UCF in the second round, and the winner of that contest is set to face top-seeded Arizona in the Big 12 tournament quarterfinals.
Jensen would like to have that momentum builder that a win in Kansas City could bring, not only for his program but for his players as well.
“I think it’d go a long way, just (building) momentum. I think there’s always momentum throughout the year and even going into the offseason,” Jensen said. “I think that one of the disappointing things for our guys is I want it for them, and the problem is I think sometimes I want it more than they want it.”
In watching clips from the previous game against the Bearcats, Jensen noticed a common theme this year for Utah. If the Utes did a bit more improving things they can control, like boxing out or talking on defensive possessions, there were potentially more winnable games this season.
Tuesday, they’ll have another chance to show they can control the controllables.
“It’s another opportunity for our guys and it’s another game because I think as coaches or players, you should learn and grow every game. I truly mean that,” Jensen said. “There’s nothing like a tournament experience. You know, it’d be great to win a game and then see what comes after that.”
