The finish of Alex Jensen’s first season as Utah basketball head coach has gotten rocky, because the Runnin’ Utes head into the Big 12 event on a five-game shedding streak.
Worse but, two of Utah’s most uncompetitive efforts all season got here in losses towards Colorado and Baylor final week.
In each of these contests, the Utes gave up greater than 50 factors within the first half, and towards the Bears, Utah gave up greater than 100 factors for the primary time this season.
Expectations are low for Utah (10-21, 2-16) going into the convention event at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City when the No. 16 seed Utes play No. 9 seed Cincinnati within the first spherical Tuesday (1 p.m. MDT, ESPN+).
Jensen nonetheless needs to see that fireside in his staff, after utilizing phrases like embarrassing, egocentric and disappointing to describe their effort in current 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 stated. “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 final Saturday, the Bears hit 21 of their first 25 photographs and led by as many as 26 factors within the first half earlier than taking a 53-33 lead into the break.
In the primary half, Baylor transformed 10 Utah turnovers into 22 factors, and by recreation’s finish, it was 31 factors on 16 turnovers.
The Bears additionally shot 61.5% for the sport and dominated most statistical classes.
That loss ensured that Utah had the worst Big 12 convention end of the previous 5 seasons. The Utes’ two convention wins is the fewest since Iowa State went 0-18 in league play within the 2020-21 season.
Utah will likely be a heavy underdog towards Cincinnati on the convention event — ESPN Analytics solely provides the Utes a 19.1% chance of victory.
When the Utes and Bearcats met three weeks in the past for the one time through the common season, it was one among Utah’s finest possibilities to earn a Big 12 win that slipped away.
The Utes overcame a nine-point first-half deficit and had one among their higher defensive video games of the season, as Utah held a 65-60 lead with underneath two minutes to play.
Cincinnati scored the sport’s remaining 9 factors, although, squandering an opportunity for the Utes to seize a highway 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 stated 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 staff that has had its share of ups and downs this season.
While the Bearcats (17-14, 9-9) have wins towards Iowa State, Kansas and BYU to bolster their résumé, they’re probably on the improper facet of the NCAA bubble going to the Big 12 event and wish to make a run to improve their possibilities.
The winner of Tuesday’s recreation will face No. 8 seed UCF within the second spherical, and the winner of that contest is about to face top-seeded Arizona within the Big 12 event quarterfinals.
Jensen would really like to have that momentum builder {that a} win in Kansas City might carry, not just for his program however for his gamers as nicely.
“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 stated. “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 earlier recreation towards the Bearcats, Jensen seen a standard theme this yr for Utah. If the Utes did a bit extra bettering issues they’ll management, like boxing out or speaking on defensive possessions, there have been probably extra winnable video games this season.
Tuesday, they’ll have one other probability to present they’ll management 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 stated. “There’s nothing like a tournament experience. You know, it’d be great to win a game and then see what comes after that.”
