- Aug 13, 2009
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I tail the board but just curious about this game. Can Utah score 48 and then you get the free ride for the dog flat bet and the over flat bet. Just wondering.
Utah U vs USC any thoughts
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Utes still in search of first road win at USC
It's two-thirds of the way through the 2011-12 season, and the Runnin' Utes are still hungry for their first road win. They'll look to get it tonight when they take on USC in Pac-12 conference play.
It's the first meeting between the programs in more than a decade, when the Trojans took a 65-60 victory over Utah in a 2000 neutral-site game. The last meeting in USC's Galen Center was won by the Utes, in a 72-70 decision back in 1994. Utah will have a chance to even the all-time series, which it trails 15-14.
Junior center Jason Washburn leads the Utes (5-15, 2-6) with 10.5 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. He scored just six points at UCLA Thursday night, struggling against the Bruins' size and athleticism, but has followed each of his rough outings this season with double-digit outputs in the following game. Utah will need him to step up and shoulder more of the load against the Trojans.
Junior guard Chris Hines has emerged as Utah's leading scorer since conference play opened on Dec. 31, averaging 11.1 points per game. He's scored double figures in 3-of-7 conference starts, including a career-high 21 points at Stanford on Jan. 12.
Freshman point guard Kareem Storey has performed well since stepping into the starting role in lieu of senior Josh Watkins, who was released from the team on Jan. 18. Storey is averaging 9.5 points, six assists and 2.5 boards in three of his four starts this season. He's posted an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.2-to-1, coughing up only nine total turnovers, in those games.
"Kareem is doing a fantastic job at his spot," Hines said of Storey. "Me and Ced know that as junior guards, we have to help the team win. I think we?re helping each other out."
The Utes went 0-2 in nonconference road games, 0-3 in neutral-site games and are 0-4 so far in Pac-12 road games, totalling 0-9 away from the Jon M. Huntsman Center so far this season. They will fight to end that streak tonight against the Pac-12's last-place team.
USC (5-16, 0-8) is led by sophomore guard Maurice Jones, who averages 14.5 points and 3.3 assists per game. Junior forward Aaron Fuller scores 10.6 points with 5.9 rebounds per contest as the team's only other double-digit scorer.
The Trojans have gotten off to a 0-8 start to conference play and are on a skid that totals nine straight losses. They dropped each of their last two contests ? at Oregon State and at home to Colorado ? by an average margin of 21.5 points.
While this may be the Utes' best opportunity of the season to nab a road win, it won't come easy. Despite its slumping conference record, USC has remained close and played competitive games against some of the best teams in the conference. The Trojans lost at Oregon and at Cal ? two teams that currently stand atop the Pac-12 standings ? by an average margin of 3.5 points.
Utah will look to get back to an aggressive, hard-nosed defensive effort, like the one displayed in its win over Arizona State.
"Coach tells us all the time that if you get into mind defensively and make plays defensively, the rim seems to open up," Washburn said. "He always likes to say, ?if you don?t cheat the game, the rim gets big.? That?s where we start, on the defensive end."
It's two-thirds of the way through the 2011-12 season, and the Runnin' Utes are still hungry for their first road win. They'll look to get it tonight when they take on USC in Pac-12 conference play.
It's the first meeting between the programs in more than a decade, when the Trojans took a 65-60 victory over Utah in a 2000 neutral-site game. The last meeting in USC's Galen Center was won by the Utes, in a 72-70 decision back in 1994. Utah will have a chance to even the all-time series, which it trails 15-14.
Junior center Jason Washburn leads the Utes (5-15, 2-6) with 10.5 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. He scored just six points at UCLA Thursday night, struggling against the Bruins' size and athleticism, but has followed each of his rough outings this season with double-digit outputs in the following game. Utah will need him to step up and shoulder more of the load against the Trojans.
Junior guard Chris Hines has emerged as Utah's leading scorer since conference play opened on Dec. 31, averaging 11.1 points per game. He's scored double figures in 3-of-7 conference starts, including a career-high 21 points at Stanford on Jan. 12.
Freshman point guard Kareem Storey has performed well since stepping into the starting role in lieu of senior Josh Watkins, who was released from the team on Jan. 18. Storey is averaging 9.5 points, six assists and 2.5 boards in three of his four starts this season. He's posted an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.2-to-1, coughing up only nine total turnovers, in those games.
"Kareem is doing a fantastic job at his spot," Hines said of Storey. "Me and Ced know that as junior guards, we have to help the team win. I think we?re helping each other out."
The Utes went 0-2 in nonconference road games, 0-3 in neutral-site games and are 0-4 so far in Pac-12 road games, totalling 0-9 away from the Jon M. Huntsman Center so far this season. They will fight to end that streak tonight against the Pac-12's last-place team.
USC (5-16, 0-8) is led by sophomore guard Maurice Jones, who averages 14.5 points and 3.3 assists per game. Junior forward Aaron Fuller scores 10.6 points with 5.9 rebounds per contest as the team's only other double-digit scorer.
The Trojans have gotten off to a 0-8 start to conference play and are on a skid that totals nine straight losses. They dropped each of their last two contests ? at Oregon State and at home to Colorado ? by an average margin of 21.5 points.
While this may be the Utes' best opportunity of the season to nab a road win, it won't come easy. Despite its slumping conference record, USC has remained close and played competitive games against some of the best teams in the conference. The Trojans lost at Oregon and at Cal ? two teams that currently stand atop the Pac-12 standings ? by an average margin of 3.5 points.
Utah will look to get back to an aggressive, hard-nosed defensive effort, like the one displayed in its win over Arizona State.
"Coach tells us all the time that if you get into mind defensively and make plays defensively, the rim seems to open up," Washburn said. "He always likes to say, ?if you don?t cheat the game, the rim gets big.? That?s where we start, on the defensive end."
Injury-depleted USC gives Utah a good road-win opportunity
It may not take long for the Utah Utes to bounce back from Thursday's 76-49 loss to UCLA. They have a prime opportunity to turn things around tonight against USC at the Galen Center.
The Trojans (5-16, 0-8) have lost nine consecutive games and will face the Utes without 7-foot sophomore Dewayne Dedmon, who tore his MCL in a 74-50 loss to Colorado earlier in the week. Dedmon is the fifth scholarship player USC has lost to injury this season, leaving them with just six to finish out the campaign.
"All this injury stuff has caught up to us. Without Dewayne in there, we're just outmanned. We're playing with two walk-ons in our rotations," USC coach Kevin O'Neill told the Daily Trojan. "Every player on our team is playing more minutes than they can handle right now."
The Trojans haven't won a game since topping TCU on Dec. 19. They've dropped 12 of their last 13 outings and are the only Pac-12 team without a conference victory.
Utah, meanwhile, is still searching for its first road win of the season. Dating back to last February in New Mexico, the Utes have dropped 12 straight games away from the Huntsman Center.
"Something has to give. Either they're going to win their first (Pac-12) game or we're going to win our first road game," noted Utah guard Chris Hines. "So it'll be a good night for somebody and hopefully it's us."
The Utes practiced for about an hour Friday and watched a lot of film in preparing for USC. Head coach Larry Krystkowiak said spirits were good and the players came out determined to get better.
They didn't, however, discuss the possibilities associated with facing a depleted USC squad.
"I think it's in the back of everyone's mind that there's certain teams that the stars have to line up perfectly for us to be able to beat and there's other teams where we have more of an opportunity," Krystkowiak said. "But we don't talk about it. I think everybody just kind of knows it."
USC is thinking the same thing, he added, noting there's some similarities between the the programs. At this point, it's about survival.
"We're a couple of teams that need to compete and are desperate to try to get a win," Krystkowiak said before outlining three things Utah must do to secure a victory on the road. The list includes playing hard, playing smart and working together.
"In my opinion, if you can get two out of those three you're going to win a majority of your games," Krystkowiak said.
It may not take long for the Utah Utes to bounce back from Thursday's 76-49 loss to UCLA. They have a prime opportunity to turn things around tonight against USC at the Galen Center.
The Trojans (5-16, 0-8) have lost nine consecutive games and will face the Utes without 7-foot sophomore Dewayne Dedmon, who tore his MCL in a 74-50 loss to Colorado earlier in the week. Dedmon is the fifth scholarship player USC has lost to injury this season, leaving them with just six to finish out the campaign.
"All this injury stuff has caught up to us. Without Dewayne in there, we're just outmanned. We're playing with two walk-ons in our rotations," USC coach Kevin O'Neill told the Daily Trojan. "Every player on our team is playing more minutes than they can handle right now."
The Trojans haven't won a game since topping TCU on Dec. 19. They've dropped 12 of their last 13 outings and are the only Pac-12 team without a conference victory.
Utah, meanwhile, is still searching for its first road win of the season. Dating back to last February in New Mexico, the Utes have dropped 12 straight games away from the Huntsman Center.
"Something has to give. Either they're going to win their first (Pac-12) game or we're going to win our first road game," noted Utah guard Chris Hines. "So it'll be a good night for somebody and hopefully it's us."
The Utes practiced for about an hour Friday and watched a lot of film in preparing for USC. Head coach Larry Krystkowiak said spirits were good and the players came out determined to get better.
They didn't, however, discuss the possibilities associated with facing a depleted USC squad.
"I think it's in the back of everyone's mind that there's certain teams that the stars have to line up perfectly for us to be able to beat and there's other teams where we have more of an opportunity," Krystkowiak said. "But we don't talk about it. I think everybody just kind of knows it."
USC is thinking the same thing, he added, noting there's some similarities between the the programs. At this point, it's about survival.
"We're a couple of teams that need to compete and are desperate to try to get a win," Krystkowiak said before outlining three things Utah must do to secure a victory on the road. The list includes playing hard, playing smart and working together.
"In my opinion, if you can get two out of those three you're going to win a majority of your games," Krystkowiak said.
I've seen both and Utah is not too bad, just young. But Sagarin rates USC 15 POINTS better at home.
Utah +12 for me... Both teams are horrid, but I'll take a dozen with a team that at least has a couple conference wins. Utah 1-8 ATS on road and USC 1-10 ATS @ home... something has to give. Total is 108ish so guessing a 57-50 type grinder.
Sorry to anyone who followed my lead... can't watch this horrid game, but 32-14 at half USC... WOW! When Utah wants to suck, they sure fucking SUCK! How did they win 2 conference games and beat Arizona State 64-43???