Episode 26 – Everybody seems to be losing…

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Sports fans in the state of Utah seem to be going through a feast-or-famine cycle this past year. All of the major teams have displayed phases of impressive winning followed by phases of equally impressive losing. Some of the teams have done more of the former (The Utah Jazz, BYU football and basketball) and others more of the latter (Utah Basketball, USU football), but they have always been in a state of flux, to an extent.

This is one of the universal truths of sports, of course, and part of what engages fans about it. Teams that are up will fall; teams that are down will rise. Good players will come and go, wins will stack up and losses will stockpile. The most obvious example of this at the moment is the Utah Jazz, who celebrated their recent six-game winning streak by losing four in a row. They managed to right the ship last night by beating a red-hot Golden State Warriors team, but, again, how long that lasts will remain to be seen.

Of course, such a dramatic slide in the second half of the season raises a few concerns. The fan base of the Jazz is comprised of knowledgeable people for the most part, although we have a tendency to panic whenever we perceive any waver or wobble, no matter how slight. Now, there is nothing slight about a four game losing streak – particularly the way Utah lost some of them – but I think it might be a bit early to start jumping off the bandwagon.

Jerry Sloan, among others, has mentioned the overall youth of the team as a likely culprit for this most recent hiccup. I would never question the proverbial wisdom of Coach Sloan (and I’m not really right now) but I think it is about time to put the “young team” argument to bed. I mean, Deron Williams has only started around 100 games as a professional and is already one of the two best point guards to ever wear a Utah Jazz uniform (perhaps a bit of exaggeration right now, but will not be in another year or two).

In other top stories, BYU did not fare well against two different organizations this last week: 1) Xavier University and 2) The officiating crew at the Lexington regional. I try not to blame losses on officials (although it happens from time to time), and the Cougars certainly had their chances to win, but it was basically a road game for BYU. I really don’t think a professional officiating crew ever goes into a game intending to call it for one team, but they do tend to let their own emotions (or the emotion of the crowd) get in the way of things. I think there were some warm and fuzzy feelings on behalf of Xavier in the matchup, and it certainly didn’t help the cause for BYU. Worse still, they just might have had a shot at Ohio State, from the looks of things.

Utah State suffered an ignominious one-and-done in the NIT, losing in Michigan to the Wolverines. I guess that ends this year’s quest for the Aggies to become the 66^th best team in the country. The future looks bright, though; USU has had the most consistent basketball tradition in the state for the past several seasons, and I think the program is safe in Stew Morrill’s hands.

The Top Three in Utah:

3. Deron Williams

2. Paul Millsap

1. Carlos Boozer

There is, as always, lots more in the podcast. Please check it out, and please visit our sponsor, ShieldZone. Thanks for stopping by, and come again soon!

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zach@utahsportscast.com

nate@utahsportscast.com

posted by Nate and Zach @ 10:42 AM