Giacoletti saw positives even in defeat

With the loss to Southern Utah now in the rearview mirror, Utah coach Ray Giacoletti hopes he has addressed the main problem that led to his team's shocking loss.

"On the defensive end we didn't defend the ball screens and extended screens," he said. "To Southern Utah's credit, they got open baskets and did a great job once they got into a rhythm."

The T-Birds shot a sizzling 65 percent from the field, which overshadowed some good things the Utes did, like shoot 56 percent from the field themselves and commit only 11 turnovers, well below last year's average of 16 per game.

Also the play of several newcomers, most notably freshman forwards Stephen Weigh and Kim Tillie, showed that this may be the deepest Ute team in a long time.

Even though he used 11 players, Giacoletti said winning is the main thing and that he won't sacrifice victories in order to get players needed experience. And he did acknowledge his substituting could have been better Friday.

"We can't sub five for five," he said of his mid-half substitution of four new players and a sophomore when the Utes lost a 10-point lead in about a minute. Giacoletti said it was a bad combination of when the break in the action came and some players asking for a break.

Giacoletti said it may take a few games to figure out which players should play and how much.

"We're trying to find a rotation that fits," he said.

NOT QUITE AS BAD: At least Friday's loss wasn't as embarrassing as the Utes' opening-game home loss some old-timers might recall from 27 years ago.

It happened on Nov. 30, 1979 when Danny Vranes and Tom Chambers were juniors and the Utes lost to a non-Division I team called Midwestern 70-69 on a last-second shot at the Huntsman Center.

After the loss, that Ute team lost their second game at Weber State but went on to finish 18-10 and second place in the WAC.

UNDERRATED: Chris Grant is the most underrated player on the Ute team, by far. With all the new players coming this year, a lot of folks forgot all about the walk-on from East High. However, he earned a starting spot and was the most effective player in the season opener.

When the junior guard was on the floor Friday against SUU, the Utes were 18 points better than their opponent. When he wasn't, they were 21 points worse.

Grant played the first 8:13 of the game and left with the Utes up 22-12. He didn't play the rest of the half and the Utes fell behind 44-39.