Utah Utes basketball: Team hoping for turnaround in final month of play

SALT LAKE CITY — To some folks, it looks like the Utah basketball team may have hit rock-bottom Wednesday night when the Utes were beaten by an average Colorado State team 65-50 at home.

That hasn't happened since 1992 when the Utes, under third-year coach Rick Majerus, were beaten by the Rams by an almost identical 67-48 score at the Huntsman Center. That '92 loss put the Utes two games under .500 in league play just as this year's Utes find themselves under third-year coach Jim Boylen this year at 3-5.

The question is whether this year's Utes can respond like that Ute team did 18 years ago. In '92, the Utes went on a six-game winning streak and finished 9-7 in the WAC and earned a berth in the NIT, where they made it to the Final Four.

In order to finish 9-7 in Mountain West Conference play, with an outside shot at the NIT, the Utes will need to win six of their eight remaining games on the league schedule. That will be tough, considering how the Utes' season has gone so far.

While the Utes have enjoyed better than expected seasons from sophomore center David Foster (fourth in the nation in blocked shots), freshman guard Marshall Henderson (11.5 ppg) and JC transfer Jay Watkins (10.6 ppg, 4.5 rpg), the play of the three returning veterans has been disappointing.

While Carlon Brown leads the team in scoring, he also leads the team in turnovers with 3.1 per game and is shooting just 41.9 percent from the field. Luka Drca, the top returning 3-point shooter from last year, is hitting just 29 percent from behind the arc and has a negative assist-to-turnover ratio in MWC play.

Then there's senior Kim Tillie, who still misses layups and leads the team in fouls, despite being just seventh in minutes played. And his minutes are decreasing as the season wears on.

Boylen says he feels like he's never got past point A and on to points C and D with his young team this year because of the injuries and missed games to five key players.

Watkins has missed eight games because of a recurring abdominal injury and the death of his stepfather. Jason Washburn missed six weeks of preseason practice because of a knee injury and has missed three games due to a concussion and an illness. Foster missed a game and a half with an ankle injury and has been hobbled by a sore knee. Tillie missed two weeks after knee surgery and Henderson missed the CSU game because of a suspension for hitting a BYU player. Also, Drca suffered back spasms last week, missed practice and was ineffective against the Rams.