[SamuelMcF]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptbaxdvDslo

Utah, 12-9 (3-6), is favored by 1. This is likely due to a few factors: their upset win at home vs. Kentucky, taking Oregon to the wire at home, our road collapses against USC and Cal, the altitude, and Tyrell Terry's questionable health. They don't run very tall - on paper it's actually a very similar team size-wise to ours, including a bigger C and another G as their 6th/7th men - and they also don't run that deep, with 8 significant contributors. One of the only teams actually younger than ours as their starting 5 are all frosh and sophs. According to KenPom metrics this should be a win, but we can't take any road conference games for granted!

[SamuelMcF]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptbaxdvDslo

Utah, 12-9 (3-6), is favored by 1. This is likely due to a few factors: their upset win at home vs. Kentucky, taking Oregon to the wire at home, our road collapses against USC and Cal, the altitude, and Tyrell Terry's questionable health. They don't run very tall - on paper it's actually a very similar team size-wise to ours, including a bigger C and another G as their 6th/7th men - and they also don't run that deep, with 8 significant contributors. One of the only teams actually younger than ours as their starting 5 are all frosh and sophs. According to KenPom metrics this should be a win, but we can't take any road conference games for granted!

[Papa John]

The elevation of the Jon M. Huntsman Center at U. of Utah is 4780 feet. The elevation of CU-Boulder is 5345 feet. I hope the team stays at high altitude between the Utah and Colorado games.

[Papa John]

The elevation of the Jon M. Huntsman Center at U. of Utah is 4780 feet. The elevation of CU-Boulder is 5345 feet. I hope the team stays at high altitude between the Utah and Colorado games.

[burger]

I hate, hate, hate that Larry Scott added high-elevation teams to the league.  I lived at high elevation for years, and this is a giant home-court advantage for Utah and CU.  It takes about 48 hours to even begin to acclimate to elevation--and several weeks to fully acclimate.  Visiting teams simply do not have the time to acclimate.  I can't believe that no one at the conference office thought about this when looking to expand.

That said, the Tourney selection committee will not take elevation into account when evaluating our record, so we really need a win tonight over a mediocre Utah team.  Colorado will be much tougher and would not be a bad loss on our schedule.

[burger]

I hate, hate, hate that Larry Scott added high-elevation teams to the league.  I lived at high elevation for years, and this is a giant home-court advantage for Utah and CU.  It takes about 48 hours to even begin to acclimate to elevation--and several weeks to fully acclimate.  Visiting teams simply do not have the time to acclimate.  I can't believe that no one at the conference office thought about this when looking to expand.

That said, the Tourney selection committee will not take elevation into account when evaluating our record, so we really need a win tonight over a mediocre Utah team.  Colorado will be much tougher and would not be a bad loss on our schedule.

[AlbanyCardinal]

What have you (or anyone) heard about Terry's "questionable health"? Are you just going on the past few games in which he's been banged up, or was anything released or stated officially?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptbaxdvDslo

Utah, 12-9 (3-6), is favored by 1. This is likely due to a few factors: their upset win at home vs. Kentucky, taking Oregon to the wire at home, our road collapses against USC and Cal, the altitude, and Tyrell Terry's questionable health. They don't run very tall - on paper it's actually a very similar team size-wise to ours, including a bigger C and another G as their 6th/7th men - and they also don't run that deep, with 8 significant contributors. One of the only teams actually younger than ours as their starting 5 are all frosh and sophs. According to KenPom metrics this should be a win, but we can't take any road conference games for granted!

[AlbanyCardinal]

What have you (or anyone) heard about Terry's "questionable health"? Are you just going on the past few games in which he's been banged up, or was anything released or stated officially?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptbaxdvDslo

Utah, 12-9 (3-6), is favored by 1. This is likely due to a few factors: their upset win at home vs. Kentucky, taking Oregon to the wire at home, our road collapses against USC and Cal, the altitude, and Tyrell Terry's questionable health. They don't run very tall - on paper it's actually a very similar team size-wise to ours, including a bigger C and another G as their 6th/7th men - and they also don't run that deep, with 8 significant contributors. One of the only teams actually younger than ours as their starting 5 are all frosh and sophs. According to KenPom metrics this should be a win, but we can't take any road conference games for granted!

[SamuelMcF]

What have you (or anyone) heard about Terry's "questionable health"? Are you just going on the past few games in which he's been banged up, or was anything released or stated officially?

Just the past few games. Haase said before the Oregon game that he was held out of practice as a precaution that week. Standard freshman season wear-and-tear, I think.

[SamuelMcF]

What have you (or anyone) heard about Terry's "questionable health"? Are you just going on the past few games in which he's been banged up, or was anything released or stated officially?

Just the past few games. Haase said before the Oregon game that he was held out of practice as a precaution that week. Standard freshman season wear-and-tear, I think.

[needle]

Wills hurt bad. Achilles?

[needle]

Wills hurt bad. Achilles?

[PVTree]

Looks like a bad ankle sprain.

Another frustrating loss where the offense disappeared for too long a stretch.

Had the lead with less than a minute to go, and we weren't able to get a stop to win the game.

[PVTree]

Looks like a bad ankle sprain.

Another frustrating loss where the offense disappeared for too long a stretch.

Had the lead with less than a minute to go, and we weren't able to get a stop to win the game.

[chrisk]

Looks like a bad ankle sprain.

Another frustrating loss where the offense disappeared for too long a stretch.

Had the lead with less than a minute to go, and we weren't able to get a stop to win the game.

Finishes first half of conference 5-4. Can they rally for an NIT bid?

[chrisk]

Looks like a bad ankle sprain.

Another frustrating loss where the offense disappeared for too long a stretch.

Had the lead with less than a minute to go, and we weren't able to get a stop to win the game.

Finishes first half of conference 5-4. Can they rally for an NIT bid?

[winflop]

Sweet Sixteen caliber defense
RPI 200+ caliber offense
I have no idea whether they will make the NCAAs or the NIT. All depends on whether they can hit open shots. More often than not over the last month, they haven't.

[winflop]

Sweet Sixteen caliber defense
RPI 200+ caliber offense
I have no idea whether they will make the NCAAs or the NIT. All depends on whether they can hit open shots. More often than not over the last month, they haven't.

[burger]

It seems like our shot selection has gotten worse as the season goes on.  The kid who had 8 blocks last night was averaging less than one a game--we just teed it up for him time and time again. 

And it's not just one of our players--it's the whole team.  We're 307th in D-I in the % of shots blocked on offense.  Utah has a bad defense this season, but we made them look great.  I wonder sometimes if Haase is coaching awareness of where defenders are.  Just because you are near the basket does not mean you have a good shot.

[burger]

It seems like our shot selection has gotten worse as the season goes on.  The kid who had 8 blocks last night was averaging less than one a game--we just teed it up for him time and time again. 

And it's not just one of our players--it's the whole team.  We're 307th in D-I in the % of shots blocked on offense.  Utah has a bad defense this season, but we made them look great.  I wonder sometimes if Haase is coaching awareness of where defenders are.  Just because you are near the basket does not mean you have a good shot.

[Farm93]

During the season the team has scored successfully on a number of attempts in the paint that weren't exactly power dunks.   I would guess the Utah center was aware of the weak sh.. the Stanford players were scoring on this season.   He seemed quite prepared for the idea that Stanford's play in the paint might give him a chance at a triple-double.

Don't know why Stanford didn't dribble penetrate and kick out more, but that's hard to just toss into the plan if the team has not been doing that all season.

In the end losing at Utah and Colorado is a tough weekend, but one that was always in the realm.   Colorado had a tough game against UCB, so that's a positive.   However, Davis and Terry both played close to 40 minutes.   That's a lot for a Thur/Sat combination with air travel between two games at elevation.

Lots of major accomplishments are still in reach.   Given the Haase pattern I don't think this will just be a mid-season dip, but if they string together a few wins all would be OK.

[Farm93]

During the season the team has scored successfully on a number of attempts in the paint that weren't exactly power dunks.   I would guess the Utah center was aware of the weak sh.. the Stanford players were scoring on this season.   He seemed quite prepared for the idea that Stanford's play in the paint might give him a chance at a triple-double.

Don't know why Stanford didn't dribble penetrate and kick out more, but that's hard to just toss into the plan if the team has not been doing that all season.

In the end losing at Utah and Colorado is a tough weekend, but one that was always in the realm.   Colorado had a tough game against UCB, so that's a positive.   However, Davis and Terry both played close to 40 minutes.   That's a lot for a Thur/Sat combination with air travel between two games at elevation.

Lots of major accomplishments are still in reach.   Given the Haase pattern I don't think this will just be a mid-season dip, but if they string together a few wins all would be OK.

[Viking_Guy]

The other thing is that they're still playing offensively like they don't know how to win tight games.  Terry plays in crunch time like a talented freshman - trying to do too much on his own.  He had two REALLY bad turnovers late in the game last night where he drove into the paint, one where the ball was poked away from him because of a loose dribble and the other when he got too deep, realized the shot-blocker was waiting, and tried to curl a pass around 3 defenders in the lane.

Davis getting trapped under the rim, da Silva trying enough upfakes to give the shot-blocker time to setup... it all needs work.

I will give them this, they are interesting to watch.  In past seasons, this would've been a double-digit loss, but that defense is just outstanding.

Oh, and the absolute BS blocking call on Kisunas with the score tied near the end of regulation didn't help.

VG

[Viking_Guy]

The other thing is that they're still playing offensively like they don't know how to win tight games.  Terry plays in crunch time like a talented freshman - trying to do too much on his own.  He had two REALLY bad turnovers late in the game last night where he drove into the paint, one where the ball was poked away from him because of a loose dribble and the other when he got too deep, realized the shot-blocker was waiting, and tried to curl a pass around 3 defenders in the lane.

Davis getting trapped under the rim, da Silva trying enough upfakes to give the shot-blocker time to setup... it all needs work.

I will give them this, they are interesting to watch.  In past seasons, this would've been a double-digit loss, but that defense is just outstanding.

Oh, and the absolute BS blocking call on Kisunas with the score tied near the end of regulation didn't help.

VG

[81alum]

Oh, and the absolute BS blocking call on Kisunas with the score tied near the end of regulation didn't help.

VG

I haven't played the game at that level nor have I ever refereed, so I don't really have the background needed to evaluate the job the referees were doing.  But that call and a few others sure seemed to my casual eyes to be questionable, and the TV announcers thought so too.  Perhaps this is the real reason for home court advantage--it is not that the players feed on the energy of the crowd, but the refs do?

[81alum]

Oh, and the absolute BS blocking call on Kisunas with the score tied near the end of regulation didn't help.

VG

I haven't played the game at that level nor have I ever refereed, so I don't really have the background needed to evaluate the job the referees were doing.  But that call and a few others sure seemed to my casual eyes to be questionable, and the TV announcers thought so too.  Perhaps this is the real reason for home court advantage--it is not that the players feed on the energy of the crowd, but the refs do?

[burger]

 Perhaps this is the real reason for home court advantage--it is not that the players feed on the energy of the crowd, but the refs do?

You're correct and backed up by studies of officiating, like this one: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1...0902729733  Perhaps it was a different sport (maybe pro football?) but I recall a study showing that you can explain almost all of the home field/court advantage by referees favoring the home team.

The study I linked to also shows that when one team is ahead in fouls, they call them on the other team more.  Full text here: http://home.kelley.iupui.edu/kyjander/Of...ersion.pdf

tldr: college basketball officials suck, and when your team loses on the road, that's why.

In this study, we examined the pattern of foul calls exhibited during 365 NCAA basketball games during the 2004–2005 season. Results of the analysis indicate that officials are more likely to call fouls on the team with the fewest fouls, making it likely that the number of fouls will tend to even out during the game. This increased probability increases as the foul differential increases. In addition, there is a significant bias towards officials calling more fouls on the visiting team, and a bias towards foul calls on the team that is leading. The result is that the probability of the next foul being called on the visiting team can reach as high as 0.70. Finally, the implications of this officiating bias are explored, including the fact that basketball teams have an incentive to play more aggressively, leading to more physical play over time.

[burger]

 Perhaps this is the real reason for home court advantage--it is not that the players feed on the energy of the crowd, but the refs do?

You're correct and backed up by studies of officiating, like this one: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1...0902729733  Perhaps it was a different sport (maybe pro football?) but I recall a study showing that you can explain almost all of the home field/court advantage by referees favoring the home team.

The study I linked to also shows that when one team is ahead in fouls, they call them on the other team more.  Full text here: http://home.kelley.iupui.edu/kyjander/Of...ersion.pdf

tldr: college basketball officials suck, and when your team loses on the road, that's why.

In this study, we examined the pattern of foul calls exhibited during 365 NCAA basketball games during the 2004–2005 season. Results of the analysis indicate that officials are more likely to call fouls on the team with the fewest fouls, making it likely that the number of fouls will tend to even out during the game. This increased probability increases as the foul differential increases. In addition, there is a significant bias towards officials calling more fouls on the visiting team, and a bias towards foul calls on the team that is leading. The result is that the probability of the next foul being called on the visiting team can reach as high as 0.70. Finally, the implications of this officiating bias are explored, including the fact that basketball teams have an incentive to play more aggressively, leading to more physical play over time.

[76lsjumb]

 Perhaps this is the real reason for home court advantage--it is not that the players feed on the energy of the crowd, but the refs do?

You're correct and backed up by studies of officiating, like this one: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1...0902729733  Perhaps it was a different sport (maybe pro football?) but I recall a study showing that you can explain almost all of the home field/court advantage by referees favoring the home team.

The study I linked to also shows that when one team is ahead in fouls, they call them on the other team more.  Full text here: http://home.kelley.iupui.edu/kyjander/Of...ersion.pdf

tldr: college basketball officials suck, and when your team loses on the road, that's why.

In this study, we examined the pattern of foul calls exhibited during 365 NCAA basketball games during the 2004–2005 season. Results of the analysis indicate that officials are more likely to call fouls on the team with the fewest fouls, making it likely that the number of fouls will tend to even out during the game. This increased probability increases as the foul differential increases. In addition, there is a significant bias towards officials calling more fouls on the visiting team, and a bias towards foul calls on the team that is leading. The result is that the probability of the next foul being called on the visiting team can reach as high as 0.70. Finally, the implications of this officiating bias are explored, including the fact that basketball teams have an incentive to play more aggressively, leading to more physical play over time.

So what you're saying is that screaming "Make-up call !!" isn't simply the product of emotion, it's actually... SCIENCE!

As for last night, I believe that our number of free throws taken by the end of regulation -- 3 [yes, that's right; we had one more in OT for 4 total] -- is far and away the fewest number of free throws awarded to Stanford in a game in at least 5 seasons [the only stats I could quickly check online].  Meanwhile, Utah had something like 17 FT's by the end of regulation.  We shot 1.000 ... and still got massively outscored from the line.

The only thing the refs got right last night was not letting Rylan Jones come back into the game after the hometown clock guy completely screwed up our last 3.8 seconds of regulation.  Of course, stopping the game for his phantom ankle-twist, when we had just obtained possession on the rebound and had a transition opportunity, was just another of the many gifts the refs bestowed on Utah throughout the game.

I think the US.C loss was on us [despite outrageous reffing], but last night's loss was courtesy of the refs.

[76lsjumb]

 Perhaps this is the real reason for home court advantage--it is not that the players feed on the energy of the crowd, but the refs do?

You're correct and backed up by studies of officiating, like this one: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1...0902729733  Perhaps it was a different sport (maybe pro football?) but I recall a study showing that you can explain almost all of the home field/court advantage by referees favoring the home team.

The study I linked to also shows that when one team is ahead in fouls, they call them on the other team more.  Full text here: http://home.kelley.iupui.edu/kyjander/Of...ersion.pdf

tldr: college basketball officials suck, and when your team loses on the road, that's why.

In this study, we examined the pattern of foul calls exhibited during 365 NCAA basketball games during the 2004–2005 season. Results of the analysis indicate that officials are more likely to call fouls on the team with the fewest fouls, making it likely that the number of fouls will tend to even out during the game. This increased probability increases as the foul differential increases. In addition, there is a significant bias towards officials calling more fouls on the visiting team, and a bias towards foul calls on the team that is leading. The result is that the probability of the next foul being called on the visiting team can reach as high as 0.70. Finally, the implications of this officiating bias are explored, including the fact that basketball teams have an incentive to play more aggressively, leading to more physical play over time.

So what you're saying is that screaming "Make-up call !!" isn't simply the product of emotion, it's actually... SCIENCE!

As for last night, I believe that our number of free throws taken by the end of regulation -- 3 [yes, that's right; we had one more in OT for 4 total] -- is far and away the fewest number of free throws awarded to Stanford in a game in at least 5 seasons [the only stats I could quickly check online].  Meanwhile, Utah had something like 17 FT's by the end of regulation.  We shot 1.000 ... and still got massively outscored from the line.

The only thing the refs got right last night was not letting Rylan Jones come back into the game after the hometown clock guy completely screwed up our last 3.8 seconds of regulation.  Of course, stopping the game for his phantom ankle-twist, when we had just obtained possession on the rebound and had a transition opportunity, was just another of the many gifts the refs bestowed on Utah throughout the game.

I think the US.C loss was on us [despite outrageous reffing], but last night's loss was courtesy of the refs.

[Phogge]

So much better than last year. Still need a banger underneath.

[Phogge]

So much better than last year. Still need a banger underneath.