Wow. That was terrible. After failure to launch in Colorado, we made the Utes look like World Beaters. other than Peterson getting back on track, and Isaiah White and Ethan proving their toughness as usual, tonight was one to forget.

20 THINGS I NOTICED:

1-Once again, we made a sub-par team look amazing.
2-Once again, another team shot well from outside the arc against our once feared defense.
3-Once again, we struggled from outside the arc, despite the resurrection of Drew Peterson's game.
4-Once again, we struggled mightily on offense in half court sets. This is a coaching problem.
5-Tonights performance by Evan has me wondering where I would take him in the upcoming draft. (it would not be in the top two.)
6-Ethan, Tahj Isaiah White and Drew proved, once again, that they are the toughest players on our team. Those four would kill to get a loose ball, stop a defender, or take a game winning shot.
7-Rotation issues coming back to haunt CAE. (See more in BONUS) Chemistry is becoming a "thing."
8-Players stopping on plays (actually giving up on plays) is disturbing. I saw it at least 5x tonight.
9-Really good teams put their foot on the throats of mediocre teams. We just don't do that.
10-Free-throw shooting still continues to be our achilles heel.
11-Our high-low game is MIA. What's going on?
12-Our weak-side defense was terrible all night long. We help to double the low post, exposing open shooters. That's not advisable in today's NCAA. Shooters are just too good.
13-Evan has yet to take our team and put it on his back for a 5 minute stint in the clutch. I know he's capable. But I'm waiting for him to close out a good one against a good team and be dominant.
14-This was an embarrassing loss, especially given the absence of Rylan Jones - arguably their best player
15-Despite a cast of underperforming players, Max continued to have the most frustrating turnovers. If he were 6'2", he would not be on an NCAA D1 roster. Anywhere. Length-yes. D1 talent-no. Cut bait.
16-Noah's presence pulled a defender outside, and we were still not able to take advantage of beneficial spacing. That's a problem
17-I can't help wonder if tenure was the only criteria for CAE awarding captainship. Isaiah and Ethan are not our best decision makers or play-makers. Ethan is tough. Tahj was neglected here.
18-The referees didn't help us here, but they were most definitely not the reason we lost tonight.
19-Isaiah Mobley's start to games has been miserable. I know he's coming off of a lower body injury. but geesh. Get to the rim or the foul line early! ...then again....
20-Peterson made the most of his minutes tonight. That's a great sign.

The sky is not falling, but this is not the way to head into the post-season. Barring a 5 game winning streak, any hope of a 3 or 4 seed is pretty much washed up.


BONUS: The coaching staff needs to start figuring out rotations so we can build more team chemistry. Whatever the final rotations are going to look like, we're struggling. Max's minutes are dwindling, but they're still painful. Tonight, we were up 20-14 when Max clanked an air-ball three, and subsequently turned the ball over on offense with another offensive foul. A dropped ball out of bounds on an easy pass had most of the free world wondering why he was out there. Giving them three extra possessions (yes, I'm including the absolute air ball as a TO) was killer in the big picture as the Utes gained confidence and kept the game close through the balance of the first half - eventually building a lead we could not overcome. By NO means did Max lose this game for us...but he sure as heck didn't help as we were trying to establish ourselves in the first 10 minutes. So who to turn to? Noah was held in check by tight defensive coverage, and we could not take advantage of the open spacing that provided. Despite no turnovers, Noah did not play exceptional defense. Reese Waters got in late, shot an ill-advised long three pointer that didn't fall, and had an athletic block...before saying something unsportsmanlike to his opponent drawing a technical. Immature, to be sure. There is no question he is a better athlete/player than Max, and potentially Noah. ...but can he grow up quickly enough and play within himself? His lack of minutes has cost him any sense of comfort on the court, and his immature decisions tonight likely cost him minutes from here on out. I do know this kid is a player....can score...and can knock down the outside shot. Tonight was not a step forward for our future stud. Starting the offense through Ethan instead of through Tahj or Drew still seems unwise to me. Ethan isn't creating enough opportunities for his teammates. There is no question chemistry (something we haven't talked much about when we're winning, but an obvious weakness for a team so new to each other) is a disadvantage for us compared to most teams we play. I have noticed that our players have never looked more unsure... Needless to say, it's bad timing for that. There are a lot of one-on-one possessions, and very few successfully executed motion half-court sets of some sort (...unless you're talking about our opponents). CAE had better figure out who he's going to turn to, so that group can spend as much time together as possible. Personally, I've seen enough of #23.