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Wichita, Kan. • From bad passes, to iffy ball-handling, to possessions that ran late into the shot clock, a variety of offensive issues presented themselves against the tough Shockers' D in a 67-50 loss on Saturday afternoon
It was in no small part thanks to the Shockers themselves: Fred VanVleet and Ron Baker barely gave an inch of hardwood with swiping at Utah ball-handlers. Physical posts helped keep a lid on sophomore center Jakob Poeltl.
It stacked up in staggering ways: Utah had 19 turnovers to only 5 assists, allowing the Shockers to rack up a 25-0 advantage in points off of turnovers, which WSU coach Gregg Marshall surmised, "that has to be driving them crazy at this point." Wichita State ended up getting 59 shot attempts to Utah's 34, a massive differential from which the Utes could not recover.
But the overall issues pointed to a problem the Utes cannot ignore: They are struggling to get the same playmaking ability out of their point guards that they enjoyed last year with Delon Wright.
Senior Brandon Taylor was charged with the primary duties at point guard, and was capable at bringing the ball up the floor against Wichita's pressure. But Utah's half-court sets struggled to get going: The pick-and-roll plays that were a staple of last season were thwarted, sometimes by Shockers and sometimes by Utah's sped-up-tempo. Eventually, Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak said, he felt Utah's perimeter players as a whole stopped looking to the paint, where Poeltl and Kyle Kuzma have been two of Utah's most consistent and efficient scorers.
Even the passing between perimeter players was inhibited: Wichita State often managed to wedge between Utah's guards, forcing the Utes ever further away from the basket, and by extension further from any comeback attempt.
In last year's game, Wright helped lead a second-half surge that gave the Utes a double-digit lead in the final few minutes. The Shockers closed the gap in that game before falling in overtime, but Wright was still a calm, collected leader who managed 7 assists to only 3 turnovers against the pressure.
Marshall acknowledged WSU's game plan was a lot different with Wright no longer a factor.
"We knew Brandon Taylor is an off-guard playing some point," he said. "Not a natural point, but he can play the point very well. Last year, Delon Wright was a different cat. He was a true point, and we didn't turn him over 19 times last year."
Even in Utah's most turnover-prone games last season, it didn't turn the ball over 19 times once. Utah's assist-to-field-goal ratio is down from 57 percent last year to 50 percent (from No. 84 in the country to No. 212 according to stat site KenPom).
A first-round draft pick like Wright comes around only every so often. With Taylor, the Utes have picked the most reliable of their options: Lorenzo Bonam hasn't yet proven himself as a sure-handed leader, and Isaiah Wright has struggled to become a scoring threat.
In many instances, Taylor has worked wonderfully for Utah, which entered Saturday's game as one of the top 25 most efficient offenses in the country. He set a season high in assists against BYU with nine. And though he had 6 turnovers against WSU, a 17-point loss isn't his to bear alone.
But the contrast between the crispness of Wichita State's guard play brought the issue to the forefront. VanVleet and Baker helped lead WSU's offense to a 15-to-3 assist-to-turnover ratio, even though neither shot particularly well. There were echoes of Utah's first loss of the season in Puerto Rico: Utah gave up 16 to Miami's 7.
The guard play has hurt Utah in two losses so far, between a combination of ugly outside shooting and the lack of a sure-handed leader to set up Utah's offense. Krystkowiak admitted afterward that he'll likely look for new offensive answers after Utah's second poor showing on the road against a quality opponent.
He'll be under the gun: The Utes have a date with Duke in New York in a week. Krystkowiak said he's looking for players to play better.
"That's my sense right now: find some simplicity, not try to get too carried away, try to tweak some things," he said. "We do need some time. We need some toughness. We need some simplicity, and we need to be far better than we were today."
Twitter: @kylegoon —
Utes struggle at Wichita State
R As a team, Utes have only five assists to 19 turnovers.
• Brandon Taylor has six turnovers to three assists.
• Lorenzo Bonam, Isaiah Wright combine for zero assists, four turnovers.