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Against the Utes, Utah Valley had a near-unguardable play: the pick-and-roll.
The Wolverines had the perfect players to run it: pass-first point Brandon Randolph and veteran big man Isaac Neilson. They rode it to 28 points by Neilson and got close to an upset.
That's everything a coach loves to see from his team, right? Right?
"At the end of day," an extremely hoarse UVU coach Mark Pope said afterward, "that wasn't what we wanted."
As the Wolverines walked away from the game, they felt that Utah (6-1) had taken away their biggest strength in an 87-80 nail-biter that proved to be their undoing. And the Utes, while they also had to adapt to survive, saw their weaknesses become strengths in the closest win yet of the season.
While Utah showcased a crunch-time performance, perhaps the bigger takeaway was that a team that came in with a vulnerability at guarding 3-pointers and shooting them as well was able to do both — showing a versatility and a willingness to adapt to coaching that bodes well for a young team.
"I think most seasons for everybody are about learning lessons and growing," Utes coach Larry Krystkowiak said. "To be able to learn some pretty valuable lessons without a loss is always a positive thing, especially when you're trying to get something going."
The last two practices were consumed by how Utah guarded the perimeter. The team knew that Kenneth Ogbe (15.6 ppg, 66.7 percent from 3-point range) and Conner Toolson (15.4 ppg) would hurt them if left to their own devices.
So they went for denial: Limit the shooting duo's touches, and keep Randolph from being able to kick out for open threes. Ogbe, the former Ute, didn't score until the second half. Pope noted that it was an adaptation of what Gonzaga — who beat UVU in the season opener — had done against his team.
Krystkowiak said he would take "a bit of a hit" for not being able to lock in on Neilson, particularly in the first half, but that Utah "picked our poison." At the end of the game when Utah was hitting clutch 3-pointers, it was notable that UVU (10.5 3-pointers per game, No. 12 nationally) was not.
Against Division I competition, Utah had allowed 42.5 percent on 3-point field goals coming into the game, which was among the worst in the country, Krystkowiak noted with pain the day before playing UVU. On Tuesday night, the Utes were happy to hold the Wolverines to 35 percent.
"I think it started with a great job on scouting them offensively," sophomore guard Parker Van Dyke said. "We just put a big emphasis on Ogbe and Toolson because they can really stroke it."
But Utah also had to deal with being denied its own perceived strength, which was dominating the boards and the post. UVU went with double-teams when Utah fed the ball into the post, forcing Kyle Kuzma, Tyler Rawson and Jayce Johnson to either make tough shots or get out of the post. It was one of the few games where Utah has been outscored in the paint this year.
So it fell on shooters — left open behind the 3-point line and only averaging 29.2 percent from that range entering the game — to make up the slack. Since last Thursday's game against Montana State, Krystkowiak estimated that the Utes had put up "a couple hundred" 3-point shots apiece.
Among those who put up the most? Rawson (4 for 5) and Van Dyke (3 for 5). Krystkowiak said he wasn't surprised to see both hit critical shots late in the game.
"It's like anything in life — it's karma, a little basketball karma," he said. "There's not two guys in the last week that have been shooting more threes, I think, than those two."
Next is a road game (Utah's first) against No. 13 Xavier that will challenge the Utes in many ways. Krystkowiak called them "a well-oiled machine that could easily be a Final Four team."
The one comforting thought the Utes may have going to Cincinnati: At least now, they know they can adapt if they need to.
Twitter: @kylegoon —
Utah at No. 13 Xavier
P Saturday, 3:30 p.m. MT
TV • Fox