ASU Basketball: 2019 Pac-12 Week 6 Power Rankings
By Trevor Booth
11. Utah Utes (4-4) LW: 11
As BYU’s Yoeli Childs dunked over two Utes defenders in a 74-59 victory over Utah, one thing became clear.
The Utah basketball program isn’t what it used to be.
Although never a conference powerhouse, head coach Larry Krystkowiak has always put competitive players on the floor, including NBA talents Kyle Kuzma, Delon Wright, and Jakob Poeltl.
These players were key in making Utah a dark horse almost every year in the Pac-12. What is clear in 2018 is the Utes no longer have players of that caliber.
In the team’s first four games, Utah has split all eight, going 4-4 with their most impressive win coming over a GCU team that hung with No. 7 Nevada over the weekend.
The team is led by senior guard Sedrick Barefield and sophomore Donnie Tillman on an otherwise lifeless offensive team. The Utes have averaged 73 points per game against subpar competition and have yet to secure a true identity.
Barefield leads the team in both points and assists with 14 and three, respectively, while Tillman leads the team in rebounds at 6.8 – all three stats being on the low end for team leaders.
The competition level will only heat up for the Utes as they round out non-conference play with matchups against No. 19 Kentucky and No. 7 Nevada before taking on Arizona State in the first game of Pac-12 play.