When I put my mind to avoiding spoilage of movie endings, sports scores, or news items, I can.
Something happened within the University of Utah athletics department. It’s days-old, stale news, but I’m waiting for Coach Roberts to tell me about the car — or cars.
Utah’s Crimson Collective — how that’s separate from the Crimson Club, I dunno, though it probably has to do with gold bullion — delivered a new car to a women’s basketball practice, and possibly to every student-athlete on campus.
Why the coaching staffs or beat reporters don’t get cars is beyond me, and how the NCAA is letting this happen is also a mystery.
If everyone got a car, I think it would’ve been funny if Coach had told the team: “We’re not taking a bus to Southern Utah for Saturday’s game. You all have to drive yourselves.”
Utah 96
Southern Utah 60
Sophomore guard Lani White scored 11 points in the 4th quarter, after her first field goal in a month was waved off by an offensive foul in the 3rd.
I thought: Basketball gods, you really suck sometimes — we need that kid.
We also need Issy Palmer, though Ines Vieira has been spectacular given the additional minutes. 116 assists and steals opposite 20 turnovers. I think her 2 FGM Saturday were both layups following her steal in the backcourt.
Wisconsin transfer Matyson Wilke had season highs in points in assists, and wouldn’t you know it, we need her, too. Wilke’s 6 assists were matched by K. McQueen, who also shared the team lead in rebounds. The Utes are a splashy team, but McQueen has the largest production-to-splash ratio among them.
My notes say “24 defzhgarbled”, which means Jenna played some defense, I think.
Pili had her points-equal-to-minutes-played. She has to put up 40 for the media to notice.
Southern Utah’s head coach is Tracy Mason, whom I remember at St. Mary’s associate head coach Sanders. Allison Fasnacht also moved from St. Mary’s, after serving as interim head coach last season.
Media isn’t privy to whatever happened at St. Mary’s to cause Paul Thomas’ dismissal. Coach Thomas was there for 16 years, on the edge of a technical foul the whole time, directing the Gaels while they were the best Northern California team in the West Coast Conference.
Speaking of St. Mary’s.
St. Mary’s 32
Washington 64
Washington beat Pacific 81-64 Nov. 15, which I didn’t give much thought, but would you believe 64 is the best score yet by Washington’s opponents. The Huskies are 11-0, holding five of those opponents to fewer than 40.
If there’s any doubt that Washington is real, Washington St. — a stronger opponent, according to NET — scored 2 points in the first quarter last Sunday, shooting 22-for-57 for the game.
45.7 ppg allowed would lead the NCAA, unless Old Dominion or Georgetown improves on 46.1 or 46.8. Opponents shoot .311 vs. Washington, second to South Carolina’s .286 allowed. Utah shot 28-for-62 last week, the best by SC opponents.
The Gaels shot 12-for-49 Saturday, when four Husky starters played fewer than 19 minutes.
When conference play starts, Washington defends against Utah (1st in the NCAA in FG%), UCLA (3rd), USC (11th), Colorado (14th).
Oh, on that topic, lemme mention Texas (4th). Texas squashed Arizona 88-75 last Wed., and it wasn’t that close. Texas led by 24 entering the 4th quarter, before Arizona’s press paid off. I’ve begun looking at teams outside the Pac-12 in terms of their possible matchups against USC and UCLA — Texas has sufficient size, and more than enough speed, the fastest team I’ve seen so far.
Eastern Washington 70
Cal 78
I almost turned this game off.
Eastern Washington led 61-46 with 9 minutes left, and I was tired of crowd shots of screaming kids.
Kids’ days are great for the kids, great for the team’s community outreach, bad for grumpy, old sportswriters. Haas Pavilion is 2.3 miles from the office, so I easily could’ve attended an 11:30 game, and had enough time left in the day to work. The kids are lucky I didn’t go. I would’ve told all 4000 of them individually to shut the hell up because I’m trying to concentrate, and damn it, so should you.
I wondered where they parked all those school buses. I don’t even like parking at Cal when they give me a pass to the garage underneath the gym.