(5) Utah vs. (12) Arizona - Utes Getting no Respect
by Nick Meyer
Whether it’s because of the preponderance of 5-12 upsets in the history of the Utah isn’t getting the respect they deserve going into their first round matchup. Arizona only went 19-13 on the year but scored some big wins over teams like Gonzaga and Kansas, paving the way for their at-large selection to the tournament.
But Utah had a solid year throughout, finishing 24-9 on the year and tying for the Mountain West Conference Title. Consistency doesn’t mean quite as much in the tournament when people are picking their brackets, however. Utah is listed as the favorite on the betus.com sportsbooks, however, with a spread of (-1.5).
Most observers felt that the Wildcats had the more talented roster, featuring big names like Chase Budinger, who seems like he’s been in school for about 10 years now, as well as Jordan Hill, an explosive junior forward who teams well with Budinger to cause havoc on the offensive end.
Nic Wise is the third star of one of the top trios in the country, but the Wildcats don’t get a lot of scoring from other options. Utah meanwhile counters with a balanced scoring lineup featuring four guys who average double figures and a fourth in Carlon Brown who is just under that threshold.
While Arizona is the trendy upset pick here and that line of thinking can sometimes be dangerous, it seems as if the Wildcats are a good pick here because Mountain West teams haven’t fared well in the tournament in recent years.
BYU looked awful against Texas A&M yesterday in the tournament and they tied with Utah for the lead. Arizona is one of those teams that can ratchet up their level of play when it is necessary as evidenced by their big wins this year, and they have two go-to guys in Hill and Budinger who can take over games if given a little bit of space.
The over/under for this game is 134 points and that will favor the Wildcats because of their better overall athleticism, making them the best pick in this one.
