The University of Utah men’s basketball team had no choice but to be flexible this week, even though it meant its schedule got harder as a result.
Utah (4-3, 1-2 Pac-12) will host No. 17 Oregon on Saturday night at the Huntsman Center, a game that was supposed to be on Sunday afternoon. Colorado plays at Utah on Monday, a game that was supposed to be the regular-season finale on March 6. Stanford comes in on Thursday, instead of the originally-scheduled Wednesday tilt, and Cal’s visit will remain on Jan. 16.
In summation, Utah will play four home games in eight days. It will have one less day to prepare for Oregon, undoubtedly one of the three-best teams in the Pac-12 at the moment, and roughly 40 hours before a Colorado game that essentially came out of nowhere.
At the Huntsman Center
For what it’s worth, if the NCAA Tournament were seeded right now, the Ducks, Buffaloes and Cardinal would all be comfortably in the field of 68, no questions asked.
Competitive advantages and disadvantages in terms of practice and opponent prep are glaring right now in the Pac-12, but it is no one’s fault given the state of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Beyond Saturday, the Utes get the aforementioned 40 hours before facing the Buffaloes, who will have been off since that Thursday game against Oregon. Colorado’s own Oregon State matchup on Saturday was also postponed.
Added Krystkowiak: “We can cry, and moan, and get upset about it, but at the end of the day, we’re playing 20% of our conference games in hopefully a week-long period, and there’s not going to be a lot of prep time.”
One underrated scheduling factor thanks to the Oregon State postponement can be seen at the end of the regular season. With Colorado coming to Salt Lake City Monday instead of March 6, Utah’s regular season is now scheduled to end Feb. 27, giving it 11 days before the Pac-12 Tournament begins March 10 in Las Vegas.
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January 09, 2021 at 09:02PM
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Utah men's basketball begins critical four-game, eight-day home stretch with No. 17 Oregon - Salt Lake Tribune
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