New Poll: Rate your excitement level for the Utes MBB playing in the NIT

[Tony (admin)]

New poll time! How excited are you for the Utes in the NIT? Vote early. Vote often! Post your comments why you voted the way you did here.

[AZUTE]

Depends on who plays and who doesn’t

Stay tuned

[MDUte]

I voted “not excited” because I see this year as a failure. Craig Smith had the roster talent needed to make the NCAA Tournament this year but wasn’t able to get it done. The team lacked defense and rebounding all year which are both effort-based and controllable for a well-coached team.

I recognize that it’s good for the players to still have an opportunity to continue playing in the post-season with an NIT invite and I’m happy for them in this regard. But the poll question was whether I’m excited about the team playing in the NIT or not. And based on this being a failed opportunity to make the NCAA Tournament, I’m personally not excited about playing in the NIT.

[chinngiskhaan]

No excuse for a team this big to suck this bad at rebounding. Ridiculous.

[The Miami Ute]

What killed them wasn’t rebounds. It was their inability to hit free throws in what turned out to be very close games. The Utes were last in the PAC 12 in free throw percentage, only hitting 64.9 of their attempts. If they’d averaged 70 percent, they would be in the tournament.

[MDUte]

Respectfully disagree. Better free throw shooting would’ve definitely helped. But giving up nearly 90 points a game is why this team isn’t in the Tournament. That comes down to poor defense and rebounding.

As the great Big Rick used to always write on the chalkboard “defense and rebounding” wins games. This team did neither.

[The Miami Ute]

Arizona – six point 3OT loss – 47.6 FT%
Stanford – six point loss – 33.3 FT%
ASU – eight point loss – 46.2 FT%

[MDUte]

Totally agree with you Miami that better free throw shooting would definitely have helped. But if we could have defended and rebounded this year, those games wouldn’t have gone to 3OTs or been decided by a missed couple of free throws. Giving up nearly 90 points a game is the much bigger issue than poor free throw shooting.

[The Miami Ute]

My point is that if the Utes hit 70%+ on free throws in those three games, and maybe hit a couple more in the one and four point losses to Oregon and USC, we’re not even having this conversation because the Utes would be dancing.

[Minnesota Ute]

And if we did both, we’d probably be a 6 or 7 seed. But alas they did none of the above and sadly underperformed what could have been a really good year. I’m profoundly disappointed and the buck stops with Uncle Fester.

[Trailgoat]

Agree, Not excited. The NIT is a side show for ESPN to make some cash filling air time during off days of the NCAA tourney. Add in at least 2-3 missed lay-ups and countless missed uncontested shots within 10 feet of the basket. Season likely ends Wednesday for Utah against Indian St basically a home game for the Sycamores at Hinkle Fieldhouse. No surprise if Devion Smith and maybe Gabe Madsen (if eligibile?) jump in the transfer portal by the weekend to test the waters. They would be dumb not to see what worth they have on the open market, Utah’s not going to bail on them during the process due to the lack of program stability.

[utefansince79]

NIT <<<< Big Dance, but

NIT >>>>> no post season.

Will be there (late) tomorrow night to cheer the team on.

[GameForAnyFuss]

To better calibrate this poll, I would like to see another one that says, in effect, “rate your excitement level for Utah basketball period”. I don’t really care about the excitement level of people who don’t like Utah basketball, or college basketball at all. Obviously if your excitement level for Utah basketball is always zero, then your excitement level for the NIT is also going to be zero.

[Ute in Chatt]

Any Utah game is a good Utah game. I used to be only football and basketball fan. I actually cheer for women’s now as well. I think the refs of this league still have had it out for us. Maybe I’m too conspiracy theorist, but there have been too many games that it seems that we can’t let Utah win button gets pushed when we are about to start to run away things. So not excited for NIT and was the talent wasted this season, I believe so. Who knows what would have been if we had won the Oregon game or, well, several other close ones. But an almost 20 win season is still better than where we were over the last several years.

I talked with an Alabama fan at lowes the other day and he recognized our logo and said yall creamed us in the Sugar Bowl in 08 and he said, “I bet yall wish you still had Majerus.” I told him,”Yes, I do”. Wishing for what was doesn’t help us in the present, but hopefully we can continue to right the ship.

[The Miami Ute]

Not excited at all. But it’s Utah basketball. At home. So I’ll be at the Hunty rooting for the Utes. When you dissect their season, it’s really sad to see how close they came to going to the dance.

[TX_UTE]

Big Thumbs Up – any chance to keep playing, even in the NIT, is a chance to get better for a brutal introduction to B12 BB!

[HoosierUte]

Medium excited until I saw that the final four and championship will be held right here @ Butler (Indianapolis). A rare chance for me to see the Running Utes in action. Go Utes!

[Caliman]

not excited, BB sucks, Soccer is way better. I wish Utah would get a men NCAA soccer team, that would get me through the spring and summer boredom.

[The Miami Ute]

Soccer is, in fact, my first love and favorite sport. I’d be right there with you.

[//r00t4Utes]

Well, there is women’s soccer

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