Recap: BYU 61, Utah 58

Photo Credit: BYU Photo

The rivalry is alive again. Don't say I didn't try to warn you.

BYU edged out a tight 61-58 win over Utah on Saturday night, rallying from a sizable first half deficit to take the lead in the closing minutes. Tyler Haws and Brandon Davies both struggled to find a rhythm against the Utes' physical defense, which left the much maligned Matt Carlino to pick up the slack — and he rose to the occasion in a big way.

Carlino came to play in one of the Cougars' most intense games of the year, finally breaking out of a season-long slump (or, more accurately, a miniature ice age) to rack up 19 points and 5 assists. With Haws and Davies effectively taken out of the play for long stretches at a time, he was the only Cougar player to shoot better than 50 percent from the floor, going 5-for-10 from deep and 7-for-13 overall.

This was the game that the Carlino believers (including yours truly, the president of the Matt Carlino Fan Club) knew the sophomore guard had inside of him. To be sure, he has been terrible at times this season — the weekend in Brooklyn comes readily to mind. But he has also made huge improvements to his all-around game, adjustments that were obscured in the minds of many casual fans by his poor shooting.

Let's be clear. High-minded ruminations about the importance of a "pure" point guard aside, Matt Carlino is a scorer. He has to be allowed to shoot the ball. He is the only Cougar player who can consistently create his own offense. BYU needs him to score. They can't beat good teams without him.

So as much as the purists want Carlino to just pass the ball and facilitate the offense for others, that is not what is best for this particular team. That may work on another team with more scoring options, but as we have learned, this BYU team does not have many of those. It's basically Davies and Haws and a bunch of wild cards. They need some consistent help — and Matt Carlino may be the only one who can realistically provide that.

That third scorer becomes especially important on a night like Saturday, when the opposing team manages to take away either Davies or Haws or, as the Utes did, both. Utah battered Haws off the ball, pushing him off his spots and essentially marginalizing him within the BYU offense. He finished a pathetic 2-for-10 from the field. Similarly, Davies often looked timid, frustrated, and afraid to bang with the Ute bigs down low. He finished 4-for-10 from the field and got blasted on the defensive glass.

These kinds of performances from the Cougars' two stars are not normally a recipe for success. Thankfully, Carlino came to the rescue at just the right moment, helping to turn the tide in their favor in time to eek out the win. It was difficult and ugly and physical, but it was a good win over a surprisingly impressive Utah team — and that's something worth building on.


Stray Thoughts

• Same story, different night. BYU played terrible defense and got into a big hole early. And when did they make a run? When they started playing better defense, locking up the perimeter and forcing the Utes into long, contested jumpers. I feel like I'm beating a dead horse at this point, but there is nothing more predictive of this team's success or failure than how they defend. It doesn't matter if they shoot well or if they shoot poorly — if they can't get stops, they lose. They got stops when it mattered against Utah, holding them without a field goal for the last seven minutes, so they won. End of story.

• Unsung hero of the night? Anson Winder. For the first time all season, he actually got meaningful minutes in a close game, and he made the most of him. His energy completely changed the game and helped alter its momentum. He brings a defensive intensity that no one else can. When BYU started playing that ultra-aggressive, trapping zone with Winder, Carlino, and Craig Cusick up top, they created turnovers that led to easy baskets and fired up the crowd. Those were the moments when the Cougars won the game. I'm not convinced they happen if Winder is on the bench. It's time to free Anson.

• I can't say enough about how much Utah has improved since last year. Coach Larry Krystkowiak has done an excellent job turning the program around in such a short period of time. No, they're not world-beaters, but they are a drastically different team. They are strong, they are quick, they are physical. Most of all, they fight. They believe they can win games, and they've shown that they can. BYU had to scrap to beat this Ute team in the Marriott Center. That was unthinkable a few months ago. While it was probably easier when this game was a guaranteed easy win for the Cougars, a revitalized Utah program is better for the rivalry and better for the fans. Props to Krystkowiak for accomplishing that. With the very impressive freshman Jordan Loveridge on the roster, they should be solid for the foreseeable future.

• But seriously, guys: Matt Carlino. He was excellent in every facet of the game. It wasn't just his shooting. Despite looking for his own shot more, he also distributed the ball very well. He would have had far more than 5 assists if his teammates were capable of hitting open shots. And his defense — long a weakness — was excellent. He came up with three steals and showed tremendous hustle that forced the Ute guards into a few more. It was probably the best all-around game of his career. I will now accept apologies from all of the haters...

• As good as Carlino was, Brock Zylstra was equally bad. I am not exaggerating. This was one of the worst performances I have ever seen on a basketball court. He brought nothing of value whatsoever. Zylstra went 0-for-6 for zero points and three turnovers in just 21 minutes. He was abused repeatedly on defense, and finished with a team-low -6 in the plus/minus stat. Coach Dave Rose finally took him out of the game for good about halfway through the second half — and BYU immediately went on the big run that got them back in the game. The math doesn't lie. Zylstra has been playing terribly for awhile now, but this was a new low. Something needs to change quickly, or Brock needs to sit a whole lot more.

• Tyler Haws is going to have to figure out how to score on a box-and-one defense soon, or it's going to be a long year. Teams have figured out how to stop him now. Until he finds a way to get himself open against physical defense, he will continue to struggle. That's bad news for BYU.

• Let's never pass to Josh Sharp again unless he's under the basket wide open. And maybe not even then. Just on principle. Deal?

• That photo up top? Pretty much my favorite. Ever.

UP NEXT: BYU at Weber State, Saturday, 7:00 p.m. MST


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