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The Wolverines are currently 3-4 with a couple of heartbreaking losses to Morgan State and at Wake Forest. I know people say you are what your record says you are, but I am not sure if that’s true with this team.
What is frustrating if you’re a Utah Valley fan is that you can see the talent on this roster. It just has not come together yet. What’s killing the Wolverines this season is they are shooting horrifically from three-point. UVU is currently shooting 26.6% from three this season. They currently rank 339th/352nd out of all division one teams. I know it’s simple, but you must make the three-ball, especially when you’re trying to pull off an upset against teams like Wake Forest or Utah State.
This is going to sound insane but stay with me; this UVU team has some similarities to this year’s Duke team. Obviously, Duke and Utah Valley are not on the same talent level. But, when you watch each of these teams, you can see the potential; it just has not come together. Both have decent shooters who are shooting the ball poorly. Both rank in the 300’s in three-point percentage. Both have basically the same assist-turnover ratio. They are close to each other in fastbreak points as well. These teams need more time; I love the potential of both teams and think they will both be set up well in March.
Trey Woodbury has had a couple of frustrating games, especially against the big opponents like Wake Forest, Utah State, and Morgan State. He made massive shots against Wake, so you can’t take that from him, but he can’t be forcing these same shots in all these games. Woodbury is a legit solid basketball player, but he needs to let the game come to him in these big games. Next week against BYU is an excellent opportunity to showcase that.
The positive and negative thing for the Wolverines is that these games in December ultimately do not have a real impact. At the end of the day, all that matters is how they perform at the Orleans Arena in March. This team has the potential for a WAC Tournament run; I need to see it come together a little more.
I will write a much more extensive preview of this matchup next week. Still, this game is going to be a heck of a lot closer than the casual college basketball fan realizes. I believe BYU will be around a 9.5/10-point favorite. I like Utah Valley to pull off the upset at the Marriott Center next week.
