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SALT LAKE CITY — For better or for worse, Utah's success this season has been in large part to how well it has taken care of the ball.
While other factors have played a role throughout the course of the season, the overarching theme has been about turnovers. Simply put, turnovers are making an above-average Utah team inconsistent. In fact, one of the most consistent tenets of the team has been its significant amount of turnovers in each game.
Utah is arguably a better, more well-rounded team than last season's Sweet 16 team, but the lack of consistency with ball handling has been the wildcard factor in each game. It would be easy to find a correlation between games lost and amount of turnovers, but even in wins Utah has consistently found its way into double-digit turnovers.
Looking at the season average, Utah is one of the worst teams in the country in turnovers per game at 16.3. In terms of what that means in relation to other teams around the country, Utah would rank 347th out of 351 teams in college basketball. So, yes, the worst.
Fortunately for Utah, that stat gets better when factoring only conference play, but it is still only a mediocre team at that point, averaging 11.8 turnovers per game. That ranks Utah 132nd out of 351 teams.
When questioned about the high amount of turnovers throughout the season, Utah head coach Larry Krystkowiak said many of the team's turnovers have been in relation to "fundamental plays" — traveling, charges, setting poor screens. These are things Utah can and should control with only seven games left in the regular season.
Krystkowiak has called turnovers this season an "Achilles heel" for Utah, which is likely the best description to Utah's ability to ride high while also have a fatal flaw that keeps the program from being a better team.
Against Oregon on Sunday, Utah was evenly matched statistically against the No. 1 team in the conference. Utah outrebounded Oregon (30-28), had more points from the bench (19-13), had a better field goal percentage (50 percent-48 percent), and had a better 3-point percentage (43 percent-33 percent). But Utah had 14 turnovers, compared to Oregon's eight, and gave Oregon 19 points off of aforementioned turnovers.
"You can't guard turnovers, and we had a couple catastrophic turnovers early," Utah assistant coach DeMarlo Slocum told ESPN 700 following the game Sunday.
Prior to Utah's Oregon road trip collapse, the team was contending for a first-place spot in the conference amid a nice winning streak. Now, Utah is back in the middle of the pack, looking to improve its standing among several teams competing for spots No. 2 through No. 9. All is not lost, however, but for Utah to maximize its potential the team has to limit its turnovers.
Limiting turnovers starts with the backcourt — Brandon Taylor and Lorenzo Bonam — and getting into a comfortable rhythm of play that inhibits smart play. Playing with a faster pace is only beneficial if the end result allows Utah to stay competitive.
"If we're pushing the ball and passing it off and you're trying to get it off quickly, you've got to think before you pass and make a good decision," Bonam said earlier in the season. "And then it can work out so we don't get turnovers and keep our offense running."
That advice from Bonam will mean the difference between a quick exit in postseason play or making a deep run in the NCAA Tournament. Utah will get the benefit of playing five of its final seven games at home ahead of the Pac-12 Tournament, which could bode well for the team's confidence and ability to correct errors in a less-hostile environment.
