Craig Smith, Utah Basketball Need A Better Outing Vs Baylor Bears
Jan 24, 2025, 1:26 PM
SALT LAKE CITY—After a tough loss on the road to No. 7 Houston, Craig Smith is looking for a big bounce-back effort from his squad as they prepare for the Baylor Bears.
This will be the second matchup between the two teams this past month. The Bears defeated the Utes in the conference opener, 81-56, in Waco.
The Utes have shown improvement, winning three consecutive games before last night’s loss. Saturday’s contest will allow Utah to showcase its progress as a program.
Baylor vs Utah Basketball, How To Watch, Listen
Date: Saturday, 25, 2025
Tip-Off: 2:30 pm (MST)
TV/Stream: ESPN2
Radio: ESPN 700 AM
Dave Flemming will have the call on ESPN2 alongside former UCLA Bruin Sean Farnham inside the Jon M. Huntsman Center as Utah looks to get back on the win column to start the two-game homestand.
RELATED: Takeaways From Utah’s Brutal 70-36 Loss To No. 7 Houston
Utah must raise execution level to address immediate issues vs Baylor
This is the second time the two teams have faced off against one another this month, which provides Utah with an opportunity to showcase their progress. However, after a 34-point drubbing in Houston, the Utes will need a significant bounce-back effort against the Bears.
Utah struggled with Houston’s defensive pressure, which resulted in 26 turnovers. Coach Smith acknowledged that his squad struggled against Houston’s athleticism and defensive precision. Baylor may not be playing to the same level as Houston, but they are close, so Utah has to find a way to counterpunch against a similarly athletic squad.
Utah can’t suddenly become more athletic, so how do they improve against the Bears?
“We’ve got to be tougher and get our work done early,” Coach Smith said. “We’ve got to execute better. When you go to set a screen, set the screen, not bail out of it at the last second, that doesn’t win. We’ve got to be more precise with our offense against teams that defend like that. We’ve got to get to our operating areas. They certainly pushed us off our spots, and we were not able to get to where we needed to be as efficient as we needed to be.”
The loss of competitive spirit and toughness is also something that Smith believes Utah struggled with against Houston. He’ll be looking for an improved effort in that regard against Baylor.
“We have to have an elite mindset, a warrior’s spirit, and a competitive spirit,” he said. “It’s easy to talk that out but we’ve got to crave that when things aren’t going good. We’ve got to be the first on the floor for a loose ball. We’ve got to play with an elite mindset to stay connected and compete.”
Utah struggled with turnovers against Baylor in the conference opener. The Utes have shown improvement in that regard but Houston also made it clear that this team is still susceptible to poor ball security.
“Their perimeter is very athletic, similar to Houston that way,” Coach Smith described. “They’re not like crazy trapping but they’re going to switch 1-through-5, so we’ve got to be able to handle their switching defense better than we did last time.”
RELATED: Utah, BYU Among Top 35 Most Valuable Football Programs
Craig Smith is mindful of Utah’s big-picture needs too
“There’s no doubt being in the Big 12 and going through seven games now- it’s definitely a different league,” Coach Smith described. “There’s no question that as we move forward as a program that we’ve got to add more athleticism, more playmaking ability. We have some of that, but we need more.”
Utah does have some really good players on the roster. A number of individuals clearly have talent and room for improvement. So, while Coach Smith acknowledges the need for more juice on the roster, he’s encouraged by what he’s seen from this squad and made a key point about Houston’s program.
“I love our guys; we’re trending the right way, and this team has some really great traits and winning qualities,” he shared. “Houston is the No. 7 team in the country for a reason, they’re very good. Them and those other top teams are really good because they keep their guys. They have very little turnover in those programs, so there is real continuity.”
Houston’s execution clearly demonstrated their cohesion as a team, having played together for a couple of seasons. What may surprise, however, is that they haven’t secured top-tier classes. Their last three recruiting classes ranked 49th in 2024, 22nd in 2023, and 44th in 2022.
Utah has to raise the level of talent it brings into the program, but outside of a significant influx of NIL money, this is not a quick fix. Utah did finish with the 59th-ranked class this past cycle, which means they aren’t that far away. However, their classes were ranked 91st in 2023 and 68th in 2022.
Coach Smith must close that talent gap on the recruiting trail. More importantly, Utah must retain the key pieces from each class to develop the continuity that top contenders seem to have, and that takes time.
RELATED: Grittiness, Toughness Leads Utah To 73-72 Win Over BYU
