After a weekend sweep of UCLA and USC, Jakob Poeltl and Utah are suddenly in a position to push Oregon and Arizona for the league title.
Just one month ago, the Utes looked nearly dead in the water thanks to inconsistent guard play and a lack of committing to Poeltl, the best big man in the conference by a wide margin at this point. Now, they sit at 21-7, 10-5 and are seeing just how high they can rise in the Pac-12 hierarchy and NCAA Tournament.
At this point, the Utes look like a prime candidate for notching between a four and six seed, setting them up for another run like last season, where they fell to Duke in the Sweet 16. Something that will work in their favor, however, is the tremendous improvement they’ve seen in their sophomore big man.
Poeltl has doubled his scoring output this season even without a star playmaking point guard, establishing himself as a threat to score from nearly every spot inside of the three-point arc. Not only that, but he’s gotten his free throwing shooting to inch near 70-percent, doubled his assists per game, and become one of the most efficient players in the country.
In the visit to Los Angeles, Poeltl posted a double-double against UCLA with 15 points and 11 rebounds, right before he killed USC to the tune of 29 points and 13 rebounds.
Quietly, Jakob Poeltl and Utah have inserted themselves into the Pac-12 races, both for Player of the Year honors and the conference title. Whether or not they can hold home-court against Arizona State, Arizona, and Colorado remains to be seen, but it would go a long way in wrapping things up.
