Utes have new guard rotation

The Utah basketball team looked a lot better tonight in beating Fresno State 76-63.
The Utes went up by 24 early in the second half and as they often do, let their opponent creep back, but not enough to make it a game.
Will Clyburn led the Utes in scoring for the sixth straight game with 21 points and is now averaging 20 points per game. Jiggy Watkins scored 16, but he put up 17 shots and only made five from the field.
The biggest development of the night was Utah’s new rotation at the guardline.
Coach Jim Boylen inserted Chris Hines into the starting lineup in place of struggling Shawn Glover to give the Utes more ball-handling and toughness in the starting lineup and moved Clyburn to the small forward spot. He’s also apparently given up, for now, on junior guard Jace Tavita, who started 19 games last year. Boylen loves Tavita’s team play and defense, but apparently that isn’t enough to make up for his lack of offense over the past three seasons. Last year, Tavita averaged 1.9 points per game, while shooting 29 percent from the field and 18 percent from 3-point range. The year before, he scored two points all season, despite playing in 25 games.
This year? Tavita scored six points in the first five games and made just 1 of 10 field goals.
Boylen said Tavita didn’t play Tueday because he’s not in the “rotation” and for now it looks like Chris Kupets, who scored 17 points and Hines, will be ahead of him.