Utes coach Larry Krystkowiak started off his postgame remarks following Thursday night’s loss to Arizona with a declaration that he wasn’t interested in “moral victories.” However, junior guard Sedrick Barefield clearly needed a small personal victory.
A junior guard in his first full season on the court, Barefield came into this season as the team’s second-leading returning scorer from last season (9.0 points per game). He appeared poised to be the backcourt leader and potentially a go-to playmaker prior to the start of the season, but he went into the Arizona game mired in a shooting slump.
Barefield broke out with a season-high 23 points and a career-high six 3-pointers (6-of-11) in the Utes’ 94-82 loss to the Wildcats in the Jon M. Hunstman Center. While the big scoring day certainly didn’t leave Barefield upbeat, it did provide an opportunity to exhale and at least a temporary respite from his ongoing aggravation.
“I work on my shot like every day, so it’s frustrating — the way I’ve been shooting — but I just keep putting work in and hopefully it starts to fall,” Barefield said.
Barefield, who made his debut for the Utes after sitting out the first semester of last season, hit the ground running this winter and started the season with a 22-point, four-assist performance on 8-of-12 shooting in the opener against Prairie View A&M. However, he has struggled mightily since. He went into Thursday night shooting 38.1 percent from the field overall and 32.4 percent from behind the 3-point arc.
While Barefield entered the week having averaged 10.6 points per game and remained one of the most reliable free throw shooters in the Pac-12 Conference (88.9 percent through 12 games), his shooting woes were no small matter. In the 11 games he played since the season opener, he’d made just 29 percent of his field goal attempts.
ARIZONA STATE AT UTAH<br>When • Sunday, 6 p.m.<br>TV • ESPNU
“I reminded him of a guy named Brandon Taylor [who] a couple years ago I think shot 20 percent in the preseason and ended up being one of the league leaders in shooting in Pac-12 play,” Krystkowiak said referring to the former all-conference guard for the Utes. “I’d rather have guys struggling in the preseason and stay true to how we’re playing and defending and all those things and then start catching some breaks. I’m convinced karma has something to do with that.”
Barefield exploded in the second half against Arizona by making his first four shots, and the shock waves were felt throughout the arena as the volume from the 13,543 in attendance built to a fever pitch as the Utes came back from a 17-point first-half deficit and a 14-point halftime deficit to tie the score three times in the second half.
Barefield mounted a 9-0 run of his own during one stretch that included three free throws sandwiched between a pair of 3-pointers as the Utes pulled to within two points, 61-59, with 12:13 remaining. In the second half, Barefield went 6-of-12 shooting with three of his missed shots coming on desperation attempts in the final 1:35 with the Utes trailing.
While graduate transfer Justin Bibbins has been a significant contributor and steadying force in the backcourt this season, Barefield’s potential reemergence could prove crucial for the Utes during Pac-12 play.
“My teammates just did a good job finding me, and I’ve been in the gym a little extra this week so it kind of paid off down the stretch,” Barefield said. “I wish we would’ve hit some of the shots later in the game.”
