Much to be gained in disappointing loss

It was a true David versus Goliath story, but in this case the Goliath character handled the character playing David quite easily. The analogy is geared toward the Wolverines recent loss to the Minnesota Golden Gophers of the Big Ten conference.

The Gophers came into the game ranked eighteenth in the USA Today/ESPN poll and ran away from UVU with a 76-51 shellacking. However, the Wolverines put up a fight and near the end of the first half the Wolverines cut the Gopher lead to just one but couldn’t get any closer.

Jordan Swarbrick led UVU with 11 points while Tyray Petty added eight points to go along with nine rebounds and four assists. The Wolverines cut the lead to seven points midway through the second half, but for Minnesota, the game was never in jeopardy.

So, what is to be gained by playing a game like this for the Wolverines? There are more pros than there are cons. While a loss is never easy to swallow, it is only one game. And whether you lose by one or 100, it only counts as one loss.

So, other than the paycheck UVU undoubtedly took away from the encounter, the experience is just as valuable. UVU was able to find out how it measures up with the best teams in the country and, most likely, will not see any team as talented as the Golden Gophers the rest of the way. This will be especially important come conference play.

Another positive is the chance to see a nationally ranked team up close. If the Wolverines can learn from the loss and the things Minnesota was able to do well, then they can improve in many areas.

Utah Valley will get another chance to topple a nationally recognized program when the Wolverines take on the Cal Golden Bears on Dec. 28 in Berkley, Calif. And keep in mind, it wasn’t that long ago that the Wolverines knocked off Arizona State in Tempe.