There was a measure of expected excitement in the air for college basketball on Saturday at Vivint Smart Home Arena, the pro palace bound to fill all the way up to around half-capacity for the third and final rendition of the Beehive Classic.
The warmup act, Utah-Weber State, had all the verve and vibrance of a yard sale. The few thousand who were on hand, a smattering of diehards that made the home of the Jazz look vacuous, picked over the household items, rummaged through the old lamps and shovels and hoses, the semi-worn shoes and velvet paintings and kitchen utensils, then kind of collectively yawned and sniffed before moving on to other plans for the evening.