On Friday, the Utes unveiled a new pre-game ritual with an introduction highlight video being played ON THE COURT. On Sunday against UCLA, the spectacle got better. Thousands of red blinking glow-sticks were handed out to fans as the Huntsman Center turned into a dancing sea of red.
Oh the joys of being good again. No, scratch that – the joys of being great again.
When last week’s AP poll came out with Utah slated at No. 10, Ute head coach Larry Krystkowiak essentially said Utah wasn’t a top-10 team. His comment though, wasn’t necessarily bold.
The Utes lost to San Diego State, who, to put it lightly, has struggled in the recent weeks, Utah also fell down by 20 points to Kansas before mounting a furious comeback and it gave up a nine-point lead in what seemed like a blink of an eye against Wichita State. Not your typical signs you see from a top-10 team.
There were plenty on Sunday, however.
With the new renovations to Utes’ home arena, the Utah marketing team is finding more and more extravagant ways to heighten the game experience. People don’t pay that much attention to detail for a middle-of-the pac(k) team.
The product on the court is matching the new and improved pre-game antics. Utah is growing as a team, and its close games of the past are turning into blowouts. The Utes didn’t just beat UCLA, they dismantled the Bruins, crushed them and flat out embarrassed them.
This isn’t your grandfather’s UCLA team, hell, they probably can’t even hold a candle to last year’s Bruins squad, but the Utes didn’t give them an inch.
That is what good teams do.
The Utes suffocated UCLA early, using relentless defense and transition points to run out to a 17-point halftime lead – they weren’t through. Within minutes of the second half, Utah stretched the lead to 30 and above, and that’s where it would stay.
The Bruins never had a hope of coming back. In fact, the possibility never even crossed their minds.
Utah isn’t perfect, most notably its struggles from the free-throw line and can’t seem to run an effective late in the clock set, but the Utes are so good at so many areas that those things have become irrelevant.
Utah is on the defensive end and fantastic in transition. The Utes guard every position and have multiple, and I mean multiple, players that can score.
On Sunday the Utes had 11 players score, with only two getting into double figures. It’s that balanced of a squad. Krystkowiak has the luxury of quickly replacing a player that is having an off night with someone that can come in and contribute.
It’s a program that has turned around quickly and that may be why some people are not quite ready to jump fully onto the bandwagon. Hell, maybe that’s why Krystkowiak himself is hesitant. Just a short time ago, the Utes were at rock bottom, winning six games and had completely cleaned out the cupboard. It doesn’t seem possible for the Utes to have come from that to knocking on the door of the nation’s elite.
Utah fans have suffered a lot in the past years, from football team failures to a basketball team that was, for a time, an embarrassment. It’s time to enjoy some success.
Sure the team Utah smoked on Sunday wasn’t a UCLA team of old, but these Utes are getting awfully close to the Utah teams of the glory years.
So while Larry K might not think he has a top-10 team in Salt Lake City, the list of people that agree with him is getting awfully short.
@millerjryan