The Utah men’s basketball team is in Puerto Rico for the Puerto Rico Tip-Off and will play Texas Tech to kick things off on Thursday night.
In the team’s first two games, the Utes have suffered scoring droughts that often keep the other team in the game. This is something head coach Larry Krystkowiak hopes they can get rid of against stiffer competition. If the team is leading, they need to continue to run up the score.
“Those kind of swings we need to figure out a way to extinguish,” Krystkowiak said. “I think that’s a big key in basketball — when you have a big lead, you need to put your foot on the pedal and keep it going.”
One person the team is going to rely on is Jakob Poeltl and his presence down low. He’s been working hard in the off-season and is playing with more competitiveness than last year. Having him attack the boards is something the entire team benefits from.
“He’s not afraid to be fouled now,” Krystkowiak said. “He’s gained 30 pounds and he’s a load in there. We like teams to have to determine whether or not they’re going to double and how they’re going to deal with him and it really starts with his production one on one.”
Poeltl could not agree more with his coach. He wants to play with more consistency this year, and a big part of that is being able to withstand whatever is in front of him.
“I will take every challenge that’s going to come at me, and I think so far this season’s going pretty good,” Poeltl said.
Although the starting lineup has yet to be set in stone, Krystkowiak hopes none of his players get discouraged because of how early it is in the season. With how supportive all the players have been of one another, however, he does not think this is going to pose any sort of problem.
“The important thing is that nobody loses their confidence,” Krystkowiak said. “Looking at our team in the locker room, everyone’s in it together. They’re going to have a time to shine.”
He’s going to need all of his players to step up at some point in the year. They’ll just have to be ready whenever their number is called, even more so with the three games in four nights they have coming up.
Following Texas Tech, the team will play either Miami or Mississippi State on Friday. After a day off on Saturday, the Utes then could face Butler, Minnesota, Missouri State or Temple on Sunday. For any team, this would be an exhausting task, and Krystkowiak is counting on his players to be ready for it.
“It’s quite a trip in between — some frequent flier miles along the way, and we’re going to need everybody,” Krystkowiak said. “Our guys know that they’re some weapons that didn’t get much of an opportunity to play. When we go to Puerto Rico we’ll be counting on some guys for some fire power.”
@kbrenneisen