After defeating Colorado in its first Pac-12 game of the season, the Utah basketball team will take to the road to compete in its first Pac-12 game on the road against Arizona on Thursday, Jan. 5, in Tucson, Arizona.

Head coach Larry Krystkowiak acknowledges that the Utes have a huge challenge coming up against one of the toughest schools in the conference and he will need his team to be prepared to take on anything.

“[Arizona] is talented, well-coached, they make scoring baskets really difficult and they lead the country in defending, so it will always be a highly physical game,” Krystkowiak said. “So when we take on Tucson, we have to be really dialed in to play in a tough environment.”

Arizona opened up its season against Cal and Stanford, taking a win in both games. However, the Wildcats winning streak so far doesn’t determine the outcome of Thursday night’s game or the season, according to Krystkowiak. Although he doesn’t pay too much attention to the Pac-12 games this early on, Krystkowiak is aware that some outcomes of games are more predictable than others.

“It’s what we have come to expect and things will start to straighten out,” Krystkowiak said. “Everyone just needs to take care of their home court.”

In previous years, the Wildcats have defeated the Utes in 12 straight games, but in the 2015-16 season, the Utes finally ended that losing streak. The Utes came out with the victory over the Wildcats, 70-64, but Arizona still boasts 9-1 record over Utah since the conference expanded.

The Wildcats are expected to come out strong with a readiness to not only defend their home court, but wtih a readiness to also get their fans involved from the get go. With that in mind, Krystkowiak needs his players to be focused if they are going to come home with at least one win on the road in Arizona.

Tip off is scheduled to begin at 8:00 p.m. MST.

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