Whether complaining about the revocation of his $1,200 a year parking spot, the thought of having troops patrolling campus with AK-47s or some of his players being ousted from the dorms, U men’s basketball coach Rick Majerus has never been an outspoken Olympics booster.
“The Olympics is going to be a nightmare for the city of Salt Lake,” he said. “They’re not worried about the MWC.”
Senior forward Phil Cullen agreed the Olympics will be a bother.
“We can’t play or practice at our home court as much, and we don’t get to sleep in our own beds,” he said.
At one point prior to the Games, the Huntsman Center will shut down for a four-day period. The JMHC will close to house the practice walk for Olympians before they march to Rice-Eccles Stadium for opening ceremonies.
The life of U collegiate basketball will not be the same, but the Utes play on. Currently 15-3 and tied for first in the Mountain West Conference at 5-0, the U hits its second cycle of MWC games in the middle of the international celebration.
After home games with Colorado State (Feb. 2 at 7 p.m.) and Wyoming (Feb. 4 at 10 p.m. on ESPN2) this weekend, the Utes hit the road for five of their final seven games.
In addition, Majerus isn’t too keen on the three consecutive Saturday and late Monday games.
“There’s never a day [a player] can blow off. There’s never a day you can be a regular kid,” Majerus said. “I know the players despise that schedule.”
The Utes play at San Diego State Feb. 9 and play two days later at UNLV. Then the Utes return home to host Air Force (Feb. 16) and New Mexico (Feb. 18) during the Olympics.
All Monday games begin at 10 p.m. in order to be televised on ESPN.
“Playing late is another negative. I don’t like anything that detracts from academics,” Majerus said.
“It is tough. It wears you out,” Cullen said.
Utah then hits the road for a game at BYU on Feb. 23 at 1 p.m.
Maybe the Olympic break will level the playing field, because the Utes enter the recess on a tear, winning their last 12 since starting 3-3.
However, the team has not cracked into the latest Top 25 poll. Utah is No. 33 nationally in the Associated Press poll, garnering just 22 votes.
“Being ranked would be nice, but it’s not that important,” said junior forward/center Britton Johnsen, who is averaging 22.4 points and 8.5 rebounds over the past two games.
For much of the winning streak, the Utes have ridden the deadly accuracy of sophomore marksman Nick Jacobson and the team’s overall performance from beyond the arc.
However, the Utes rushed the trifecta in the win over the Y, shooting 22.2 percent as a team (Jacobson was 1-5 from threes, 2-9 from the field).
To supplement the offensive productivity, Britton Johnsen scored 20 points on 5-13 from the field, 10-12 from the foul line.
“We have a couple of guys that can go off. It doesn’t matter to Nick or to anyone else who does,” Majerus said.
Utah escaped the Huntsman Center with a win over BYU, and a match-up with MWC unbeaten Wyoming looms Feb. 4 for conference supremacy.
However, a game with Colorado State (9-10, 1-4 MWC) is sandwiched in, and coach Majerus never looks past an opponent.
“When you look beyond games, you do a disservice to yourself and your opponent,” he said. “Until a game starts counting for two, I’ll take them all one at a time.”
Even though CSU has lost to the likes of Gardner-Webb and Baylor, Majerus said the Rams possessed the talent to put a stop on Utah’s 47 home conference winning streak.
The Utes will have to stop Brian Greene (16.2 ppg, 8.1 rpg) and Andy Birley (12.5 ppg, 4.3 apg).
Injured Ute center Chris Burgess, who practiced twice last week, will not play, as he is undergoing acupuncture treatment to try and speed the recovery of a torn ligament in his foot.
“He’s got some mojo going, he’s all for [the acupuncture treatment],” said Majerus. “But you can’t play if you don’t go to practice.”