They don’t get much bigger than this.
With first place on the line, it’s safe to say that tonight’s game against San Diego State will be one of the most important games of the year for the Runnin’ Utes.
The Aztecs took the first contest of the year on their home floor, and Utah is looking to return the favor with a home win of its own. With both teams riding four-game winning streaks and a 7-2 Mountain West Conference record into the Huntsman Center, the Utes understand how big a win this would be.
“Around Christmas, I started talking about winning and our teams responded,” said head coach Jim Boylen. “We have to take advantage of this opportunity and keep doing the things we’re doing.”
It’s tough to tell a team that it needs to start winning.
Until late December, Boylen talked to his team about getting better, something that he learned coaching under Rudy Tomjanovich, who coached the Houston Rockets to two NBA championships, and Tom Izzo, who won a national championship in 2000 with Michigan State.
With the strides his team has made in the last half of the season, Boylen thought that he needed to get another message across. A drive to Park City with his brother Bobby gave him the idea to tell his players that instead of just improving, they needed to get winning on their mind.
“I’ve always been so scared to talk about winning before development and improvement,” Boylen said. “I saw the light a little bit with this group of guys, with four seniors, with the time we’ve been together and the schedule we’ve played8212;it was time to talk about it.”
The message was clear and the Utes responded. Since Dec. 27 the Utes have gone 10-2, compared to their prior record of 6-5.
Winning on their home floor has by no means been easy in MWC play this season, but a 4-0 record says a lot about how hard it is to win in Utah this year.
The Aztecs are coming off two straight road wins, their latest coming over Air Force and their biggest an overtime victory against UNLV.
“You go into Vegas and win, that’s as a hard a place to win as there is in the country8212;that says something about your team,” Boylen said.
SDSU beat the Rebels by holding UNLV, which regularly shoots 43 percent from the field, to 33 percent. The Aztecs’ defense is something that is a concern to the Utes in the upcoming game.
“They make you play off the bounce, they don’t give you open shots and they steal the ball,” Boylen said.
Utah swingman Carlon Brown knows how aggressive the Aztec defense is and expects it to be ready.
“Their defense is an attacking kind of defense,” Brown said. “They go for steals, they go for blocks, but I think if we can control the ball, stay strong with it, use our shot and pass fakes, we should be able to exploit their defense.”
SDSU is leading the MWC in steals with 8.5 per game. Boylen compared the Aztecs’ best defender, Richie Williams, to John Stockton in regards to how Williams never leaves an assignment. Williams leads the league in steals per game with 2.33 and will be a tough test for Utah’s guards.
“He’s a very sneaky player,” said Ute center Luke Nevill. “He likes to get steals, he likes to help off his man and swipe at the ball. So we have to be careful of him and be aware of where he is at all times.”
Tyler CobbLuka Drca drives the lane against Lee Cummerd of BYU earlier this season. The win against BYU was important but tonight?s game against SDSU is one of the most important games of the year for the Runnin? Utes, the winner will remain at the top of the MWC standings. Tip off is at 8 in the Huntsman Center.