Fresh off a thrilling 68-67 win over in-state rival Utah State Wednesday night, the Runnin’ Utes will play their first game in the Las Vegas Invitational Tournament against the Southern University Jaguars Saturday at 7 p.m. in the Huntsman Center.
After the hard-fought win against the Aggies, the Utes will be working to continue their improvement and make back-to-back victories.
“We have to keep our edge, and we have to compete like we’re playing for a championship every night,” head coach Jim Boylen said.
The Jaguars are coming off a crushing 93-61 loss to Oklahoma State, in which Southern shot a woeful 28 percent from the field for the game.
Although they are returning seven lettermen from their 2008-2009 team, the Jaguars will present a brand new starting five. They will face the Utes during a 14-day road trip.
“They’re on a heck of a road swing, but that just means they’re used to playing on the road,” Boylen said.
So far this season the Jaguars have presented a balanced offensive attack. They are led by freshman guard Tony McGilveary, averaging 11.5 points per game, followed by junior guard Nick Walls and senior forward Jazz Williams, who are each averaging 8.5 points per game so far this season.
The Utes will have to play tight defense on McGilveary, who has shown to be a dangerous shooter from long range, averaging 45.5 percent from beyond the arc this season.
“They’ve got great athleticism, and their quickness is a concern and their change in defense is a concern,” Boylen said.
For Utah the game will be another chance to show how much they can improve from game to game. After the Utes’ victory over the Aggies, Boylen praised his team for how much they had improved in just four days after their season opening loss to the University of Idaho. Boylen said that with such a young team it’s vital to see improvement each game.
“Now we’ve had success and we’ll have to improve in keeping our grit and our edge,” Boylen said.
Guard Carlon Brown led the Utes against the Aggies with a career-high 22 points, and he, along with Ute weapons Kim Tillie, Luka Drca and Marshall Henderson will lead the Utes again against the Jaguars.
The game against Southern will kick off the four-game Las Vegas Invitation Tournament for the Utes. After the Jaguars, the Utes will face Seattle University at home, then travel to face the Illinois Fighting Illini in a guaranteed semi-final match, followed by a final matchup against either Bradley University or Oklahoma State.
“We’ve got to keep growing and learning to trust each other and share the basketball, and this tournament is a great chance to practice that,” Boylen said.
Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. tomorrow night. The game will not be televised, but will be broadcast on KALL 700AM.