Shortly after FGCU’s tournament run was over, Enfield took the vacant head coaching job at USC. The Utes will get their first chance to see Enfield with his new team tonight when they welcome the Trojans to the Hunstman Center.
Fans hoping to see “Dunk City” reincarnated should lower their expectations.
“I watched a little bit [of FGCU] during the run, and it was a well-oiled machine,” Utah head coach Larry Krystkowiak said. “That was the magical story from a year ago, but I don’t see a lot of similarities. Different time and different place.”
USC will be in search of their first conference win when they take on Utah tonight. The Trojans have trouble keeping up with the Pac-12 competition, having lost all three of their conference games so far. USC is led by junior Byron Wesley who has put up 20 or more points in four of his last five games.
With the Trojans struggling mightily, tonight’s game should provide a good opportunity for the Utes to overcome their recent offensive woes.
Tipoff is at 8 p.m. at the Huntsman Center.
Utah’s drawing a crowd
The last time the Utes played a home game, 14,055 fans were in attendance to watch them take on Oregon State. Currently, Utah is second in attendance numbers in the Pac-12, and it seems Salt Lake City is turning into a basketball city once again.
“I absolutely love it,” Krystkowiak said. “It’s really cool. Someone sent me a photo the other day from our Oregon State game, and I didn’t realize it looked the way it did. It’s rewarding, but now it’s our job to start winning some games.”
The Utes are hoping their struggles in their two recent road games won’t hurt the crowd.
“We hope fans haven’t lost hope in this team,” sophomore guard Brandon Taylor said.
Taylor isn’t the only one with concerns — forward Jordan Loveridge also stated that he hopes the losses won’t have a negative effect on the crowd.
Utes fail to close
The Utes have lost three of their four conference games by a combined total of seven points. In each of those games, Utah had a chance to either tie or take the lead in the closing moments. Be it a missed shot or a turnover, the Utes have failed to make the winning play down the stretch. Players are hoping that next time they will be prepared to make the big play.
“When we get into those situations again, we know we have been there and will know what to do,” Taylor said. “That’s where practice comes into play.”
Taylor said Utah has been practicing end-of-game situations in hopes it will be more comfortable and better prepared.
Krystkowiak said he hopes the losses are maturing his players, but he doesn’t want the youth of his team to be taken as an excuse for not executing down the stretch.