In 2013, the biggest knock against Utah was its easy, non-conference schedule to start the season. The Runnin’ Utes were blowing their opponents out, and no one knew how good the Utah squad was until Pac-12 play started.
This time around, head coach Larry Krystkowiak and company made sure they would be tested early on, and it all starts Tuesday afternoon at San Diego State. The Aztecs come into the game ranked No. 16 in the AP Poll and boast one of the loudest student sections in the entire country.
“I know the crowd will be crazy,” said point guard Delon Wright. “They’ll be juiced up to play another good team like us. It’ll be a tough game, and we’re going to have to play a perfect game.”
“The Show,” as it is called at SDSU, is quite used to competing against teams in Utah, as both BYU and the Utes used to play in the Mountain West Conference. Back in 2010, the student section was under a lot of fire for some of its antics during a matchup with the Cougars. With Jimmermania in full swing at the time, “The Show” came out in full force to try to distract and disrupt BYU, and many thought their antics were over the top or offensive.
While preparing for the noise is no easy task in a practice setting, Krystkowiak believes he knows the key to success when the Utes travel to San Diego.
“The focus for us will be taking care of the basketball in a hostile environment, and then we really have to limit the number of second shots they get … then we’ve got a chance,” he said.
SDSU will have to make up for the loss of 2013 MWC Player of the Year Xavier Thames, but the Aztecs have plenty of talent that will give Utah fits throughout the game.
The three returning SDSU starters all earned some sort of MWC honor last season, and the team also added depth in the frontcourt with Arizona transfer Angelo Chol. Throw in a few more highly-recruited freshmen, and the Aztecs have one of the more impressive rosters Utah will see this season.
“It’s a really good team,” Krystkowiak said. “First off, they have one of the best basketball environments that there is in the country. They’re ranked in the Top-20 for a reason — they have an incredible athletic team. They’re without a doubt the best rebounding that I will have seen in college basketball. They send a lot of guys and get a lot of second shots and those are the easy ones.”
The afternoon game between the Runnin’ Utes and SDSU is scheduled to tip off at 2 p.m. MT.
 
[email protected]
@GriffDoug