The Runnin' Utes won the little battles en route to winning the war, as they beat Wyoming 68-55 in semifinals of the Mountain West Conference tournament.

Utah will now be playing in the Mountain West Conference Tournament Championship for the first time in four years, after a 68-55 bashing of Wyoming.

With less than 20 seconds left in the game, and the game tied at 58-58, Ute point guard Luka Drca controlled the ball at the top of the perimeter, and then drove it with eight seconds left in the game.

The Runnin' Utes system is designed around big man Luke Nevill, but the Utes discovered they could be successful with a smaller line-up on the floor in their 61-58 quarterfinal win over TCU.

Senior center Luke Nevill swept the "big" Mountain West Conference season awards in 2009 after having his best season in a Utah uniform by winning Mountain West Conference Player of the Year and with Defensive Player of the Year.

After tying for the Mountain West Conference title and snagging the No. 2 seed in the MWC Tournament, Utah is primed and ready.

By Paige Fieldsted, Staff WriterNo. 1 BYU Cougars (24-6 overall, 12-4 MWC)BYU was one of three teams to share the regular season Mountain West Conference title. This is the third year in a row BYU has...

Last season, the Runnin' Utes lost assistant coaches Marty Wilson and Chris Jones. The two left to work their way toward careers at head coaching positions, which left head coach Jim Boylen with a void to fill.

Lack of depth is a cause for concern for the Runnin' Utes in a tournament that could force them to play three games in three days.

Utah's head coach has pleaded with players, coaches and fans since his first day on the hill to buy into a system, buy into a program and buy into a family.