The Runnin' Utes have played a lot of big games this season, but the game Saturday against BYU might be as big as it gets in the regular season.

Although the Utes aren't accustomed to dealing with small, quick teams, the Mountain West Utah has a 7-foot-2 giant and UNLV countered with a guard quartet that nearly handed Utah its first loss in eight games.

The Utes secured the first 20-win season in the Jim Boylen era, increased their conference-leading win streak to eight and won their 500th win in the Huntsman Center with a 70-60 win over the visiting UNLV Rebels.

Monday, the Utes were voted as the No. 26 ranked team in the country, by both the AP and the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll.

For the fifth time this season, Nevill was named as MWC Player of the Week, this time sharing the honor with Wyoming guard Brandon Ewing. The only other player to receive multiple honors this season is New Mexico forward Roman Martinez, who has earned it twice.

Luke Nevill scored eight of his 23 points in overtime and pulled down 14 boards to go along with his eye-popping seven blocks to help the U overcome another first-half deficit to hold on for a 89-79 victory.

It's been three weeks since the Runnin' Utes have come up short against an opponent. That time frame would have been significantly shorter if not for the U men's basketball team's ability to come back from a first half deficit.

The men's basketball team extended its season-long win streak to six games behind a 22-point effort from Borha as the Runnin' Utes spoiled a strong first half from the visiting Falcons to win 74-59. The win extended Utah's home winning streak to nine games.

It looked as though the Runnin' Utes' defense had slept in for its early-afternoon start against the Air Force Falcons. The men's basketball team allowed the Falcons to shoot 56 percent from the field in the first half, giving the cadets a one-point lead at the break.

After beating San Diego State on Wednesday, the Utes extended their overall win streak to five and their home win streak to eight games. This streak is the longest since the 2004-2005 season, when Utah went 16-0 at home.