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SALT LAKE CITY — This weekend the No. 8 Runnin’ Utes are heading to Arizona to play against Pac-12 opponents Arizona State and No. 10 Arizona. These games will be the first conference away matchups of the season.
“It’ll be fun because it’s two tough teams for us to go into those environments and try to get some wins,” junior forward Jordan Loveridge said.
The first game of the weekend comes Thursday against Arizona State (8-8). The team only lost one of nine home games, and it didn’t occur easily. Lehigh defeated the Sun Devils 84-81 in three OTs.
“We need to prepare to come in and execute our game plan,” Loveridge said.
Perhaps Utah's (13-2) more important game of the road trip is Saturday against Arizona. The Wildcats are coming off a 58-56 loss to Oregon State. The upset gave the Utes a lone lead in the conference.
“It shows that every team is good and any team can win any game in the Pac-12,” Loveridge said. “The biggest thing is to outplay them and play hard, to make them do things they don’t want to do and making sure we defend like we have been.”
Related:
Runnin' Utes stand alone at the top
The No. 9 Runnin' Utes stand atop the Pac-12 Conference standings as the only undefeated team in league play after No. 7 Arizona fell to Oregon State, 58-56, Sunday night.Because of the tight race to keep up the Pac-12 lead, fans are looking forward to Saturday. However the Ute focus is on Thursday’s game.
“There's no focus on Saturday,” head coach Larry Krystkowiak said at Monday’s press conference. “I know what they did to us last year, but we haven't accomplished anything. I am focused on ASU and this road trip's first game. They're dangerous and we are going to have to be focused on them.”
Utah is undefeated in conference play thus far. They’ve rallied wins against USC (79-55), UCLA (71-39) and Colorado (74-49).
“It’s a great start in the Pac-12. This is a tough road trip to go in and win both of those games, any road trip is. But it would mean a lot and build our confidence.”
Utah is trying to win its seventh-straight game overall and fourth-straight Pac-12 game for the first time since Krystkowiak took over the program.
Utah is 1-2 on the road this season. Its only win was against in-state rival BYU. While the win was exciting, the 45-mile road trip to Provo wasn’t too far from home. The two losses came against San Diego State (12-4) and No. 9 Kansas (14-2).
Thursday’s tipoff is at 8 p.m., with the game televised on Fox Sports 1 and broadcasted on ESPN 700.
