SALT LAKE CITY — The Runnin' Utes are prepping for what will likely be their most difficult week of the season yet. They host Utah Valley University at the Huntsman Center Tuesday night, after which they will travel to Cincinnati for a matchup with the 13th ranked Xavier Musketeers.

This week's trending discusses those matchups and more:

Ogbe returns to Salt Lake City

Nearly a year to the day since he played his last game as a Ute, Kenneth Ogbe is making his first trip back to the Huntsman Center, this time as a Utah Valley Wolverine.

Ogbe, a junior who played in just 22 games in two seasons at Utah, transferred to UVU this summer. The young man from Munich, Germany, battled injuries throughout his time at Utah, something that made getting playing time all the more difficult. Utah head coach Larry Krystkowiak said repeatedly after last season that Ogbe was considering a medical retirement before he ultimately transferred. Ogbe says he left the program on good terms.

"I'm grateful for my time at Utah and am thankful to the coaches, academic advisers, professors and teammates that helped me succeed and graduate this past summer," he said upon announcing his transfer.

At UVU, Ogbe is flourishing, leading the Wolverines in scoring at 15.6 points per game, while leading the nation in true shooting percentage at 81.1 percent.

Utah offense flourishing with Daniels on the floor

True freshman Devon Daniels is only playing 23 minutes per game, but when he's on the floor, the Utes are fantastic.

Daniels currently sports a 125.3 offensive rating, a measure of how many points per 100 possessions a team scores with a given player on the floor. Average to good offensive ratings typically reside somewhere between 105 and 110 for college basketball, making Daniels' current rating fantastic.

What makes Daniels so good on offense for Utah is his IQ. He's good at picking his spots, and understands where to get his teammates the ball. He's assisting on 19 percent of Utah's baskets when he's on the floor, second only to junior Kyle Kuzma for the Utes.

The Battle Creek, Michigan, product is averaging 10.3 points per game on 56 percent shooting. Perhaps most intriguing about Daniels is that he's yet to figure out the 3-point shot; If he can add that to his game, then watch out.

Kuzma may be about to blast off

Go-to guy Kyle Kuzma has yet to find his shooting stroke through six games for Utah, which makes his current statistics even more impressive.

Currently averaging a double double for the Utes with 16.5 points and 10.8 rebounds per game, the junior is also leading the Utes in sharing the ball, with 3.5 assists per game.

Kuzma's poor shooting has been a tad concerning, however. He's shooting only 21 percent from three and 71 percent from the free-throw line. The 3-pointers may just be the cause of early season jitters, but the free-throw stats are important. For a guy who gets to the line as often as Kuzma (he's averaging nearly six foul shots while drawing seven fouls a game), his point averages could go significantly up with improved shooting.

If Kuzma can start shooting the ball better, which he'll certainly need to do as the Utes get closer and closer to Pac-12 play, Utah's ceiling goes drastically up.

Toughest week of season thus far

Utah's trip to Xavier later this week looms large, but Tuesday's bout with UVU is by no means a guaranteed win.

The Wolverines beat BYU 114-101 in Provo Nov. 26, and boast what Kenpom calls the largest comeback win of the college basketball season so far against Denver after coming back from a 27-point deficit. Currently playing at the fourth fastest pace in the NCAA, the Wolverines will push the pace against Utah and look to exploit any live-ball turnovers.

Xavier meanwhile, is beginning to flex its muscles. Chris Mack's 13th ranked Musketeers are 7-1, and junior guard Trevon Bluiett is averaging 18.1 points a game.

Mack, now in his eighth season at his alma mater, runs a tight eight-man rotation, with three players playing approximately 34 minutes a game. Bluiett himself has twice played 40 minutes. Xavier will likely play a fair bit of zone defense against the Utes, as their undersized, four guard lineup has played its way to the 23rd ranked defense in the nation. Their offense, too, is strong, ranking as the 18th-best in the land.

While a win at Xavier seems unlikely, going 2-0 against this week's slate of games would be truly impressive.

Stephen Lindsey covers Utah athletics for KSL.com, as well as the SLC Stars and prep sports. Get in touch with him via Twitter at @slthe3.

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