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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah's 74-65 win last Saturday against Washington was one for the record books.
The nine point victory, which happened in one of the more hostile environments in all of the Pac-12, signaled the Runnin' Utes first ever conference road win since joining the Pac-12.
Now we know what it takes to win. We know what we have to do. You have to attack practice the same way and get ready for another tough game Thursday.
–Utah senior Jason Washburn
"Now we know what it takes to win. We know what we have to do," Utah senior Jason Washburn said. "You have to attack practice the same way and get ready for another tough game Thursday."
The win was also Utah's first conference win this year after starting the season 0-5, with three of those losses coming by a combined eight points.
"It was some good medicine," Utah head coach Larry Krystkowiak said. "It feels good for all of us to validate some of our efforts, get the ‘W', and think about things with a more positive light."
But the Runnin' Utes can't celebrate for too long. The Utes have a tough task at hand this week, playing Cal on Thursday before hosting Stanford in a rare Sunday night home game.
"We're trying to get creative to get people out to watch the game," Krystkowiak said regarding Utah's first ever regular season home Sunday game. "The league schedule comes out and we don't have a lot to say about who, when and where. But hopefully it's an opportunity to get a win."
One of the main points of emphasis lately in practice has been the urgency to play every possession like it is "game point", as if the game is on the line from the first possession on — whether on offense, or defense.
"I think it helped our guys to think about that on a possession by possession basis, rather than thinking ‘we need a win', and forgetting about what it takes to get that win," Krystkowiak said.
That philosophy appeared to spark the Utes against Washington, as the Utes jumped out to a 12-2 lead.
"In order for us to try to get any kind of winning streak established or get some confidence, its about the opening tip when we play Cal. Up until then we need to try to improve in practice," Krystkowiak added.
Video Contribution: Mike Grant
