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SALT LAKE CITY — Matters finally fell into place for the Runnin' Utes when they claimed their first Pac-12 conference victory of the season last Saturday, downing Washington, 74-65.
Utah head coach Larry Krystkowiak credited the win to a more incremental approach to the game of basketball.
"Sometimes you're looking at the big picture and the result instead of thinking about what happens along the way," he said.
The Utes shifted their focus from trying to notch a W to trying to win each possession.
The game is on the line from the first possession on. You don't wait until the last possession or the last three possessions when you know everybody's watching and on the edge of their seat. Let's go out and win this possession, whether we have the ball or we're trying to defend.
–Utah head coach Larry Krystkowiak
Krystkowiak continued, "That's what I presented to our guys: 'The game is on the line from the first possession on. You don't wait until the last possession or the last three possessions when you know everybody's watching and on the edge of their seat. Let's go out and win this possession, whether we have the ball or we're trying to defend.'
"It's like 'game point' from the first possession. It helped our guys to think about it on a possession-by-possession basis."
Now the Utes return home to host the next three straight games, where they will look to continue that progressive success, starting with Cal on Thursday night.
The Golden Bears boast the Pac-12 conference's top scorer, junior guard Alan Crabbe, who averages 19.8 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. Justin Cobbs, also a junior guard, averages 14.8 points with 4.1 assists.
Cal (10-7, 2-3) has lost two of its last three matchups, dropping home contests against Washington and Washington State before beating Stanford.
The Bears rank second in the Pac-12 in opponents' field goal percentage, allowing just 39 percent on average.
The team that ranks No. 1? That would be Utah, allowing just 37.2 percent.
Freshman forward Jordan Loveridge leads the Utes (9-9, 1-5) in scoring and rebounding, averaging 12.8 points and 7.3 boards. Senior center Jason Washburn is also crashing the glass, scoring 11 points to go with 6.3 rebounds.
Senior guard Jarred DuBois, who averages 12.5 points and a team-high 3.4 assists, found himself in foul trouble at Washington, limiting him to just 10 minutes of playing time.
But freshman guard Brandon Taylor was ready to come in and shine, scoring a career-high 19 points with six assists off the bench.
Krystkowiak values Taylor's pure point guard skill set, and hopes to find ways to continue to get him into the rotation.
"He's a point guard, specifically," Krystkowiak said of Taylor. "I think there's a little bit of gray area with Glen (Dean) and (DuBois). If Brandon is playing well, we can play Glen or J.D. at the 2, and move guys down the ladder that way."
The Utes will likely hope for another solid contribution from Taylor against Cal, looking for victories on each possession that lead to a W.
The team will then re-focus its efforts to a Stanford team that will arrive for Utah's first Sunday game since joining the Pac-12.
Junior forward Dwight Powell leads the Cardinal with 14.9 points and 7.6 rebounds per game, while sophomore guard Chasson Randle adds 13.5 points and 2.8 assists.
Stanford (11-7, 2-3) is coming off a 69-59 win over Cal, after splitting road matchups with the Washington teams.
Utah wasn't too far from sweeping Stanford last season. The Utes edged the Cardinal in Salt Lake City, 58-57; but former Utes Chris Hines and Josh Watkins each missed 3-pointers in the waning seconds of the game at Palo Alto, Calif., in which Utah fell, 68-65.
The Utes have endured plenty of last-second drama already this season, so they will hope the game doesn't come down to the last shot this time around.
Thursday night's game tips off at 6:30 p.m. MST on the Pac-12 Network and on the radio at 700 AM. Sunday's contest starts at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast likewise.
Tyson Maddy has covered the University of Utah football and men's basketball teams as a contributing writer for KSL.com Sports since 2011. Follow his Utes coverage on twitter @Tyson_Maddy
