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SALT LAKE CITY — Prior to the basketball season members of the media covering the Pac-12 Conference predicted the Runnin' Utes to finish ninth. With a little more than a week remaining in the regular season, the Utes are sitting in seventh and have a chance at the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament.
While the likelihood of the Utes finishing the season in the top five in the league is anything but certain, it's safe to say the team has exceeded expectations and has shown it has the talent to compete with any team in the Pac-12, depending on which team shows up at game time.
Through Wednesday's games, 2 1/2 games separate teams ranked third through 10th, with teams ranked third through sixth — Arizona State, Colorado, Stanford and California — tied with 9-6 conference records.
What does that mean?
Utah has to find a way to separate itself from the rest of the pack, and that comes by winning its remaining games against Colorado, Stanford and Cal.
The Utes will get their first shot in the final regular-season home game Saturday against Colorado — a top defensive team in the conference whose length and size pose a problem for any opponent. In Utah's last meeting with Colorado, the Utes took the Buffaloes to overtime before losing, 79-75, in a hard-fought contest.
Junior Delon Wright had 17 points and 11 assists, and sophomore Brandon Taylor added 17 points and a game-saving 3-pointer to send the game into overtime. Sophomore Jordan Loveridge, however, was 2 of 11 from the field, and the Utes were outrebounded, 42-24, that led to Utah's ultimate demise.
"Our Achilles' heel in the last game was rebounding," Utah head coach Larry Krystkowiak said during a practice leading up to Saturday's game. "They just manhandled us all the way around. For the most part I thought we functioned pretty well, but we couldn't secure defensive rebounds, and that was the thing, at the end of the day, that really killed us."
While Krystkowiak is looking for a different result Saturday, he said the issue of rebounding is never "fixed" with a team. It's an emphasis the team will have entering the game, particularly with a week's prep, but it's up to the physicality of the players and how well they compete, he said.
 Colorado |  Utah | Edge | |
| OFFENSIVE STATS | |||
| Points For (Per Game) | 73.57 | 78.41 | |
| Assists (Per Game) | 12.18 | 16.07 | |
| Field Goal % (Season) | 45% | 50% | |
| Three Point % (Season) | 32% | 35% | |
| Free Throw % (Season) | 72% | 74% | |
| Turnovers (Per Game) | 13.29 | 11.59 | |
| DEFENSIVE STATS | |||
| Points Against (Per Game) | 69.21 | 64.30 | |
| Opp Field Goal % (Per Game) | 43% | 41% | |
| Opp Three Point % (Per Game) | 37% | 30% | |
| Turnovers Forced (Per Game) | 12.71 | 12.63 | |
| Steals (Per Game) | 6.43 | 6.93 | |
| Blocks (Per Game) | 3.75 | 5.00 | |
"It’s not fixed. It’s a daily focus we’re going to have to have to block out and stay physical," he said. "It’s going to be a point of emphasis this week. I don’t think it’s something with our squad that we can say, 'We fixed it, let’s go find something else to fix' and not think about it as we move forward with the opponents we’ve got coming up."
Although Krystkowiak denied the opportunity to share his game plan for Colorado, he said his focus is to keep the Buffaloes from doing what they do best: attacking the glass. Much of that may be negated by going with a bigger lineup or altering the Utah’s defensive schemes.
"I think it’s important to win every rebounding matchup, regardless of who we’re playing," he said. "I think there’s a lot of different ways to get bigger. If you start Princeton (Onwas) instead of Dakarai (Tucker) you’ve gotten bigger. I think there’s been periods in our game right now where we’re playing bigger.
Against Arizona State, Krystkowiak started with a larger lineup in going with Onwas over Tucker. As a result, Utah jumped out to a commanding early lead and never looked back.
"As long as we can function offensively I’m pleased with where we’re going," Krystkowiak added.
With the Pac-12 Tournament approximately two weeks away, Krystkowiak said the team has it as a goal to win the tournament in the back of their mind, but their final three games take precedence.
“We still plan on taking care of business when that time comes,” he said. “We’re not thinking about the Bay area, we’re not thinking about Las Vegas, we’re thinking about the next game, which is Colorado.”
That focus has kept the Utes competitive in nearly every game they’ve played this season Their largest loss was a 14-point setback against UCLA. Also, six of the Utes' nine losses have been by four points or less, including three in overtime.
“The idea is to play your best basketball at this time of the year and put yourself in a position where you can be successful when that time comes,” Krystkowiak said.
