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SALT LAKE CITY — In one month's time, Utah has gone from a team near the bottom of the Pac-12 conference standings to a team with an outside shot of claiming at least part of the regular season conference title.
On Sunday, Utah claimed a much-needed win over USC, beating the Trojans, 80-69, in Utah's final road game of the season. The win showed, in large part, the strides Utah has made in its progression throughout the season.
Although never a horrible team, Utah had shown glimpses of a brand of basketball uncharacteristic of its overall identity — sloppy, turnover-rich play with little ball movement while lacking any real mojo from its guards, Brandon Taylor and Lorenzo Bonam. Fast forward a month and a Washington road sweep and an impressive Los Angeles road sweep later, and Utah has what appears to be the making of a top-tier team in a competitive conference.
"We're on a little bit of a roll right now and you can feel it on the team. The chemistry is just there and we're playing good on both ends of the floor," sophomore center Jakob Poeltl told ESPN 700 following his 29-point, 12-rebound performance against the Trojans Sunday. "It's just fun to play basketball like that."
With three games left in the regular season, Utah now holds the best road record in the conference after Utah beat USC Sunday and a No. 10 RPI. That ability to win games on the road, particularly against a team who was previously undefeated at home in 15 tries, is a valuable asset heading into March in the Pac-12 Tournament and the ensuing NCAA Tournament.
Head coach Larry Krystkowiak credits the team's improved defense and "basketball karma" as part of why Utah has had success as of late.
"It's everybody is committed to the game plan and holding people accountable. We're playing without fouling, which is huge," Krystkowiak told ESPN 700. "It's kind of the basketball karma: If you really focus on the right things the offense becomes a little bit easier and it becomes fun, and winning is fun. You don't win if you don't play defense."
The regular season title, though, will not be an easy task, considering that 2.5 games separates the two teams, Arizona and Oregon, who are tied for first place, and Washington, who currently sits at No. 7 in the conference standings. Utah sits in third place at a half game behind Arizona and Oregon.
In terms of home contests remaining, Utah holds the advantage over the other six programs as the Utes closes out the regular season with all three of its final games at home, including Arizona on Feb. 27.
Although Utah has been trending in a positive direction as of late, Krystkowiak said it will take more "building" to become a championship-caliber team.
"We've had some stretches this year where we've felt really low and bad about our performances and we're still a pretty good team," he said. "If you go on the road in Southern California and get a couple of wins, that doesn't make you a championship-style team. We've got to continue building."
The positives as of late, though, are what has Krystkowiak most encouraged about his team's progress and ability to close out the season strong.
"Our guys are doing such a great job of sharing the basketball — extra passes," Krystkowiak told ESPN 700. "It's the brand of basketball that I've always liked to play. It's high assists that lead to higher percentages. I'm really proud of the way we moved it."
Although a team effort in Krystkowiak's motion offense, where the extra passes lead to higher percentage shot attempts, Utah has fared well when guard Brandon Taylor distributes the ball at a high amount. In games where Taylor has five or more assists, Utah is 7-1. For guard Lorenzo Bonam, it's a similar case where if he has five or more assists Utah is 5-1.
But the emergence of Poeltl's game despite good defenders in conference play has made all the difference in Utah's success. In Utah's last 10 games, Poeltl has scored in double figures seven times and has finished with a double-double in four games, with three other games near that mark.
Poeltl earned his 12th double-double of the season Sunday and continues to be of vital importance to the team's chemistry and makeup. As Poeltl goes, so does the team. In fact, Utah is 11-1 overall and 5-1 in conference play when Poeltl records a double-double. Poeltl becomes a scoring threat in the post, but has the ability to kick it out when teams collapse on him, making Utah a difficult team to guard when the shots are falling on the perimeter.
Utah should get a boost from a home-crowd atmosphere in its final three games of the season, but will have to continue to play sound basketball, particularly against Arizona, as the team works toward the conference title.
