In wake of Smith's exit, Runnin' Utes moving to end season the 'way it should be finished'

SALT LAKE CITY — In many ways, the Utah men's basketball team has exceeded expectations this season.

Maybe that sounds crazy given that the university just fired head coach Craig Smith and the team is 7-10 in conference play. But with three games left in the regular season, there's still plenty left to play for in the final few games.

As it stands before Utah welcomes Arizona State to the Huntsman Center in the penultimate home game of the season, the Runnin' Utes are in 10th place in the conference standings and one game out of locking up a top-eight finish and first round bye in the upcoming Big 12 Tournament.

So while the season hasn't lived up to the expectations of an NCAA Tournament run, given where Utah was predicted to finish — 16th in the preseason poll — the team has exceeded expectations. And to do that in a transitory year in a more physical, talented conference is even more impressive, interim head coach Josh Eilert said Friday.

"I told those guys yesterday how incredibly proud I am of where they're at right now in the Big 12," Eilert said. "Certainly, we could be 10-7 if things worked out a little better for us. ... I think they did an incredible job, given the circumstances in the first year, of making that transition."

Eilert knows firsthand what that transition is like for a team in their first season of the Big 12. While a video coordinator on Bob Huggins' staff at West Virginia, the Mountaineers made the move from the Big East to the Big 12 in 2012.

After five straight years as an NCAA Tournament team in the Big East — including a Final Four appearance in 2010 — Huggins' team finished its first season in the Big 12 with a 13-19 record. It took the school two full seasons before the NCAA Tournament was back on the table and West Virginia continued its postseason run.

"It is a really hard transition. ... Bob Huggins, a Hall-of-Fame coach, we had a really hard time transitioning," Eilert said. "It is a bear in itself to transition into this league. We were 13-19 that year and only won six (conference) games, so it takes a little time to build the type of roster and to integrate yourself into a different league, because it is a way more physical league, in my opinion."

It's that type of message that Eilert is using to keep his team motivated after a week he described as being a "whirlwind."

But he hasn't seen any drop off from his current team — Utah's uphill fight against No. 22 Arizona on Wednesday showed that, even in a loss. The team remains committed to finishing out the season "the way it should be finished," Eilert said.

"I told these guys from the beginning, life's full of adversity, life's full of challenges and that goes in every walk of life," Eilert said. "And there's a lot of things out of your control, but the way you handle them, and with the professionalism you should choose to handle yourself with, I mean, that's going to be a testament to your character.

"That's a testament to the type of people that coach Smith brought into this program and how they handled everything top to bottom," he added. "And we're only in Day 4 of this process. I told the guys, they didn't come to play for me, they came to play for coach Smith, but I've got the 100% respect from them so far, and they've given me everything they've got each and every day. I can't thank them enough for their attitude through it."

With that said, Saturday's home game will be continue to be tough on the players, and Tuesdays game even more difficult as players like Gabe Madsen — a four-year guard in Smith's system — will go through senior night festivities without the man who believed in them and brought them to the university.

"Very sad the first day it happened, seeing coach Smith, and just — I'm just feeling super grateful for all the opportunity that he gave me," Madsen said. "He was the first coach that really believed in and gave me the opportunity to come here. And to not really have that final game together, or a little closure, is kind of sad.

"But we just talked a lot about just channeling that energy that you feel; however you feel in the moment, just channel that and play for the guy who brought you here," he added. "And that's something we've just been trying to keep a little bit of the focal point. You can feel sad, you can feel angry, however you're feeling, but just channel it and use it for good in the games and come together."

Utah welcomes Arizona State to the Huntsman Center Saturday (5 p.m. MST, ESPN+) before closing out the regular season next week at home against West Virginia on Tuesday and at rival BYU on Saturday.

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