With home games against the league's premier teams and road games in some challenging places to win, Utah men's basketball coach Jim Boylen isn't putting a specific number on the games he believes his team should win.

Instead, he is emphasizing more general ideas, such as getting better offensively and improving the Utes' starts.

The Utes begin the second half of conference play Wednesday at TCU.

"We'll see what happens," Boylen said. "We'd like to not be 3-5 in the second half and get a winning record in the second half."

The Utes are on a three-game losing streak but enter their last eight regular season games fresh after a bye and with a full lineup.

Boylen's immediate concern, now that his team is more healthy than not, is improving the starts.

Bad starts have plagued the Utes this season, including their 65-50 loss to Colorado State. He said the Utes have been working on their starts and will continue to do so this week.

"We simulate opponents' defenses and try to start with a focused mindset," he said. "We break the whole game down into 10 4-minute segments and focus on winning the 4-minute games. If you win six of those, you have a chance to win the game. We've talked about simplifying it and getting a good 4-minute start."

Slimmed down

The Utes are using about a third of their playbook as they did a year ago, Boylen said.

"We're trying to refine what we have," he said. "And that third is not being run real well, whether it's newness, injuries or different lineups. We've shrunk our playbook to try and make it simple."

He isn't worried about becoming too predictable.

"What I have to worry about is if the team is comfortable and not turn the ball over," he said. "... We've been pretty predictable since I've been here."

Working hard

Boylen said freshman Marshall Henderson , who was suspended for the CSU game for striking a BYU player, has practiced well. "I am proud of what he is doing and how he is playing," he said.

Henderson is one of three Texas players on the roster, along with forward Matt Read and guard Chris Hines .

Since he recruits Texas so heavily, Boylen said games in the state are a little special.

"We have three Dallas guys going home and they want a good showing so we have to be ready to play," he said. "When you are recruiting a guy, you talk about playing in Texas and what a big deal it is."

Party time

Boylen spent part of the bye on the road recruiting, then hosted a Super Bowl party for his team.

"I have my team over as much as I can," he said. "I feel it's important to get the team together away from the floor. They stayed and watched the game and it was a terrific game. We need that family atmosphere. ... It's good to get the family together. We ate good and hopefully put a couple pounds on a few guys."

lwodraska@sltrib.com