This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The Utah men's basketball team has a shot at the school's first Pac-12 championship in any sport other than women's gymnastics. The Utes would have to win their three remaining games, all at home, and get some help from at least one of Oregon's four opponents. But that second part seems somewhat likely, so the Utes are well positioned to earn at least a co-championship. The key game clearly is Saturday afternoon against Arizona in the teams' only scheduled meeting of the season. The remaining schedules for the top four teams: Arizona (10-4) – at Colorado, at Utah, California, Stanford. Oregon (10-4) – Washington State, Washington, at UCLA, at USC. Utah (10-5) – Arizona State, Arizona, Colorado. California (9-5) – UCLA, USC, at Arizona, at Arizona State. Utah and Cal solidified themselves among the top four teams with two weeks left in the regular season by sweeping their recent road swings as the Utes beat UCLA and USC and the Bears defeated Washington and Washington State. USC (8-6) could climb back into the top four and receive a first-round bye in the Pac-12 tournament, but the Trojans probably would have to win Sunday at Cal to make that happen. – Kurt Kragthorpe