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Two tip-offs. 41 hours.
It's just about March.
The Utes (21-7, 10-5) will start getting a feel for postseason scheduling this week with a quick turnaround between games against two opponents they haven't played this season. An ESPN-televised game against No. 9 Arizona looms on Saturday at noon, theoretically the biggest home game of the year, but beforehand, Utah must get past 14-13 Arizona State — a team much tougher than its record would appear.
It's not an ideal set-up for the Utes, particularly since Arizona plays on Wednesday and will have a full day of rest and scouting as an advantage. But like March Madness, the Utes will deal with the schedule they have — not the one they wish they had.
"We're not going to be talking too much about the Wildcats until Friday," coach Larry Krystkowiak said. "It's a first for us, in terms of having a little less time. But I think our guys understand that we're going to stay very much in the concept of our next opponent."
The Utes are staying keyed in for good reason: While 11th in the Pac-12 standings, the Sun Devils have some upset power. ASU has eight wins against top-100-RPI teams, which is more than 22 teams in the RPI's top 50 have, according to the school's sports information director. They were able to knock off NC State, Creighton and Texas A&M in their non-conference schedule.
First-year coach Bobby Hurley has yet to be truly established, something that will come with a few more years and from bringing in his own players. But from what Krystkowiak can see, he's done well with a group that has just eight healthy and eligible scholarship players. On Tuesday afternoon, Arizona State announced junior guard Andre Spight left the program, with the intention of transferring.
Krystkowiak said he hasn't crossed paths with Hurley much, but he sees some common threads between the Sun Devils and the Blue Devils — Hurley was a star player for Duke in the early '90s.
"I know the apple doesn't fall far from the tree in terms of where he was coached and where he played. A lot of those things are pretty consistent, that they're going to be dialed in, they're well-coached and they're a good team."
While the Sun Devils don't have the high-scoring attack of USC, they're similarly balanced: Led by sophomore point guard Tra Holder, six players average between 15.1 ppg and 8 ppg. Schematically, Krystkowiak said, they bear some similarities to Arizona, which could help streamline the scouting for the week.
The team is conspicuously short, with only 6-foot-10 senior Eric Jacobsen standing over 6-7, and they're last in the conference in field-goal percentage defense (45.9 percent). It could be an opportunity for sophomores Jakob Poeltl and Kyle Kuzma to stand out once again in the frontcourt. The Utes mauled the Sun Devils by double digits in both meetings last season, including an 83-41 win at the Huntsman Center.
But the key to March is not taking an opponent for granted. And while it's still February, it's just about that time when Utah starts setting its mentality for a big finish.
"It's a one-game deal," Krystkowiak said. "If you have a solid weekend of playing defense, you just don't make the assumption that it's going to happen again. Your style of play, you still need to bring it."
Twitter: @kylegoon —
Utah vs. Arizona State
P Thursday, 7 p.m.
TV • Pac-12 Network