No, that wasn't Glen Dean out there.

Chris Hines' luggage didn't make it from Salt Lake City to Stanford, so the junior wore No. 1. And, somewhere amid his best game of the season, each bucket by Hines was being credited online to Dean, according to one of my twitter followers, the ineligible point guard transfer who will wear No. 1.

In the 68-65 loss, Hines finished with 21 points on 9-of-17 shooting, and was the sparkplug that really kept the Utes in the game. At least three times he made baskets that halted big runs for the Cardinal.

It was a breakthrough for the junior from Houston, considering the maladies that have plagued him this season: injured ribs, a bum elbow and, most significant, a broken left thumb.

Hines said those are going away.

"I'm actually kind of healing," Hines said. "Everything's healing on my body. I'm about well right now."

That was just one of the positives that came out of the Utes' loss. The fact that the Utes went on the road and were in a position to steal a win was hugely significant. In their only other Pac-12 road game this season, the Utes lost by 40 at Colorado and in seven road and neutral-site losses the average margin was 26 points.

While the storyline for the Utes was one of grit, perseverance and pluck, the Cardinal's was of nearly letting one get away.

"We let them get to the basket at will," Stanford guard Chasson Randle said. "It was a lack of effort on some parts of the game. We let up a little bit, and they got what they wanted."

Lack of effort hasn't been a problem for the Utes recently.

"Still a loss," Hines said, "but played hard. We didn't get blown out on the road as we have every game this year."

We talked in this morning's Tribune about the dreadful free-throw shooting by both teams, but the San Francisco Chronicle summed it up best:

How does a basketball team shoot 29 percent from the free-throw line and still win?
When that mark is only the second-worst percentage in the game.

The Utes saw their second upset bid in as many games come up short and, as impossible as it seems, they are within just a couple of made hoops of being 3-1 in the Pac-12. That says a great deal about the team, but also the conference.

And elsewhere in that conference...

Cal 57, Colorado 50 • The Buffaloes lost their first conference game of the season, despite a "punchless" performance from the Golden Bears. Cal moved to 12-0 at home this season. Even in a loss, however, the Buffaloes made a statement.

Arizona 81, Oregon State 73 (OT) • This one was punchless, too. But not shoveless. Observe:

OSU's Joe Burton and Arizona's Kyryl Natyazhko were both ejected and two other players received technical fouls. Kyle Fogg initiated the skirmish with that shove of OSU's Jared Cunningham. There will be no suspensions for the scuffle, however. On the basketball side, Oregon State played its fifth overtime in two games. The Beavers could have won it in regulation, but Ahmad Starks' 3 as time expired rimmed out.

Oregon 67, Arizona State 58 • Quietly having one of the best starts to conference play, Oregon picked up another win Thursday. The Ducks are now 3-2. Trent Lockett, who succeeded Keala King as the starting point guard, scored 23 points for the floundering Sun Devils. ASU has now lost seven of nine at home this season.

Last thing: Earlier this week, Washington tight end Austin Sefarian-Jenkins joined the Huskies' basketball team. What Utah football player do you think could help the Ute hoops team and why? Let us know in the comments.

— Bill Oram