The Runnin' Utes allowed their Hawaii slump to carry into the regular season, putting them in a hole early in conference play.

Now that they finally are hovering around the .500 mark again, the Utes are determined to not let one loss lead to another. The Utes hope to rebound from their loss to Colorado State by stealing a win tonight at UNLV.

While they feel like they let a win slip away, the Utes aren't dwelling on the loss to CSU, other than to correct their shortcomings, they say.

"It hurts, but we treat it like always," center Jason Washburn said. "You go back to the court and fix what you can and get ready for the next one."

The Utes swept UNLV last year, winning in the Thomas & Mack Center for the first time since 2005. That bit of success might help the Utes get back some of their confidence when they need it most.

Utah coach Jim Boylen said it was his job to make sure the team gets rolling again and gets its "swagger" back after the loss.

"They need to play good basketball and bounce back after a home loss like that," he said. "A call here or there or a break here or there and we could have won. In my opinion we competed well and we keep learning how to win and play 40 minutes of good defense. We're sharing the ball and it's a good start, but we have to continue at that high level to have success."

While youth and inexperience might have contributed to some losses earlier in the year, Washburn was adamant the Utes need to stop using that excuse and start playing the kind of basketball the Utes want to play.

"That excuse works the first two games but we can't say that anymore," he said. "There is a lot of basketball to be played and a lot of talented teams. We have to learn how to win big games."

Games against UNLV always seem big regardless of the teams' standings, and Boylen doesn't expect that scenario to be any different Wednesday.

"When you play in venues like that, you don't have to worry about the team getting up," he said. "The crowd, it's us against the world. It's a great atmosphere to play in and why they're successful. Every game is a nail-biter. … They're usually dogfights, ugly, physical games up and down."

lwodraska@sltrib.com