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Los Angeles • Larry Krystkowiak wrote it on the board before his team tipped off against USC on Sunday morning: "Defense wins championships."
It wasn't just because he hoped the Seattle Seahawks Legion of Boom prevailed in the Super Bowl later that evening. He wanted to see fight from his team on the defensive end, where the Runnin' Utes have built a reputation as an elite squad — a reputation that took at hit in Utah's last game.
Message received: No. 11 Utah walloped the Trojans at the Galen Center, 67-39, to improve to 17-4 and recapture some swagger. Freshman center Jakob Poeltl led the way with 14 points, 9 rebounds and 2 blocks. USC missed almost three-quarters of its shots, and coughed up 15 turnovers.
Only three days since falling by 10 at UCLA in the first game of the L.A. road swing, Utah looked and felt like itself again.
"I was just kind of frustrated about the loss at UCLA, so I really tried to come up with energy and just kind of own the floor," Poeltl said. "It turned out pretty well."
Even through one half, Utah erased any doubt it would prevail. The Trojans threw up shots that ended up in Utes' hands or rimming out. They sent passes that got swiped by Utah or bounced out of bounds. Katin Reinhardt shot 3 for 6 in the first 20 minutes — the rest of the team was 2 for 20.
In the first half, USC only scraped together two more points (12) than turnovers (10).
"The year I coached sixth grade San Diego, the Solana Beach Cats, I think we held someone to 12," Krystkowiak quipped. "Not in my professional career."
Krystkowiak said Utah worked on defensive concepts in Saturday's practice, including shell formations. The Utes executed well to keep USC's offense frustrated throughout the afternoon.
Pounding the paint truly finished off the Trojans. Poeltl has been battling inflammation since spraining his ankle against Arizona, but he found his early season form while shooting 6 for 7 in the game.
Utah wound up with a 38-18 scoring advantage in the paint and outrebounding USC by 13. Krystkowiak said the team emphasized feeding the post more in the weekend's practices, adding some offensive sets to get Poeltl more involved.
"You know, Jakob on Thursday night was 4 for 4 from the field," he said. "I think any coach who knows what the heck they're doing is trying to get him some more shots inside."
Poeltl was equally effective on the other end, where he helped hold USC's leading scorer, Nikola Jovanovic, to 3 points on 1 for 5 shooting.
It wasn't all pretty: The game included one basket-less stretch over seven minutes long, the second such drought in as many games. This one didn't cost the Utes: The closest USC got in the second half was 17 points behind.
Delon Wright had 11 points and Jordan Loveridge had 10 to pick up a balanced scoring effort. Krystkowiak said he'd like to see more energy on the offensive end — less standing, more finishing near the rim — but conceded that a cold going around the team may have played a factor in some of the apparent malaise.
But in all, Utah had a lot to feel better about. The win to finish the weekend showed progress.
"The big lesson I think from Thursday night is we can't just show up," Krystkowiak said. "We've gotta be on edge, be competitive to reach some of the goals that we've set for our team."
Twitter: @kylegoon —
Storylines
R The Utes hold the Trojans to 26.5 percent shooting, and only 12 first-half points.
• Utah leads by as much as 29 in the game.
• Jakob Poeltl records 14 points, 9 rebounds, 2 blocks and 2 steals.