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Seattle • Three times last season, Utah won the first of two games on the road, with a chance to sweep on the back end.
Three times last season, Utah struck out.
Imagine the relief, then, when the Utes finally pulled out a pair of victories on one trip for the first time in five seasons on Sunday evening, winning against the first-place team in the Pac-12.
Utah's 80-75 win over Washington didn't happen in a vacuum. For the team, it felt more like a culmination of sorts. After starting Pac-12 play with an overtime loss to Stanford, winning their third straight conference road game in overtime offers a fitting bookend to an often-uncomfortable stage of self-discovery. After an uneven beginning, the Utes appear to be finding their stride.
Perhaps they underestimated how difficult it would be.
"The way the league is set up this year, with it being super close all over the place, you gotta go into every game with the mindset we had [Sunday]," said sophomore center Jakob Poeltl, who had 29 points. "You gotta scrap, you gotta play with energy, you gotta do everything you can to beat that team. You can't underestimate anyone in the Pac-12 this year."
That has played out in the Pac-12 standings, as both teams that started out last week in first place took losses. Behind 5-2 Oregon and Washington, there are six teams with 4-3 records tied for third place. Even Arizona, which recently has dominated the Pac-12, already has three losses, taking another this weekend at Cal.
While coach Larry Krystkowiak probably wouldn't say Utah "underestimated" the difficulty of its early conference schedule, it's at least fair to say the Utes didn't bring their best stuff. Through four games, they were averaging 19 points less than their season average and shooting under 40 percent from the field.
Even beyond the stat sheet, the Utes didn't look like the team that had gone 11-2 in nonconference play with a win over Duke. Poeltl struggled early from the field, Utah's guards couldn't shoot 3-pointers consistently, and defense — typically Krystkowiak's calling card — was hit-or-miss.
A 77-59 home loss to Oregon marked a low point for the program, which was picked to finish third in the Pac-12 preseason poll. The Utes were forced to evaluate how they were conducting business. Poeltl said one revelation was that the team felt it wasn't practicing as well as it could.
"We just weren't dialed in [during] practice," he said. "In games, we lost our poise. We kind of were all over the place."
The lack of poise was readily apparent in that initial 70-68 overtime loss to the Cardinal. When Poeltl fouled out late in the game, the Utes looked to be out of punches. They missed their final five free throws of regulation, and struggled for buckets in overtime. Stanford senior Rosco Allen took charge, while the Utes took a back seat.
Contrast that with the night at Washington: Utah had an answer for every Huskies stroke, and took a lot of initiative. Down two in the final media time out, the Utes went on a 9-2 run. After UW sent the game to overtime, Utah took an early 4-point lead. When the Huskies tied it up again, the Utes made 7 of their last 8 free throws to pull away — including six straight by Poeltl, who was the team's worst free-throw shooter last year.
Utah didn't have any turnovers in overtime. It scored points on eight of its 10 overtime possessions. In terms of poise, those numbers stand out.
In its last three wins, Utah hasn't had a straightforward formula to victory: It out-gritted Oregon State on defense, then blew out Washington State with torrential shooting.
The win at Washington might have been more in-between — a gritty game that saw the Utes attack the rim and make clutch free throws.
But the varied paths to victory might be a compliment for the Utes. They've found ways to grind out wins, no matter what they have to do to get them.
"It's a journey for sure, and it is for our program," Krystkowiak said. "We weren't feeling so hot after that Oregon game. I've always ascribed to the idea that you're never as good as you think you are, and you're never as bad as you think you are."
This much is certain: Utah is better now than when it started.
Twitter: @kylegoon —
Poeltl earns Pac-12 honors
• Sophomore center Jakob Poeltl earns third Pac-12 men's basketball player of the week honor.
• Had 29 points, 10 rebounds, four assists at Washington.
• Had 14 points, seven rebounds, five assists at Washington State.
• Shot 15 of 25 for the week, and was 13 for 16 on free throws.
• Is only Pac-12 player with three weekly honors this season.
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California at Utah
P Wednesday, 9 p.m.
TV • ESPNU —
California at Utah
Wednesday, 9 p.m.
TV • ESPNU