This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Wording can be important.
When a reporter asked if UCLA was a "dangerous" team, Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak took issue with the semantics.
"They're UCLA," he said. "When you use the word 'dangerous,' it makes me feel like we're above them. And in this league, everybody's dangerous — whatever adjective you want to use, it's all just words — because anybody can beat anybody. There's no doubt in my mind."
Suffice to say the Runnin' Utes (19-7, 8-5) have learned not to take the Bruins lightly, especially at Pauley Pavilion.
Utah heads to Los Angeles for a Thursday night game, full of steam after a 2-0 week at home. It's Utah's last road trip, but a thorny one historically for the Utes who haven't won at UCLA since before John Wooden won his first of 10 championships there.
They've learned the cost of overlooking the Bruins: Last year, after thrashing UCLA by 32 at the Huntsman Center, the Utes hit the front end of the L.A. road trip confident, with a 6-1 conference record. But they were ambushed by a surprisingly resilient Bruins group, who beat them 69-59.
"They kind of surprised us with energy and tempo," sophomore center Jakob Poeltl said. "We really couldn't guard the drive against them. They were just pressuring us full-court, and we couldn't really couldn't handle the pressure or the tempo.
"We just weren't prepared for the game," said Poeltl.
If there's one thing Utah hopes to be this time, it's prepared. While the Bruins' 5-7 league record has them sliding off the NCAA Tournament bubble, there's some credibility in calling them "dangerous." So far at home, they've knocked off then-No. 1 Kentucky and shocked Arizona.
On any given night, they have a puncher's chance, if their shots are falling. The team's five starters all average double-figure scoring, and when Bryce Alford and Isaac Hamilton get hot, they can roll even the toughest opponents.
"It's interesting because they beat some very good teams," Poeltl said. "It's definitely a team that you have to be very prepared for and can't underestimate them just because they're record isn't great."
For Poeltl in particular, UCLA is unique: The Bruins have enough size to match-up with the 7-footer. Between senior Tony Parker, sophomore Thomas Welsh and a pair of power forwards over 6-foot-10 in Jonah Bolden and Gyorgy Golomon, coach Steve Alford can throw a lot of looks at Poeltl and his front-court counterpart Kyle Kuzma.
What has gone wrong before at UCLA? The past two seasons have seen the Bruins with Sweet 16 teams and NBA Lottery talent. It also hurts that Utah hasn't seemed to bring much energy to the floor in their visits the past few years, dropping the past two Pauley Pavilion match-ups by double digits.
The Utes have plenty of motivation this time: Only one win behind first-place Arizona and Oregon, Utah has a chance to maintain or even climb up the standings this weekend. For seniors Brandon Taylor and Dakarai Tucker, it's Utah's last stop in their home town. Utah's typical cushion game on the trip against USC, where they've won the last two meetings, is now no gimme against the revitalized Trojans (18-7, 7-5).
Sporting a 3-5 record in true road games this year, the Utes hope to reverse their recent fortunes at UCLA.
"It's hard to go into someone else's home to play as well as you want all the time," senior Jordan Loveridge said. "It's tough all the way around the Pac-12. They've had great teams since we've been in the Pac-12, like they do this year, so it's always been a tough road trip."
Twitter: @kylegoon