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Los Angeles • Sunday night's return from California was a lot more pleasant than the last time the Utes flew back from a two-game road trip from that state.
A few passengers asked for photos with Utah freshman Jayce Johnson, mistaking him for fellow 7-footer Jakob Poeltl. They whispered excitedly about the Austrian sophomore, who appeared none the wiser sitting a few feet from his teammate, who was getting a taste of the star treatment.
Poeltl, 20, is an unassuming figure. When asked about his bid for Pac-12 player of the year — one that was bolstered by his unanimous selection as league player of the week honor on Monday, his fourth of the season — he said "I'm just being me out there."
Being himself is putting Poeltl in the conversation with some of the best players in the country, as demonstrated in an 80-69 win over USC when he tied his conference game high of 29 points in an all-around dominant performance.
The recent 11-game streak of double-figure games has propelled No. 22 Utah (21-7, 10-5), ranked in the AP top 25 for the first time since December, to third place in the Pac-12, a half-game behind first-place Arizona and Oregon. And at this point, the special is ordinary for Poeltl.
"He's been pretty remarkable the last 10 or 11 games," Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak said. "We're figuring out how to play, and it will definitely be through him, and it will definitely be with defense and rebounding, and if we do that we have a chance to be pretty good."
Poeltl is already looking good: He's averaging 21 points over the past 11 games, including four double-doubles. His 66.8 shooting percentage is fourth-best in the country and leads the Pac 12.
His length is a major reason the Utes rank as the No. 5 shooting offense inside the arc (56.5 percent) and are holding opponents to 44.1 percent shooting on 2-point attempts on the other end. Analytics site KenPom.com ranks Poeltl as the No. 8 candidate for national player of the year, and has given him game MVP honors for seven of Utah's past nine wins.
Krystkowiak said in the offseason that he hoped to build an offense more oriented to getting Poeltl touches, and he's done that. It's helped contribute to another impressive Utah stat: They've gotten assists on 57.7 percent of their baskets this year.
Pac-12 Networks analyst Don McLean said he saw tentativeness from Poeltl at times early in his career. Expectations were so great, it seemed like the big man had a lot on his mind.
"I think he's gotten to the point where now he's just playing instead of thinking about what's expected," McLean said. "If you have a big guy who is as good as Jakob is, it makes it easier for everybody. When he plays well, his team plays well."
With a huge week coming up for Utah culminating in an ESPN showdown with No. 9 Arizona, the Utes need Poeltl to be at his best. In two games against Arizona last year, he had a combined 10 points and 9 rebounds — not exactly the performance one might expect of a projected NBA Lottery pick.
But Poeltl has grown since then, and everyone can see it — even if not everyone recognizes his face. And that gives Utah a lot of reason to hope for a big finish to the regular season and beyond.
Twitter: @kylegoon —
Poeltl on a roll
• Earned his fourth Pac-12 player of the week honor on Monday, leading the league
• Averaging 18.3 ppg, 8.4 rpg and shooting 63.1 percent in Pac-12 play
• KenPom.com lists him No. 8 on national player of the year rankings
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Pac-12 standings
W L Pct W L Pct
Arizona 10 4 .714 22 5 .815
Oregon 10 4 .714 21 6 .778
Utah 10 5 .667 21 7 .750
California 9 5 .643 19 8 .704
Southern Cal 8 6 .571 19 8 .704
Colorado 8 7 .533 19 9 .679
Washington 8 7 .533 16 11 .593
Oregon St. 6 8 .429 15 10 .600
UCLA 6 8 .429 15 12 .556
Stanford 6 8 .429 13 12 .520
Arizona St. 4 10 .286 14 13 .519
Washington St. 1 14 .067 9 18 .333
Thursday's games UCLA at California, 7 p.m.
Arizona State at Utah, 7 p.m.
USC at Stanford, 9 p.m.