This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated.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.
The preliminaries over.
It's time for the first main event of Utah's basketball season.
After four lopsided wins against overmatched opponents, the Utes face undefeated Butler on Monday night at the Huntsman Center.
The Bulldogs are no lightweights.
They are 6-0 and come off a 69-65 victory over eighth-ranked Arizona. They are no longer the embraceable little mid-major that, led by current Utah Jazz players Gordon Hayward and Shelvin Mack, fought its way to consecutive national championship games in 2010 and 2011.
Butler moved from the Horizon League to the Atlantic 10 in 2012. One year later, the Bulldogs jumped to the tradition-rich Big East. The addition of the Bulldogs helped stabilize a conference made famous by players like Patrick Ewing, Chris Mullin, Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson after football realignment nearly destroyed it.
This season?
Despite an influx of newcomers into his program, coach Chris Holtmann has Butler off to an eye-opening start.
The Bulldogs have already defeated Vanderbilt (76-66), Northwestern (80-68) and, most recently, perennial Pac-12 power Arizona.
After the victory over the Wildcats in the championship game of the Continental Las Vegas Invitational on Friday night, Holtmann said, "It's too early to tell what this year's going to look like, but what we know is we've already had some good moments. Time will tell. We're just trying to kind of grow as a team and figure that out."
Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak already has a high opinion of Butler.
"Big, strong team," he said. "A lot of guys flying around. … Hopefully we can get through it. It will be a heck of a fight."
The Utes are also undefeated, but they have played a tissue-soft schedule.
Asked if it would be "fun" to test his team a quality opponent like Butler, Krystkowiak smiled and said, "The same thing that will make you laugh will make you cry. It's one of those deals. …
"Butler is proven. They have some great players and they have a great tradition. [But] it's kind of what we all signed up for — games like this. Our players and coaching staff are excited about it."
Utah stayed unbeaten on Friday with an 85-67 win over UC Riverside. At times, the Utes played crisply. At other times, they were sloppy.
After Utah built a 70-45 lead with 10 minutes remaining, Riverside used a handful of Utah's 14 turnovers to get as close as 14.
"Just mental lapses," said junior forward Kyle Kuzma.
According to Krystkowiak, the Utes can't afford to be as careless against the Bulldogs.
"I thought we over-dribbled," he said. "I don't know what takes the life out of a gym more than that. … It got a little disrespectful. I don't know any other way to say it. You have to respect the game at all times and we got a little cute. We have to be better moving forward."
Twitter: @sluhm —
Butler at Utah
P At the Huntsman Center
Tipoff • Monday, 7 p.m.
TV • Pac 12 Networks
Radio • 700 AM
Records • Utah 4-0; Butler 6-0
Series • Tied, 1-1
Last meeting • Butler, 74-62 (2010)
About the Utes • They have won four straight games by an average of 37 points. … They are led by junior F Kyle Kuzma (15.5) and senior G Lorenzo Bonam (15.5). … Junior G JoJo Zamora has embraced the sixth-man role. He averages 12 points a game. … Kuzma is the only player averaging more than 25 minutes. … Eight players average at least 15 minutes. … Opponents average only 52 points.
About the Bulldogs • They come off a 69-65 win over Arizona. They overcame a five-point deficit in the final three minutes to beat the Wildcats. … They average 80.2 points and shoot 38.3 percent from the 3-point line. … They are led by junior F Kelan Martin (16.2), senior F Andrew Chrabascz (10.8), junior G Avery Woodson (10.0) and freshman G Kamar Baldwin (10.0).