This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
In the summer of 2010, a year before Utah started competing in the Pac-12, former basketball coach Jim Boylen was asked to name the best part of conference membership.
"UCLA in the Huntsman Center," he said.
Boylen never got to coach against the Bruins because he was fired in March 2011, and UCLA doesn't play annually in Salt Lake City due to the Pac-12 scheduling rotation. But the No. 4 Bruins are coming to town Saturday, and this should be fun.
Regardless of UCLA's current status, the Bruins are always a good barometer for Utah or any Pac-12 program because of their history and tradition. And they're great this year. UCLA is coming off a 104-89 victory at Colorado, where senior guard Bryce Alford scored 37 points.
The Bruins scored a total of 39 points the last time the Bruins played in the Huntsman Center. It's true. On a Sunday afternoon in January 2015, Utah beat UCLA 71-39. Alford, a son of UCLA coach Steve Alford, went 0 for 10 from the field amid taunts of "Daddy's boy" from the Utah student section. He was not alone in his disastrous shooting effort; his teammates were 15 of 42 in a bad day all around for the Bruins.
Bryce Alford already may have used his best stuff of the week at Colorado, where he went 9 of 14 from 3-point range Thursday. But with teammates Lonzo Ball and TJ Leaf surrounding him, he'll have a great opportunity to avenge that performance Saturday.
And the Bruins will be a good test for a Utah team that is showing signs of exceeding expectations in the Pac-12. In January 2014, a 74-69 victory over UCLA suggested that coach Larry Krystkowiak was making progress in his third season, and the Utes finished 9-9 in conference play. The following year, that 32-point embarrassment of the Bruins signaled the Utes' rise to the top tier of the conference, finishing 13-5 in the Pac-12.
Saturday's game could determine whether Utah makes the NCAA Tournament because it's one of the Utes' few opportunities to beat a national power this season. No matter what happens, with so much at stake for Utah and Bryce Alford coming back to the scene of his struggles, it will be memorable. It's UCLA in the Huntsman Center.
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