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One-on-one with future NBA Draft pick Lonzo Ball? No big deal.

Sedrick Barefield has been in those shoes before.

What might've surprised in Utah's 83-82 loss to UCLA was that Barefield seemed to have a flair for playing on the big stage against an old adversary and the No. 4 team in the country. The sophomore guard had 13 points (one of five Utes in double figures) and scored 11 of them in the second half to help bring Utah on the cusp of an upset.

It was the second straight game in double digit scoring for Barefield, whom Larry Krystkowiak identified as one of the most "locked in" players in practice this week.

"It's about time, honestly," Barefield said. "Just trying to find my niche and doing whatever I can to help the team, understanding that it's a new team, it's all kind of new, but that there's going to be ups and downs."

The challenge of Barefield is looking at his two halves: He was 1 for 5 in the first, missing even the front end of a one-in-one at the line. In the second, he flopped the numbers around to go 4 for 5, and hit three of Utah's seven 3-pointers. The pressure of the game didn't seem to faze him: He made the last four shots he took, all inside the final eight minutes.

In one light, Barefield may be a victim of his own success. His second game was a 35-point outburst against San Francisco, the most points any Ute had scored in one contest since Keith Van Horn. In retrospect, his AAU coach Etop Udo-Ema said before the game, that might've been too high a bar to set.

"To have that game early is tough: The problem is not with him, but everyone around him who chirps about it," he said. "It's a guy who is really a freshman. The [USC] game for him night was perfect for him. Efficient, but not crazy."

Now Barefield has started to string them together, going 9 for 16 in his last two outings. While the Utes would like his assist totals to rise (only one against UCLA) and want his defense to improve, they left him out on the floor for the game's final minutes.

If the trend continues, it may become a common sight.

No free seats

With football season at its end and conference play winding up, more fans are shuffling into Huntsman Center.

The seats were packed Saturday afternoon for tipoff, as buzz ratcheted up for a top-five opponent featuring several high-level NBA prospects. Utah marketing gave away red glowsticks for the third straight year, contributing to the loudest and liveliest atmosphere this season.

The Utes last sellout was last March on Senior Night. Krystkowiak was happy to see Huntsman Center swinging again.

"It was an unbelievable college atmosphere: really, really neat and fun to be a part of," he said. "All the way through, our marketing department and everybody's done a great job of gearing up for a game of this magnitude."

Twitter: @kylegoon