This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated.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.
Parker Van Dyke might be one of the few people who understands.
His coach, Larry Krystkowiak, is a superstitious man with an attachment to the number seven. He does push-ups in increments of seven, likes when the team practices at times when the digits on the clock add up to seven, likes to notice coincidences involving that number.
So it was significant to Krystkowiak when he noted Monday, as someone showed him that a website had given Utah a 22 percent chance to make the NCAA Tournament. He looked at his phone: It was 7 a.m., his phone had seven percent battery, and he realized Utah had seven Pac-12 games left. This, in his view, was a positive sign — he took a screenshot of his phone to remember it.
Every little bit of belief for the Utes (15-8, 6-5) counts for something, Van Dyke said.
"I view it as something more than a coincidence," Van Dyke said about the superstition. "Hopefully that's something that will work out in our favor."
Utah might need supernatural intervention to reach its postseason goals: Currently sixth in the Pac-12 and appearing in only six of 105 bracket projections on BracketMatrix.com, the team has an uphill climb.
But while signs are welcome in whatever mysterious form, the Utes recognize the chief issue will be sharpening the subpar execution from last week.Krystkowiak seemed willing to accept a double-overtime loss at Cal, saying that his team had played tough defense. The follow-up loss to Stanford was a different matter: "Sometimes you get kicked in the dirt."
There were problems on offense, with the Utes shooting under 50 percent on 2-point attempts for the first time all season in both games. They piled up 36 combined turnovers and got minimal backcourt production. Particularly against Stanford, defense was a problem: The Utes allowed the Cardinal to shoot 61 percent, the second-highest mark by an opponent all season.
While Utah may have deep-sixed its tournament resume last week, Krystkowiak said he hoped it offered a turning point. He touched on some high-profile unlikely sporting results from the last year: the Cleveland Cavaliers' NBA championship, the Chicago Cub's World Series comeback and the New England Patriots' 25-point comeback to win the Super Bowl.
The Utes hope to produce their own unlikely ending.
"As long as our guys don't give up and they're in, we're going to go down swinging," Krystkowiak said. "It wouldn't be the first time around here we started playing good basketball this time of year."
If any week presents a path back to prosperity, it's this one: Utah has swept the past three weekends against the Washington schools dating to last season. Between them, Washington State (11-12, 4-7) and Washington (9-14, 2-9) have fewer conference wins than any travel partners in the league.
The Cougars have already been steamrolled once by the Utes, falling by 41 in Pullman. However, Krystkowiak was quick to point out, that doesn't necessarily have any bearing on the game to come. While the Utes may not change the gameplan too much in the second meeting, they'll look for big changes from the last road trip in their energy, their readiness and their focus.
A lot is riding on it.
Twitter: @kylegoon —
Washington State at Utah
P At the Huntsman Center
Tipoff • 7 p.m.
TV • Pac-12 Networks
Radio • ESPN 700 AM
Records • WSU (11-12, 4-7); Utah (15-8, 6-5)
Series history • Utah leads 20-4
Last meeting • Jan. 18 at WSU; Utah 88, WSU 47
About the Cougars • Since scoring six points in a loss to Utah, senior guard Ike Iroegbu has scored 20 or more points in four out of the past five games. … With 12 turnovers per game, the Cougars rank No. 4 in the league. … Senior Josh Hawkinson leads the Pac-12 and is No. 7 nationally in defensive rebounds per game (8.22).
About the Utes • Utah ranks No. 5 in shooting percentage nationally (51.0 percent) but is coming off a two-game stretch in which it shot a combined 44.3 percent. … Junior Kyle Kuzma has a league-leading 14 double-doubles, including eight in his past nine games. … KenPom.com ranks Utah as the No. 207 team in turnover percentage (19.3 percent) against DI competition, and the Utes have turned it over 13 or more times in four straight games.