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It was a long, unpleasant trek for Devon Daniels between games against Washington.

Since a career night against the Huskies on Jan. 21, the freshman endured five contests in which his scoring and shooting percentage took a dive. But he seemed to reclaim some of his missing swagger Saturday afternoon while leading Utah to an 85-61 win.

"I just came out with the same mindset I always do," he said. "I guess I got it going tonight."

The mop-topped guard looked a lot like the one who started Pac-12 play on a hot streak: He was 7 for 9 from the field and tied for team lead with 16 points. The shots came on floaters in the lane and also from deep, as he was 2 for 3 from beyond the arc.

It was the most points, 3-pointers and field goals he had enjoyed since the first game against Washington.

But while the opponent helped Daniels recapture his spark, coach Larry Krystkowiak insisted something else was responsible: How Daniels has practiced.

After that 24-point outing in January, Daniels was on fire: He had scored 12 or more points in five of his previous six games and emerged as one of the most efficient shooters on the team.

Maybe, Krystkowiak suggested, he was a little too happy with that. His practice performances began to flatten.

"It's one of the lessons freshmen have to learn," Krystkowiak said. "When you start feeling fat and sassy and good about where you're at, life has a way of biting you in the keister."

Life bit after Daniels scored 11 points against Oregon. In his next four games, he averaged under five points a game while shooting under 50 percent from the field. He was among those who struggled the most on the road at Cal and Stanford, going 1 for 9 with two points combined.

Krystkowiak said this past week, he had been emphasizing to Daniels that practices correlate with games, and the better he was during the week with the Utes, the better he'd be come the weekend.

Daniels seems to have bought into that logic.

"I definitely looked into it when I went through that little stretch," he said. "I just gotta stay consistent and work hard every day."

kgoon@sltrib.com

Twitter: @kylegoon