They've been up, they've been down. They've been back, and forth. Now, the Utah Utes are hoping they can even out their journey and establish some measure of consistency and steadiness before venturing into the Mountain West Conference, where they have not enjoyed a winning record in four years.
"We're going to get better," coach Jim Boylen promised. "We're going to keep growing."
The 6-5 Utes have only two more games until their league opener next weekend, starting tonight at UC Irvine in the Bren Events Center, when they expect to have starting point guard Luka Drca back from injury and suspension. Whether he returns to the starting lineup for the first time in five games is uncertain, but his availability certainly should give the Utes a better chance at shaking out of their slump.
After all, it was only when Drca was lost with a sprained ankle three weeks ago that the Utes started to falter.
They had been riding a five-game winning streak --?longest in four years -- but then lost four of five games while the junior nursed the injury and then returned just long enough to trip Oklahoma's Blake Griffin and get suspended for two more games.
The injury forced inexperienced freshman Jace Tavita into the starting lineup, armed with only a handful of minutes to pass for his collegiate experience. Not surprisingly, he has strained to play beyond his years, generally not providing nearly the same production or effectiveness as Drca -- though Boylen believes he will learn more quickly in a starting role than a substitute one.
Just as troubling, however, has been the virtual disappearance of what had been a lethal outside shooting touch.
That accuracy has all but abandoned the Utes during the past few weeks, even though they have been creating the same open shots that they had been hitting earlier in the season. "Open shots, we missed," Boylen lamented after a last-season loss at Utah State five days ago.
Four of the Utes' five losses this season have come by a combined 10 points, but getting back on track against the 2-9 Anteaters is crucial for avoiding the potential perception that the Utes have not improved enough from last season. Losing tonight, with No. 7 Gonzaga visiting the Huntsman Center next week, would put the Utes at risk of taking a losing record into conference play -- after going 8-4 before their league opener last season.
However, the Utes have played a far more difficult schedule this season, ranking 13 nationally according to RealTimeRPI.com, which replicates the ratings formulas used by the committee that selects teams for the NCAA Tournament. In fact, the tough schedule helped the Utes land a spot in a tournament bracket prediction published by ESPN's Joe Lunardi this week.
Now, all they have to do is get back to winning some games.
At the Bren Events Center, Irvine, Calif.
Tipoff » 8 p.m. MST
TV » None
Radio » 700 AM
Records » Utah 6-5, UC Irvine 2-9
Series » Utah leads, 8-0
Last meeting » Utah, 78-66 (Dec. 1, 2007)
About the Utes » They have lost four of their past five games, with three of them by a combined six points. … Senior G Lawrence Borha enjoyed the best game of his career against the Anteaters last season, scoring 24 points and adding nine rebounds and nine assists --- all still career-highs. … They're 1-3 on the road, and have made just 12 of 57 three-pointers in the past three away from home.
About the Anteaters » They opened the season with six straight losses, before beating Pepperdine, losing three more and beating Norfolk State. … Senior C Kevin Bland averages 11.4 points, and scored 14 points against the Utes last season. … Coach Pat Douglas is 173-163 in his 12th season.
