The only team in the Mountain West Conference that the Utah Utes have not beaten since coach Jim Boylen took over is only their biggest rival -- Brigham Young, which will visit the Huntsman Center tonight shooting for its fifth straight win in the series.
"Don't think that's not on my mind," Boylen said.
"I get it every day," he added, "when I go get gas or go to the store: 'When are you going to beat BYU?' I get it every day, and it's on my mind. … My goal is to build this program, and to do it, we have to win" tonight.
The Utes are favored by 2 points, and played the Cougars to within three at home last season. But as much as Boylen would love to beat the Cougs, he knows it won't be easy. The coach spent much of his weekly press conference Monday complimenting his rivals.
Forward Lee Cummard is a "tough son of a bitch" and the "head of the monster," he said, guard Jackson Emery is a "great addition" and center Chris Miles has improved greatly. "What BYU doesn't get credit for enough is their defense," he added, noting that the Cougars lead the league in defending three-point shots.
But he also believes the Utes are better than they were a year ago. "We're both good," he said. "And that makes it better."
Injury report
Forward Kim Tillie returned to the lineup in the loss at UNLV last weekend after missing two games with a foot injury. The 6-foot-10 junior did not start, though, and played only six minutes because the Rebels used a small lineup.
"He's working his way back in," Boylen said.
Bright horizons
As part of one of his recent "bracketology" projections of the NCAA Tournament field, ESPN's Joe Lunardi said the Utes might not have to worry much about their season-opening loss to Division II Southwest Baptist affecting their chances for an at-large tournament berth.
"I'd be more concerned with Utah's standing in the Mountain West than I would be about something that happened four months before Selection Sunday," Lunardi wrote. "If the Utes are at or near the top of a very good Mountain West this year, the DII loss won't be much of a factor."
Lunardi also cautioned: "Don't sleep on Utah. The Utes are for real (just ask Gonzaga!)."
