The Utes aren't doing that, anymore.

Clearly responding to complaints about the quality of the home schedules it has played in recent years, the University of Utah has put together a men's basketball non-conference home schedule for the 2008-09 season that coach Jim Boylen called one of the best in school history when he released it Wednesday.

"It just falls into our philosophy of what I was asked to do, and that's build a program," Boylen said.

Certainly, fans won't be seeing many patsies coming into the Huntsman Center.

Only Southwest Baptist in the season-opener on Nov. 15 falls into that category. Otherwise, the Utes will play host to Oregon, Cal, Gonzaga and LSU - all well-known teams from major conferences - along with Weber State and UW-Green Bay.

The Utes also will play at Oklahoma, among their road games.

"We're hopeful that a schedule like this will entice our fans to not only buy season tickets, but to come to the games and create the kind of home-court atmosphere that is so important for a successful season," athletic director Chris Hill said in a statement.

Among the home opponents, only LSU had a losing record last season, while Oregon and Gonzaga both reached the NCAA Tournament. The Utes played Cal, Oregon and Gonzaga on the road last season to earn the return dates, though they beat only Cal on the way to an 18-15 record.

Boylen believes in scheduling good opponents in order to toughen his own team, improve its chances of reaching the NCAA Tournament - "if we go 22-12 or whatever it would be, with this schedule, it's going to be hard to dispute that we're not one of the best 64 teams," he said - and attract media attention.

But there is a danger in going too far.

If the rebuilding Utes cannot win at least a few of their marquee games, they risk being perceived as having lost ground - especially if they fail to equal last season's record. After all, the Utes were not impenetrable at home last season, going 11-4 with several agonizingly close losses and an real letdown against Wyoming.

Boylen believes the Utes will continue to improve, though.

The Utes have seven of their top eight scorers returning, including center Luke Nevill and forward Shaun Green, and an incoming recruiting class that Rivals.com ranked No. 7 among mid-majors. The recruiting service also labeled center Jason Washburn the best incoming player at his position in the Mountain West Conference.

"We're trying to build as strong a foundation to the program as we can build," Boylen said.

The Utes have a less intimidating road schedule, with Missouri State, Idaho State, Utah State and UC Irvine among the opponents. The Utes also will play three games at the Glen Wilkes Classic in Florida - technically, the UW-Green Bay home game is the start of that tournament - against teams that could include Mississippi, Marshall, IUPUI or Morgan State.

UTAH MEN'S BASKETBALL NONCONFERENCE SCHEDULE

Date Opponent Location Time

Nov. 8 Grand Valley State (exh.) Salt Lake City TBA

Nov. 15 Southwest Baptist Salt Lake City TBA

Nov. 18 Wisconsin-Green Bay Salt Lake City 7 p.m.

Nov. 21 Glen Wilkes Classic - TBD Daytona Beach, Fla. TBA

Nov. 22 Glen Wilkes Classic - TBD Daytona Beach, Fla.TBA

Nov. 23 Glen Wilkes Classic - TBD Daytona Beach, Fla.TBA

Nov. 28 at Missouri State Springfield, Mo. 6 p.m.

Dec. 3 Oregon Salt Lake City TBA

Dec. 6 at Idaho State Pocatello, Idaho 7 p.m.

Dec. 10 California Salt Lake City TBA

Dec. 13 at Oklahoma Norman, Okla. TBA

Dec. 20 Weber State Salt Lake City TBA

Dec. 22 at Utah State Logan, Utah 7 p.m.

Dec. 27 at UC-Irvine Irvine, Calif. 8 p.m.

Dec. 31 Gonzaga Salt Lake City TBA

Jan. 6 LSU Salt Lake City TBA