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Those expecting a grim follow-up to a gut-punch loss Saturday couldn't have gotten a bigger surprise from Larry Krystkowiak, who walked to his Monday press conference with a prepared statement.
In his hands was an excerpt from none other than Dr. Seuss, with a specific passage in mind for his players.
"You have brains in your head, you have feet in your shoes," he read. "You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You're on your own and you know what you know, and you are the one who'll decide where you'll go."
While Krystkowiak said he chose the passage from "Oh The Places You'll Go" for Dr. Seuss' 111th birthday, the words struck him as particularly relevant in light of Utah's 63-57 loss to Arizona over the weekend. Missing a shot at the Pac-12 regular season title will sting more than most defeats, but the Utes are taking some solace in the knowledge that much still lies ahead.
Entering March, Krystkowiak acknowledged he sometimes digs for the negative, combing for flaws that his team can come back and fix next time. But he seemed relatively at ease Monday, with a smile on his face, and said he hoped his team could feel some sense of self-determination as the season winds up to tournament time.
"It doesn't change the way we're breaking down film," he said. "We're going to meet today and try to stay consistent."
Utah finishes the regular season on a swing through Washington State and Washington, two teams it beat convincingly at home. One of the biggest difficulties will be logistics: Utah is chartering a red-eye flight to leave hours after its Thursday night game in Pullman to arrive to practice Friday before an early afternoon tip on Saturday in Seattle.
"It's going to be a little bit of a scramble," Krystkowiak said. "We feel pretty secure in knowing what both those teams want to do. Not a lot of surprises."
Bigs are 'floundering'
Krystkowiak has shied away from calling out players by name this season, but he pointed to a specific deficiency from a position: the entire Utah front court.
Against Arizona, many of Utah's big men had relatively quiet games. Krystkowiak was troubled specifically by several missed shots and lay-ups around the rim, getting out-rebounded, not setting good screens and getting burned on defense.
The players themselves are painfully aware of how long that list is.
"We don't have a chance to accomplish our goals if our bigs don't step it up and bring something to the table," Krystkowiak said. "We've been floundering a little bit."
Foul trouble was a big issue Saturday, and Krystkowiak pointed out some plays where he thought Arizona stars Kaleb Tarczewski and Brandon Ashley took advantage of Utah's post players. Down the stretch, the Utes may give more minutes to senior Dallin Bachynski, who had arguably the best game of any front court player against Arizona — even sliding him into a power forward role alongside Jakob Poeltl if it comes to it.
Krystkowiak lights a fire
Some Utah students were surprised Saturday morning when Krystkowiak brought a fire pit and some wood to the Huntsman Center, hoping to help those camped out for tickets stay warm.
Krystkowiak expanded on the anecdote, saying he had trouble sleeping the night before the game, woke up around 3:40 a.m., walked his dogs and decided he might help the cause of the students who set up tents to sit in the front row against Arizona. He quipped that he wasn't even sure where his fire pit ended up as of Monday morning.
"People started moseying out of their tents, I think they heard the wood popping, and it was pretty cool," he said. "Hung out with them. It was quite a sacrifice for those people to do what they did. I think the fans held up their end of the bargain."
Twitter: @kylegoon —
No. 13 Utah at Washington St.
P Thursday, 9 p.m.
TV • ESPNU