Utes must turn the page quickly after loss to UNLV as Eastern Washington comes to town

The Utes have no time for lingering on their first loss of the season early Thursday morning, because another opponent awaits on Friday night.

Utah will play their fourth game since Nov. 16 when they host Eastern Washington at 6 p.m. Friday in the Jon M. Huntsman Center. EWU will try to knock off its second Pac-12 Conference foe of the season after earning a win at Stanford on Nov. 14.

Both the Utes (4-1) and the Eagles (3-3) are coming off games in Las Vegas. The Utes lost to UNLV, 85-58, in the championship game of the heavyweight division of the MGM Resorts Main Event, while the Eagles won the third-place game in the middleweight division of the same event.

“We are a little tired, but that’s not an excuse,” freshman forward Donnie Tillman said following the loss. “You face it all the time. That’s my first time going through it, and I see the struggle, physically, guys go through. But that’s all in recovery, in the hotel getting good rest for the next game. I’m looking forward to Friday already.”

In the long run, the Utes hope to use this rapid-fire experience as preparation for the Pac-12 regular season and postseason. While the Utes returned 10 players this season, they’re replacing four starters and several of the players who figure into the rotation do not have a wealth of experience.

If nothing else, the preparation required to run the type of early-season gauntlet was an eye-opening experience for first-year players such as Tillman, who seems to be forcing his way into the rotation. Tillman recorded his second double-double of the season against UNLV and led the team in both scoring (14 points) and rebounds (11).

“A lot of scouting reports, a lot of extra film time, we all have to stay focused because one team might do this [and] we might blitz for them — but next time you’ve got to cover and switch some things,” Tillman said of how the Utes have handled this stretch of games. “Different teams. You’ve got to keep your focus level up, keep studying on your own. … That’s how it is.”

While Utes coach Larry Krystkowiak said he wouldn’t evaluate how the team handled the slate of games until after they’d gone through it, he did see some disappointing signs on defense in the loss to UNLV as dribble penetration hurt the Utes repeatedly.

UNLV’s point guard Jordan Johnson thrived creating for himself and his teammates on his way to a 20-point, six-assist performance. Defenders getting beat off the dribble also contributed to foul trouble for the Utes as players either scrambled to help or to rotate defensively.

“We’ve got to be much better at the point of attack, squaring the ball up defensively,” Krystkowiak said. “A lot of guys in our backcourt right now don’t understand what that’s about. We’ve got to work on that in practice, point of attack, giving a guy a little bit of gap, get ready to move your feet. There were a number of breakdowns in penetration.”

They’ll also be no sympathy from the Eagles, who are in the middle of a stretch of 10 consecutive games away from home.

“They’re a good team,” Krystkowiak said. “I remember watching them last year. Somebody that we played, they’d played. I was really impressed with what they do. They’ve got a lot of weapons on the court. They’ve showed well. They’ve been on the road a long time. When you take a look at what they’re going through, it’s not time for us to be talking about this is a hard stretch. It’s what it is. It’s laid out in front of you, and we’ve got to learn from it. That’s what this process is about.”