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Larry Krystkowiak never will say his Utah basketball program has arrived, and that's a healthy approach. In a weird way, though, Sunday's loss at Oregon served as validation of how far the Utes have come.
When the home team's students flood the court and the upset is noted in "The Lead" of ESPN's ticker all day, it becomes clear that Utah is a brand name in college basketball this season. Yet the defeat also created more cause for concern about the Utes (21-5, 11-3 Pac-12), going forward.
What was lost Sunday? Some of Utah's aura in the Pac-12 certainly was diminished, but this opportunity remains intact: Saturday's contest vs. Arizona should be viewed as a championship game. Assuming they beat Arizona State on Thursday, the Utes could tie the Wildcats for first place with a win Saturday. They presumably would need to beat Washington State and Washington on the road next week to maintain that position.
A conference co-championship would be monumental, and that's still in play. Yet the Utes are in some danger of losing their potential top-four seed in the NCAA Tournament — if they lose to Arizona, drop another regular-season game and fail to reach the finals of the Pac-12 tournament. Because of tiebreakers, Utah now is unlikely to get the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament, which means a probable meeting with Oregon in the semifinals.
Sunday's loss illustrated the weird dynamic of the Utes. They're not an explosive offensive team, but they rely heavily on 3-pointers. So when they go 8 of 29 from that range, they struggle. Take away Delon Wright's shooting, and Utah was 4 of 22.
The Utes tend to ride on momentum. That's why they're so good at home, where they're well supported. On the road — and on neutral courts in March — that element is tougher to manufacture.
But they're home this week, and having a chance to tie Arizona in the standings is all Utah could have wanted, as of late February. The worries about NCAA Tournament seeding should be pushed aside, for now.
This is Arizona Week, even if ASU arrives in town first.
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