This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
So this is what it's like.
A splash of water to the face, a wake-up call — or maybe a 68-59 loss to Butler was just reality's punch to the gut for Utah, which faced a quality opponent for the first time and didn't like what it saw.
The Runnin' Utes (4-1) were sloppy in defeat: turning over the ball 18 times, allowing open cutters from Butler, and missing shots over and over. It was the first stirring real picture of what life will be like after Jakob Poeltl, Brandon Taylor and Jordan Loveridge, among others.
No. 18 Butler (7-0) was led by Kelan Martin's 18 points, with Tyler Wideman pouring in 15. But the big takeaway was the Bulldogs looked like something Utah did not: a cohesive team.
That's the reality for a group that turned over three-quarters of its roster and will rotate in five or more players who are new to the Division I level. There's going to be growing pains.
"This was the first test for us if you look at our schedule — the timing was about right," coach Larry Krystkowiak said. "We didn't do a great job with the test. But we can't learn unless we're put in a position where there's some adversity."
There were many lessons to glean, and plenty of adversity to go around.
The Utes were paced by a double-double effort (21 points, 10 rebounds) from junior forward Kyle Kuzma, but shot poorly. It took 28 minutes of clock before five Utes had scored in the game, and the team was only 36.5 percent from the field.
For every hard-fought hook shot and jumper that Utah found on offense, Butler seemed to get open 3-pointers or looks right at the rim, shooting 52.8 percent in the game. It struck a contrast for the Utes, a young, newly formed group that isn't playing with a full deck until David Collette and Sedrick Barefield get eligible next month.
There were miscues aplenty as well, as Utah had 18 turnovers, off of which Butler scored 23 points. It included a team-high six giveaways by Lorenzo Bonam, three before the first media timeout, and multiple turnovers by four other Utes.
This was a sticking point for the team, which trailed by only 6 points at halftime.
"We had a lot of blatant turnovers that we shouldn't have had," Kuzma said. "That affected a lot of things we did. We turned it over, we dwelled on it a lot, and it cost us."
Out of the intermission, Utah struggled: Butler led by as much as 16 as Utah managed only eight points in the first eight minutes of the second half. The game got out of hand quickly, as Utah's turnover problems and inability to set up looks for teammates (only four assists) caught up with them. Utah also was blacked out from deep, shooting only 3 for 20 on 3-point attempts.
By the closing minutes, several hundred fans were opting to face the snow storm outside rather than the scoring desert in the Huntsman Center.
Utah's shooting sloppiness was apparent early: No one but Bonam hit a shot from the field for the first 9:52 of the game. Gabe Bealer and Jayce Johnson each missed point-blank looks at the rim as everyone but Bonam went 0 for 8 to start.
Kuzma broke the early drought on a putback that keyed a Utah rally. The Utes took their first lead five minutes to halftime, 20-19, on a free throw by Bonam.
But Butler rallied back with an 11-0 run themselves, helped along by 17 points off of Utah's 10 turnovers in the first half.
The giveaways were one of the reasons Krystkowiak said afterward he'd take a second look at Utah's offense, perhaps taking some control back from players. After all, he's still learning with this group, too.
For Kuzma, the close margin despite the mistakes was a sign of hope headed into a Thursday home game against Montana State. From this defeat, he suggested, will come some urgency for the underclassmen and newcomers.
"If we don't turn the ball over so much, it's a close game," Kuzma said. "There's a lot of positives, and a lot of things we can learn from. We shouldn't dwell on this loss."
Twitter: @kylegoon