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Kragthorpe: Utes' Larry Krystkowiak is looking like the Pac-12's Coach of the Year

Utah is contending for a No. 2 seed in the conference tournament<br>

(Steve Griffin | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah head coach Larry Krystkowiak tosses his clip board as he can't believe a call late in the Utes game against the Arizona State Sun Devils at the Huntsman Center on the University of Utah campus in Salt Lake City Sunday January 7, 2018.

  | Feb. 16, 2018, 4:00 p.m.
| Updated: 10:42 p.m.

The Utah Utes went from a four-way tie for sixth place to solo fourth in the Pac-12 basketball standings. Larry Krystkowiak went from having fans wonder about his work to becoming the favorite for the conference’s Coach of the Year award.

That’s what 20 minutes of great basketball will do for you.

Utah’s second-half turnaround Friday in a 70-58 victory at Washington creates all kinds of possibilities for this team with four games left in the regular season. The NCAA Tournament is even in the picture now. The Utes moved to the “fourth team out” in the projections of CBSSports.com’s Jerry Palm, as of Friday morning.

They’ll have more chances to improve their credentials, notably next week at home against UCLA and USC. Those games come in between Saturday’s visit to Washington State and a March 3 home game vs. Colorado.

The Utes (16-9, 8-6 Pac-12) remain one game out of second place, behind UCLA and USC. The Bruins and Trojans have one more meeting against each other. So the Utes have a very good shot at the No. 2 or 3 seed in the Pac-12 tournament in Las Vegas. Even if they don’t win the tournament, they could play their way into an NCAA at-large bid.

That would be quite an achievement. Once the Utes lost Kyle Kuzma to the NBA draft last spring, I declared them out of the 2018 field — and I couldn’t have been the only one saying so.

That forecast certainly appeared accurate when they fell to 2-4 in Pac-12 play with four straight losses. Even though Krystkowiak’s contract runs through 2023, some degree of dissatisfaction with him was emerging among the fan base during what looked like a second straight year out of the NCAA field.

Now though? If he can get this pieced-together roster into the NCAAs, he’ll deserve the Pac-12 Coach of the Year award. The Utes were picked to finish seventh in the Pac-12′s preseason poll. Krystkowiak will be the clear choice if they finish in the top three. Having the Arizona and USC programs under investigation boosts the perception of Krystkowiak’s work in the conference, but he’s doing enough on his own to merit the award.

The competition could come down to Thursday’s matchup vs. UCLA coach Steve Alford at the Huntsman Center, with even more rewards available to Krystkowiak and his team.