LOS ANGELES — Facing a top-10 team on its home floor at Pauley Pavilion, where it has won its last 30 games with fans in the stands, is probably not the best remedy for a University of Utah basketball team that recently fell off the NCAA Tournament bubble.
But that’s where coach Craig Smith’s squad finds itself after dropping last Saturday’s 70-60 decision to Oregon at the Huntsman Center, a loss that moved Utah from “Last Four In” to “Next Four Out” status in the ESPN Bracketology projections released Tuesday.
“Obviously when you play a top-seven team in the country (it is important). Those opportunities don’t come along every day. So you can really help your resume’, right?” — Utah basketball coach Craig Smith
The Runnin’ Utes (12-5, 5-1) play at No. 7 UCLA (14-2, 5-0) on Thursday in a battle of the top two teams in the Pac-12 standings that is absolutely huge in Utah’s quest to return to the Big Dance for the first time since 2016, even if Smith says it is “really early” to be worrying about such matters.
“Obviously when you play a top-seven team in the country (it is important),” Smith said Tuesday. “Those opportunities don’t come along every day. So you can really help your resume, right? You can really help yourself. … It is a Quad 1 game (in the NET rankings) every day of the week, all day long. So if you can win that thing, you (benefit) exponentially.”
Can the Utes win? It is certainly not out of the realm of possibility.
UCLA is obviously really good, having won 11 straight games since stumbling twice in Las Vegas (to Illinois and Baylor) in November. The Bruins are No. 7 in the NET rankings, the Utes No. 47.
But UCLA almost blew a 44-26 halftime lead against USC last Saturday while Utah was losing to Oregon, and had to hold on for a 60-58 win. The Bruins also struggled to beat lowly Washington State, winning 67-66 in Pullman on Dec. 30.
Utah lost 63-58 to UCLA last year in Salt Lake City, but didn’t play the Bruins at Pauley in the 2021-22 season. Utah fell 72-70 at UCLA during the 2020-21 season (on Dec. 31, 2020) but there were no fans in the stands due to the pandemic.
“We just can’t worry about any of that (NCAA bubble) stuff. I know it is fun for the fans. I know it is fun for the people to talk about. But I mean, we have 15 games left, counting the first round of the conference tournament. So much basketball ahead of us,” Smith said.
“I have just been down this road too many times to know that we aren’t worried about that kind of talk today, although, these opportunities are what all these guys look forward to, really look forward to playing in, and (UCLA) is where we want to be,” Smith continued. “That’s our goal, immediately. But that is also our long-term picture. That is where we need to be as we progress through the years.”
Utah last won at Pauley on Feb. 9, 2019, when Parker Van Dyke hit a deep 3-pointer as time expired to give the Utes a 93-92 victory. None of the current Utes were on that team, although Utah basketball’s head manager is Harrison Van Dyke, Parker’s brother.
Utah plays at USC (11-5, 3-2) on Saturday.
The Utes have swept the Los Angeles schools twice since they joined the Pac-12, in 2015-16 and 2018-19. A feat like that this weekend would push them back into the NCAA picture, but players such as Ben Carlson and Lazar Stefanovic said the only thing that matters is the here and now.
“You just play each game like it is a tournament game, because that is where we want to be at the end of the day,” said junior forward Carlson, who is from Minnesota and played two years at Wisconsin before transferring to Utah. “I think we definitely have the talent to be there. We are a really good team. So I think we just gotta approach each game like we are playing to get into the tournament, like we have been doing.”
Carlson, 6-foot-9, said UCLA is “definitely one of those blue blood schools you think of when you think of a really successful college basketball program. I mean, they have always been really good, so I am excited to play them for the first time.”
Stefanovic is from Belgrade, Serbia, and had never heard of John Wooden, Bill Walton, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and the famed UCLA mystique until he was 18, but he is still excited to see what all the fuss is about.
“I never watched NCAA basketball before I was recruited by Utah. That’s when I started watching it,” Stefanovic said. “I guess UCLA is one of those schools that you hear about first, but I don’t have anything to say about it (now).”
Utah is 4-9 all time at UCLA; Thursday’s game will be the first time the Utes will face a ranked Bruins team at Pauley since they joined the conference.
Senior forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. leads the Bruins in scoring with a 16.9 average, while junior guard Jaylen Clark is their second-leading scorer (14.2) and leading rebounder (6.8).
“They have really talented players overall,” Carlson said. “They are a really good offensive team. They take care of the ball and they are a really good defensive team, too. I think we match up pretty well with them. It will be a good challenge for us. But I think if we prepare like we always do I think it will be a good game for us.”
The Utes will counter with one of the best defenses in college basketball, UCLA coach Mick Cronin predicted. Utah is No. 4 in defensive field goal percentage (36.5%) and No. 5 in 3-point field goal percentage defense (26.8%).
“Utah is elite on the defensive end,” Cronin said. “They are not easily scored upon. … Craig (Smith) was a great coach at Utah State. Now he has a year under his belt, and he has made them a tough out. They are tough to score on. They play great team defense. Their preparation is excellent.”
