Counting their first game in the Pac-12 conference tournament, the Runnin’ Utes are guaranteed 32 games this season.
That means Thursday’s 16th game of the 2022-23 campaign against Oregon State at the Huntsman Center marks the midpoint mark for Utah, which is 4-0 in Pac-12 play and 11-4 overall and mostly exceeding expectations after having been picked to finish 10th in the Power Six league.
“Always finding ways to see if we can get better as a team. And I expect us to get there. We are only halfway (through the season). So we are only halfway home. Lotta, lotta season left. A lot of things can change. So we just gotta keep working and put our best foot forward.” — Utah basketball coach Craig Smith
Tipoff is at 8 p.m. MST and the game will be televised by the Pac-12 Networks. Coming off a sweep of the Bay Area schools last weekend, red-hot Utah will play host to Oregon on Saturday at 5 p.m.
Utes coach Craig Smith offered a midseason progress report on his team Wednesday afternoon after practice, saying the key now is to avoid complacency and not look past any teams, regardless of their record. The Beavers are 7-7 overall, 1-2 in the Pac-12, and have undergone an overhaul; Oregon (8-6, 2-1) has been a disappointment as well.
“I feel like we are settling in,” Smith said. “I think guys are getting comfortable and understanding what we are trying to do. … You can see guys getting better.”
Having downed Arizona at home and Washington State in Pullman before Christmas, Utah is moving into uncharted territory. The Utes last won four-straight league games in 2018-19. If they can knock off the Beavers and Ducks this weekend, they can post their first six-game winning streak in conference play since 2008-09 when they won eight straight as a member of the Mountain West Conference.
Utah is now 99-106 in Pac-12 games, meaning it can hit the century mark in league wins with a victory Thursday or Saturday in front of its home crowd.
“It has been three weeks since we have played at home. Our last home game was Dec. 13. I was still in my 40s at that time. So, I am a decade older since we have played at home. It is kind of crazy that it has been that long since we have played in the Huntsman,” Smith said.
The coach turned 50 on Dec. 14.
Smith said Wednesday the Utes have had three good practices since returning home Saturday night after beating the Cardinal 71-66 on Saturday afternoon at Stanford. They had Sunday off, then practiced earlier than normal Monday in order to be done an hour before the Rose Bowl began.
“We have had to have a high concentration level and understand what these two teams (Oregon State and Oregon) are trying to do,” Smith said, noting that the focus Tuesday and Wednesday was entirely on OSU. “The upperclassmen have been outstanding like they have been all year (in preaching against complacency).”
Oregon State knocked off Washington 66-65 on Dec. 1, then lost 63-62 at USC on Dec. 4. In November, the Beavers took Duke to the wire in Portland before falling 54-51. Oregon beat Oregon State 77-68 in Eugene on New Year’s Eve.
“Just like we are much-improved, (Oregon State) is a completely different team,” Smith said. “I don’t know how many returning players they have, but it is not many. I think they have eight freshmen out there, and six or seven other guys. They are a much, much better team all the way up and down their lineup. It is very clear they are more connected and they are playing with a lot of spirit.”
The Utes, meanwhile, continue to get it done with defense. They are fourth in the country in defensive field goal percentage (36.0%) and 3-point field goal percentage (26.2%). Center Branden Carlson is 11th in blocked shots, with 36.
Carlson became the 41st player in Utah basketball history to score 1,000 points in his career with 18 against Stanford. He’s the sixth Ute to join the 1,000-points club since the school joined the Pac-12. The others are Jordan Loveridge (1,568), Timmy Allen (1,323), Brandon Taylor (1,270), Sedrick Barefield (1,121) and Delon Wright (1,022).
With at least 17 games left, Carlson will almost certainly pass No. 40 Pace Mannion (1,018), No. 39 Angelo Robinson (1,020), No. 38 Delon Wright (1,022), No. 37 Britton Johnsen (1,051), No. 36 Jason Washburn (1,073) and No. 35 Byron Wilson (1,087) if he stays healthy.
“Always finding ways to see if we can get better as a team. And I expect us to get there. We are only halfway (through the season),” Smith said. “So we are only halfway home. Lotta, lotta season left. A lot of things can change. So we just gotta keep working and put our best foot forward.”
