SALT LAKE CITY — It’s still early, but perhaps it’s OK to start talking about the Utah basketball team’s postseason possibilities, even if the season is barely one-third complete with no league games played yet.
The Utes have put themselves in good position for postseason play, perhaps even for their first NCAA tournament berth in four years thanks to their unexpected fast start which includes an upset victory over No. 6 Kentucky Wednesday night.
The 69-66 victory over the Wildcats in Las Vegas is one of three impressive wins for the Utes along with victories over Minnesota and BYU.
Now the Utes have a chance to add another victory to their resume Saturday as they take on No. 20 San Diego State, one of just four unbeaten teams in Division I basketball with an 11-0 record, following a victory over San Diego Christian 92-48 Wednesday night.
The Utes and Aztecs will tip it off at 4:30 p.m. MT in the Hall of Fame Classic at the Staples Center ahead of the USC-LSU game at 7 p.m.
The Aztecs are ranked No. 2 in the country in the NET rankings which are used by the NCAA selection committee to pick schools for the 68-team NCAA tournament in March.
The Utes are ranked No. 60 in the latest NET rankings, surprisingly down from their No. 54 ranking before the Kentucky win. That’s because the Wildcats were only ranked No. 58 at the time and have since dropped to 74. BYU (38) and Minnesota (54) are both ranked ahead of Utah in the NET rankings.
A win over the Aztecs will shoot the Utes up the NET rankings, and even playing them should improve their standing.
The Utes bused down to L.A. from Las Vegas Thursday as part of a team bonding experience and are looking forward to meeting an SDSU team that defeated BYU 76-71 in Provo earlier this year and also has wins over San Diego on the road and Creighton and Iowa in the Las Vegas Invitational.
The Aztecs are led by junior guard Malachi Flynn, a transfer from Washington State, who averages 15.5 points and 5.1 assists per game. Junior forward Matt Mitchell, who comes off the bench, averages 11.5 points and 4.7 rebounds. Other starters are expected to be Yanni Wetzell (10.8 ppg, 5.9 rrpg), Jordan Schakel (10.7 ppg), K.J. Feagin (8.0 ppg) and center Nathan Mensah, who leads the team in rebounding at 7.3 rpg, while scoring 6.5 ppg.
Against Texas, the Utes had another solid game from Timmy Allen, who led the way with 25 points and nine rebounds. He’ll be joined in the starting lineup by Both Gach, who had 14 points and six rebounds against Kentucky, Riley Battin (10.4 ppg) and Branden Carlson (6.7 ppg).
The Utes are hoping freshman Rylan Jones is able to play. He injured his ribs against Central Arkansas on Dec. 7 and missed the Weber State game a week later. He played for 38 minutes against Kentucky, but went down with 4:52 left, holding his right side, only to return a minute later. His status is day-to-day, according to Ute officials.
“We’re heading into L.A. to play San Diego State, a team that hasn’t lost yet,” said Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak, who knows his team must not turn the ball over as much as it did against Kentucky (17 turnovers). The Aztecs are averaging 6.8 steals per game and are allowing just 56.6 points per game, eighth-best in the nation.
“I know one of the things they hang their hat on is full-court pressure,” he said. “We’re going to grow up here pretty quick. We have to be much better.”
GAME NOTES: After Saturday’s game, the Utes won’t play again until Jan. 2 when they open Pac-12 play against Oregon State at home. ... This will mark the first matchup between the two longtime rivals since 2015 when the Utes captured an 81-76 victory at the Huntsman Center. The year before that, the two teams met in San Diego with the Aztecs taking a 53-49 victory. ... The Utes hold a 54-19 edge in the all-time series between the two schools, who played in the Western Athletic Conference and Mountain West Conference from 1979 through 2011. ... If the Utes win, it will mark just the second time they would have won back-to-back games against ranked opponents. The other time was in 1998 when they beat No. 4 Arizona and No. 1 North Carolina in the NCAA Tournament. ... The other three unbeaten teams in Division I besides SDSU are Duquesne, Liberty and Auburn.
Utah (9-2) vs. San Diego State (11-0)
Staples Center, Los Angeles
Saturday 4:30 p.m. MT
TV: Pac-12 Network
Radio: ESPN 700AM