NO LEGS: The Utes shot 73.3 percent from the free line in their opening win over Stony Brook, an average they would probably be happy to have throughout the season.

Last year the Utes got off to a horrible start from the free throw line.

In two games at Madison Square Garden for the NIT Preseason Tournament the Utes shot an abominable 25.7 percent (9 for 35). After five games, they shot just 48 percent from the charity stripe.

The Utes eventually rallied to finish the season at 72.3 percent, including 75 percent in Mountain West Conference play.

So how could the Utes shoot so horribly at the start of the season and so well at the end?

Andrew Bogut, who only made 6 of his first 19 free throws last year before finishing at 64 percent on the season, has an easy explanation.

"We had no legs after the workouts with (Ute coach Rick) Majerus," he said.

COLD AND DARK: Alaska is known for its cold weather and lack of sunlight, which the Utes will experience, although neither is as bad as some might think.

The weather forecast for the rest of the week calls for high temperatures in the mid- to high 30s with a chance of snow showers. That's about the same forecast for Salt Lake City this week.

It's definitely darker in Anchorage with the sunrise at around 9:30 a.m. this week and the sunset around 4 p.m. That's still more than six hours of daylight.

UTE NOTES: Ute coach Ray Giacoletti is 1-1 against Washington the past two years, winning in 2002 and losing last year to the Huskies . . . Utah leads the overall series with Washington 5-4 . . . Judging by the first game, the top Ute players will be seeing a lot of minutes this year. In the opener against Stony Brook, four players played more than 30 minutes, another 28 and another 23. Giacoletti may not get to go deep on his bench until games against Montana-Western and Northern Colorado next month . . . The Utes could sympathize with BYU after its 36-point thrashing by preseason No. 1 team North Carolina Monday. A year ago this week, the Utes experienced a similar beating at the Preseason NIT in New York, when they were defeated by preseason No. 1 team Connecticut 76-44 . . . After the Alaska tourney, the Utes return home to play Southern Utah Tuesday at 7 p.m.

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E-mail: sor@desnews.com