Utes get early test vs. No. 22 Huskies

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Of all the teams in the Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout, probably the last team the Utah basketball team wanted to face in the opening round was the Washington Huskies.

The Utes and Huskies square off at 8 p.m. MST tonight at the 8,000-seat Sullivan Arena in a game televised on ESPN2.

The Huskies were one of the hottest teams in the country at the end of last season when they finished second in the Pac-10 Conference and made it to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in five years. This year, they are ranked 22nd in the country already and, with their seven top scorers back, are expected to be one of the better teams in the country.

Then there's Utah coach Ray Giacoletti's history with Washington and coach Lorenzo Romar.

Giacoletti is very familiar with the Husky program since he coached at Eastern Washington for the past four seasons. He played Washington twice over the past two seasons, both in Seattle, winning 62-58 in 2002 and losing 104-91 last year.

But two years ago, Giacoletti was one of three Washington area coaches who turned in the Washington program to the NCAA for recruiting violations by an assistant coach. Giacoletti said he and Romar have spoken several times since then but doesn't know if there is any animosity on the part of Romar.

Giacoletti is more worried about Romar's team, which is led by a pair of junior guards from Seattle, 5-9 Nate Robinson and 6-6 Brandon Roy.

Giacoletti calls Robinson "as quick and explosive as any point guard in the country." Last year he led the team with a 13.2 scoring average.

Roy led the Huskies in rebounding at 5.3 per game and also scored 12.9 per game. In the Huskies' season-opening win over Seattle Pacific last week, Roy led the way with 23 points and Robinson added 22.

Other starters are expected to be 6-8 forward Mike Jensen, forward Bobby Jones and guard Will Conroy. Jones and Conroy had to sit out the season opener for playing in an unsanctioned game last spring along with Jamaal Williams and Tre Simmons. Williams is a transfer from New Mexico who will see a lot of time off the bench, while Simmons would start, but must sit out another game.

"This is a very athletic team that will pressure you the entire 94 feet of the floor," said Giacoletti. "This is a good opportunity for us to find out where we're at."