Curse or not, Utes ready

AUSTIN, Texas — After a week full of talk about Utah's past failures against Kentucky, the Ute basketball team is ready to show what it can do — this year.

They don't want to hear any more about the 1993 team, the 1998 team or the 2003 team. This is 2005, and as far as this year's Utes are concerned, it's a clean slate.

"They are a different team, and we are a different team," Ute guard Marc Jackson said, who also feels the Utes' chances are better than ever.

"Our team is still fresh at this point in the year. We weren't two years ago. Two years ago we didn't have (Bogut). We are playing well right now. We have a lot of confidence. We have got a good game plan."

Obviously the Utes (29-5) are confident going into tonight's third-round NCAA game with the Wildcats (27-5) at 7:40 p.m. MST at the Frank Erwin Center. The winner moves on to play the winner of the Duke-Michigan State game Sunday afternoon for the right to advance to the Final Four.

While the Utes are anxious to break the so-called Kentucky curse, they badly want to win tonight regardless of who the opponent is. They want to keep advancing through the NCAA tournament and play as long as they can.

"It doesn't matter who it is," said Utah coach Ray Giacoletti. "You have to play someone."

A very patient man, Giacoletti has shown frustration this week with all the questions about Kentucky's recent dominance of Utah, with six wins since 1993, including five in NCAA tournament play.

"I know a lot has been made of the background of Utah and Kentucky," Giacoletti said. "Most of us weren't here, so it is a new era for the Kentucky players, our staff and our program."

The Utes aren't acting like a team that's just thrilled to be here. They're determined to make the best of their opportunity to advance from the Sweet 16 to the Elite Eight.

"If we can play good basketball this game and win that, we will be thinking about the Final Four," said Ute big man Andrew Bogut. "Hopefully we're taking it game by game; then we'll think about what is lying ahead."

Last week Utah knocked off UTEP in an opening-round game where it played nervously and nearly blew a 13-point second-half lead. But it came back with one of its better performances of the entire season against Oklahoma, bursting to a 12-point lead in the opening minutes and holding on for a 67-58 victory.

A key to the Utes' win will be the play of Bogut, who has become the odds-on favorite to garner the major player-of-the-year honors.