Air Force, on the other hand, has been drawing national attention. Until Tuesday, the Falcons were 17-1, their only loss coming against Duke.

To borrow a line from Mr. Spock, it was all highly illogical.

The problems have been many and varied for Utah, ranging from rushed shots late in games, to poor perimeter defense, to missed key free throws, to frequent lineup changes. Many said the culprit has been youth, and in a way that's true. Utah has only one senior. At the same time, youth isn't entirely to blame. Luke Nevill, Shaun Green, Johnnie Bryant and Lawrence Borha played serious minutes last season. They may be young, but they aren't inexperienced.

In any case, the Utes found many ways to lose games — which could happen again. What appeared a safe 11-point lead with 1:49 to go was quickly whittled to seven. But this time they didn't collapse.

Thus, the voyages of the Starship Utah continue. Did they play well? In places — although 13 first-half turnovers didn't exactly look sharp. Did they make progress? Probably. Anything is progress when you stop losing.

At very least, they avoided going boldly going where no Utah team has gone before.

Is there still time to salvage this season? Not likely, unless they win the Mountain West Conference tournament. But who knows? Outer space is a strange place.

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E-mail: rock@desnews.com