Upgraded schedule boosts Utah's RPI

Soon after he was named coach at Utah last spring, Jim Boylen promised an upgraded schedule.

Although the Utes played South Carolina Upstate to open the season and will play Dixie State next week, for the most part the schedule has been better than in recent years. The Utes' RPI strength of schedule is second in the MWC behind UNLV.

Road games against Washington, Oregon, Cal and Gonzaga this year are good examples of the tougher schedule.

Three of those teams will be coming to the Huntsman Center next year — Oregon, Cal and Gonzaga — and the Utes will have some good road games as well.

Next year, the Utes will play at Oklahoma and Missouri State and will play in a tournament in Daytona Beach, Fla., with teams such as Clemson, Arkansas and Butler.

"Our schedule is shaping up to be pretty good," Boylen said. "Oklahoma is a quality road game, and we're finalizing the three-game tournament in Florida."

IMPROVED DEFENSE: Last year Utah's field goal percentage defense was horrendous, ranking among the worst in the nation, particularly in 3-point defense, where Ute opponents shot an incredible 46.3 percent from the field.

This year, the Utes are still one of the worst teams in the Mountain West Conference in field-goal percentage defense but are much improved over last year.

The Utes rank No. 8 in overall field goal percentage defense in the MWC, allowing 43.0 percent from the field. Only San Diego State (44.6) is worse. The Utes rank last again in 3-point percentage defense at 35.4 percent, but that is miles ahead of last year's abysmal percentage.

On the offensive side, the Utes are ranked No. 1 in field goal percentage at 50.2 percent and are second in 3-point field goal percentage at 41.7 percent.

In the latest NCAA statistics, the Utes were fourth overall in the nation in field goal shooting, but the stats haven't been updated for a couple of weeks.

OFF YEAR: One of the bigger disappointments for the Utes this year has been the overall play of junior center Luke Nevill.

Last year, Nevill shot 63.7 percent from the field, the second-best in Ute basketball history. As a freshman, he shot 53.2 percent from the field. However, this year, he is below 50 percent at 48.9 percent. Also his free throw shooting has dropped from 74.1 last year to 68.2 percent this year.

Boylen has said his main concern with Nevill has been his defense and that has improved as the season has gone along. But he also is concerned with his offense.