Utah basketball: Utes hope to build on new momentum

SALT LAKE CITY — From one extreme to another, the Utah Utes experienced both ends of the spectrum last week in the Huntsman Center.

Less than 48 hours after a 77-51 setback to Arizona, the Utes bounced back to overpower Arizona State 64-43.

Despite the highs and lows, Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak is determined to keep an even keel. He frequently draws upon a saying along the lines of "you're never as good as you think you are and you're never as bad as you think you are."

However, at 5-14 overall and 2-5 in Pac-12 play, the Utes planned to savor the flavor of their lopsided Saturday afternoon win over the Sun Devils.

"It's nice playing an early game like this when we can kind of absorb it and feel good," Krystkowiak said. "It's good medicine."

And momentum.

The Utes took Sunday off before jumping into preparations for this week's games at UCLA and USC.

"I know our guys will be ready to practice on Monday and we'll lay it out there again," Krystkowiak said.

Junior center Jason Washburn acknowledged the win over ASU is a "huge confidence builder" as Utah gears up for the trip to Los Angeles.

"We're looking forward to the challenge. We've got a real solid week of practice ahead of us. We're going to fine tune some things and we're going to get better," Washburn said. "We're going to go into those games expecting to win just like we did today."

Both the Bruins (10-9, 3-4) and Trojans (5-15, 0-7) may be vulnerable. Neither picked up a victory at Oregon or Oregon State last week.

UCLA has lost four of its last seven games, while USC has dropped eight straight and 11 of its last 12 outings.

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