Runnin\u2019 Utes on the air<\/h3>\n
Utah (8-6, 0-1) at Colorado (11-3, 1-0)<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cThere were a lot of things myself and our team could learn from them, because they scored 97 points, and \u2014 I said this after the game \u2014 but they didn\u2019t have a guy over 20 (points). You never saw them celebrate, get too high or too low. Very professional. You know, give credit to them,\u201d Jensen said. <\/p>\n \u201cPlaying a team as good as that, I think it helped us emphasize what we\u2019ve been trying to get across to them all along, that control what you can control. And there\u2019s mistakes, whether you play Arizona or anybody, that you shouldn\u2019t make.\u201d<\/p>\n The experience was valuable for a Utah team with 12 newcomers \u2014 only junior forward Keanu Dawes played for the Utes in Big 12 action last season. Fifth-year forward James Okonkwo also has experience in the league \u2014 he started out his college career at West Virginia.<\/p>\n For freshmen like forward Kendyl Sanders, guard Obomate Abbey and forward Ibi Traore, it was their first real taste of the physicality that the conference is known for. <\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t their first taste of major conference ball \u2014 the Utes had multiple nonconference games against teams from the SEC, ACC and Big Ten \u2014 but it gave Utah its first glance of what the 18-game conference grind will be like.<\/p>\n \u201dIt\u2019s just very physical,\u201d Sanders said of Big 12 play. \u201cI\u2019d say it\u2019s probably the best basketball team we ever played \u2014 just experience, the physicality, the shots they take, how hard they were on the floor. I mean, it was a lot, but I think I\u2019m ready for it. I\u2019m excited for the (rest of) the season.\u201d<\/p>\n Jensen was complimentary of the kind of program that Wildcats coach Tommy Lloyd has built in Arizona. Not only do the Wildcats not have to rely on any one player \u2014 Arizona has one of the most balanced rosters in the country \u2014 they also have three starting freshmen who contribute heavily on a nightly basis.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s really valuable for our freshmen to get the experience, because I think the fastest way to improve is to play basketball. \u2026 (Arizona does) a great job of blending (together), start three freshmen, and give them credit, all those guys play well together,\u201d Jensen said.<\/p>\n For Utah, who\u2019s had some injury issues that have impacted their rotation, the hope is that the challenges will pay off in the long run.<\/p>\n \u201cFor us, you\u2019d love to have the eight-, nine-man rotation and stay healthy and have a couple young guys you bring up,\u201d Jensen said. \u201cWith injuries and other things, we are doing things we necessarily hadn\u2019t planned on. But again, I think everybody\u2019s trying to figure out the best way to build their roster.\u201d<\/p>\n Fortunately for Utah, the next game isn\u2019t against a top-25 program. On Wednesday, the Utes will face Colorado (11-3, 1-0 Big 12), who is coming off a six-point road win over Arizona State to start Big 12 play.<\/p>\n The Buffaloes, to a lesser extent than Arizona, are efficient on offense \u2014 they average 86.6 points per game. Colorado has five players who average double-figures, paced by guard Isaiah Johnson (15.9 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.4 assists per game) and Barrington Hargress (13.6 points, 4.8 assists).<\/p>\n Defensively, the Utes and Buffaloes are averaging similar numbers. Colorado is 14th in the Big 12 in scoring defense, giving up 78.2 points per game. Utah is one spot behind, allowing 79.8 points per contest.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re well-coached. They\u2019re big, they\u2019re versatile. They have bigs that can handle the ball and they can initiate the offense. They\u2019ll throw a little twist in, but they\u2019re in every game,\u201d Jensen said. <\/p>\n For Jensen and his team, though, the focus isn\u2019t as much on what the opponent does well. It\u2019s on focusing each day as the season progresses and helping the players develop \u2014 not just for this season, but for the future.<\/p>\n And if that formula goes well, it could end in victory \u2014 like it did in their first win over a major conference opponent, Ole Miss, back in November.<\/p>\n \u201cIt goes back to us and the things that we can control \u2014 playing with the pass, not getting beat in transition or on the boards, and I think we\u2019ll have a really good chance. And then, limit the turnovers. Sounds simple, repetitive, but that\u2019s it,\u201d Jensen said.<\/p>\n Utah, which has a dearth of front-court depth, is adding a 6-foot-10 walk-on center to the roster.<\/p>\n Colin McHaney joins the program as a midseason addition, as a potential option to add some minutes in the post when\/if he gets up to speed.<\/p>\n McHaney hails from Milton, Georgia, where he played for Milton High and Blessed Trinity Catholic High. The past two years, he\u2019s been a part of a region championship team, and as a sophomore, he helped lead Blessed Trinity Catholic High to the state quarterfinals.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n University of Utah basketball coach Alex Jensen has consistently reminded his players to \u201ccontrol what you can control\u201d in his first season leading the program he once starred for. Don\u2019t let the results halt the progression \u2014 or let outside factors become a deterrent to development. That applies to their latest effort, when the Runnin\u2019 … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16169,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16168","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Utah-basketball-focused-on-internal-improvement-as-Big-12-play.JPG","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16168","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16168"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16168\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16170,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16168\/revisions\/16170"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/16169"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16168"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16168"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16168"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
Runnin\u2019 Utes add walk-on big man<\/h3>\n
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