This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The Runnin' Utes got one of the best Christmas gifts they could have asked for on Sunday: Kyle Kuzma was spotted walking, albeit gingerly, on the court at Stan Sheriff Center without his protective boot.
Utah (9-3) will need its star junior forward back as soon as his injured ankle heals, because after the weekend's Diamond Head Classic, they have a lot of work to do.
The Utes can still make the postseason, but they'll get no help from a nonconference schedule that coach Larry Krystkowiak acknowledged was watered down for a team stocked with newcomers.
Whereas Utah's previous two nonconference slates concluded with wins over the likes of Wichita State and Duke that helped put the Utes on the path to the Big Dance, this one doesn't have a win over any team in the RPI top 150. KenPom ranks Utah's schedule as the 336th-strongest in college basketball. The best opponent Utah has beaten, seen through the eyes of computers, is No. 199 RPI Utah Valley (6-6).
The picture is not encouraging. And while the Utes firmly believe they have the talent to compete in the Pac-12, Kuzma's unfortunate injury is giving them even less of a window to gel than they once thought they had.
"It takes a lot of different facets to be a good basketball team," Krystkowiak said postgame on ESPN 700. "What happens, is No. 1, we're not able to put it all together."
The Utes made the best of a bad start after losing Kuzma on the first possession of their loss to San Francisco in their first game in Hawaii. Regrouping, they won the games within their power. The problem is the opening loss was the critical one: It put them on a track to play Hawaii and Stephen F. Austin, both teams from weak conferences with losing records.
They missed a shot to play the two highest-rated teams in the field, Illinois State and San Diego State.
While Utah did schedule tougher opponents — two top-10 RPI teams from the Big East in Butler and Xavier — it couldn't beat either one, showing inexperience in both contests with lots of turnovers and more than a few miscommunications.
Utah calculated that it would take some time for the team to come together, but maybe not this much time. Kuzma's awkward landing pushed things back. By the end of it, the team was happy to go 2-1 in the Diamond Head Classic.
"If you would've told me that we could've won two games here with Kyle Kuzma spraining his ankle," Krystkowiak said, "I would've probably hit the deal button pretty quick."
Their postseason hopes, then, rely completely on finishing again among the top teams in the Pac-12, which is the sixth-rated conference among the major six conferences. Depending on the severity of Kuzma's injury — Utah seemed more optimistic as the tournament went on — that could be decided early: Utah plays at Arizona and hosts against undefeated No. 2 UCLA and No. 22 USC in the first three weeks of the schedule.
If there's a silver lining, it's that Utah learned who can step up if necessary. Junior David Collette made the all-tournament team in Hawaii after scoring at least 17 points in each game. On different nights, Sedrick Barefield, JoJo Zamora and Devon Daniels were among those stepping up in the backcourt.
"It felt like a gritty win, but it was good to win," freshman Daniels said on ESPN 700, fresh off 16 points against the Lumberjacks. "It was good to get it out of the way."
Utah will need more of that grit — especially if the Utes hope to go back to the postseason this year.
Twitter: @kylegoon