The best moment of Utah's 66-54 victory over Missouri State today, for me, came only after the game was over. Standing outside the Missouri State locker room, we asked one of the Bears players if he could fetch coach Barry Hinson out of the locker room.

And within moments, Hinson appeared in the doorway ... without a shirt on.

Clearly, the player must have told his coach only that a couple of guys outside needed to talk to him -- making Hinson think it was an urgent matter, and not just a couple of schnook sportswriters waiting to talk to him about the game.

Realizing his mistake, Hinson asked for a couple of minutes to change, and of course we obliged. It was worth the wait, too, because the gregarious and engaging coach had plenty to say about the Utes.

"There's no tax deductions for this, but we really gave them a lot of charity," he said. "They scored 22 points off our turnovers, 15 in the first half, and I really think that was the tell-tale sign of the game. And you have to give them credit, because defensively they forced us to do a lot of those turnovers."

Then, Hinson launched into a sermon that would make coach Jim Boylen proud.

The Utes are so hard to prepare for, Hinson said, because "I don't know who's going to show up from the perimeter. I really don't. Every one of them can score. Every one of them. I watched Santa Clara, Oregon, Washington, and every night, one of those guards is the best player.

"I'm serious," he continued. "They've got six perimeter players that can all score, either off the shot or off the dribble, and you've got Green that can score from the perimeter, which makes it that much better. And then you've got the beast inside" in center Luke Nevill.

The Bears wanted to contain Nevill and let the Utes have the three-point shot, Hinson said, and "for the most part, I thought our guys did a good job on him" even though Nevill wound up with 18 points, six rebounds, three assists and three blocked shots. The Utes made only 5 of 13 three-pointers, too, but forced the Bears into a slower game than they would prefer because "they didn't guard us."

By that, Hinson meant that the Utes packed their defense into the key -- "they had five guys in the paint" at one point during the first half, Hinson said -- and forced the Bears to play from the outside. They responded by making just 41 percent of their shots in the first half, when the Utes built a 17-point lead, and hitting just 5 of 15 three-pointers overall.

"We had a hard time adjusting to them," Hinson said.

"I like this team," he added, noting that the Utes play an NBA style on both offense and defense. "I really do. I really think, when they get Weigh back, they're going to be special. I'm impressed with what coach is doing, too. ... I just think they're unique. I'm really impressed with what he's doing. And what's so impressive about it is, it's just starting. I can only imagine what it's going to be like once he gets his system in."

High praise, indeed.

Among other tidbits from the game worth mentioning:

-- Center Luke Nevill was the story of the game, as far as coach Jim Boylen was concerned. Though he made a few of his usual mistakes, and seemed more effective offensively the more he stepped away from the basket (counterintuitive as that seems), the 7-foot-1 junior center scored 18 points, grabbed six rebounds, handed out three assists and blocked three shots while also helping the Utes make 17 of 18 free throws. "He competed for all 33 minutes he played," Boylen said. "He was more physical than he has been all year. He had a great week of practice. He was focused. You guys know I think if Luke Nevill plays for us and plays competitive basketball, we can be very good."

-- The Utes returned to holding an opponent to less than 50 percent shooting, after allowing Oregon to fare better than that last weekend. They held the Bears to 44.2 percent shooting, although they made 14 of 30 shots after halftime, when they made a run at the Utes. The Bears also outrebounded the Utes 17-13 in the second half.

-- Guard Johnnie Bryant continues to get less playing time than he did earlier in the season, seeing only 14 minutes against the Bears. The senior has averaged just 13.7 minutes the past three games, after playing 20 in the five six. He's scoring just six points per game since his role became more limited, too, which might have something to do with the steady emergence of junior point guard Tyler Kepkay.

-- Forward Stephen Weigh played 17 minutes, the most since he returned from a two-game absence because of a rib injury. But he still hasn't scored. Weigh missed all four shots he attempted, making him 0-for-8 in the three games since he returned to the lineup. He didn't do much else, either, handing out one assist and grabbing just one rebound.