Coach Jim Boylen seemed like the weight of the world had been lifted off his shoulders in the hours after the Utes upset New Mexico last night -- including when he wandered past our blackjack table at 3:30 in the morning (don't ask), having finally finished watching film of the UNLV Rebels in preparation for tonight's semifinal game at the Mountain West Conference tournament in Las Vegas.

"I feel like a broken record," he said at his post-game press conference. "I've been saying it all year, we've been in this situation before. Every game, it's a three-, five-point game. In the timeouts and huddles, I just say that to my team. 'We've been here before, we got to get a solid shot. We've got to get a three.' I kind of repeat all the things that have happened to us during the year, put it in their head we can't let it happen again if we want to move to the next level as a team.

"I said on my radio show, I really feel like this team is kind of an iceberg," he added. "There's so many good things, big things, under the surface. We just haven't broken through yet. Maybe this is the win that will give us some confidence for this year, but also for the future."

And the future begins later tonight, when the Utes try to snap a three-game losing streak at UNLV and reach the tournament championship -- potentially against the rival Brigham Young Cougars, with whom the Utes have been quietly hoping for a rematch ever since they lost their second regular-season game against them down at the Marriott Center last month.