Boy, and just as soon as I write in the newspaper that Ricky Johns wouldn't be able to just hoist three-pointers and wave to the crowd all night long in his senior send-off, he pretty much does just that.

Johns missed his first shot from the field, but then astonishingly made his next 11 - throwing them in from all over the floor.

Six were three-pointers (including the one on which he was knocked down and fouled, allowing him to complete an uncommon four-point play) and he finished with a career-high 30 in the 74-68 victory over San Diego State. The kid was all over SportsCenter after the game, naturally.

"I never felt like I was in a zone at all," he said.

Yeah, right.

Seriously?

"I haven't done anything different," he insisted. "I just put in the hard work and the time, and it pays off. ... Coach talked to me and told me to try to be as aggressive as possible and I've done that. Getting extra shots up [in practice] and just feeling in rhythm and confident. It feels good."

For him, maybe ...

Now that the Utes have beaten San Diego State in their home finale - they have won six of their last 11 games, for whatever that's worth - they can start watching the scoreboard to see where they might end up seeded in the Mountain West Conference next week.

Best-case scenario?

The fifth seed, if you can believe it.

Of course, for that to happen, the Utes need to beat Brigham Young at the Marriott Center on Saturday, have Wyoming lose at least once (the Cowboys play at TCU tonight and host New Mexico on Saturday) and have Colorado State lose its finale at UNLV on Saturday).

That way, the Utes would finish either all alone in fifth place at 7-9, or in a tie with the Cowboys - against whom they would win a tie-breaker by virtue of their win over the Cougars.

But if the Utes fail to snap the Cougars' 30-game homecourt winning streak, they not only lose their shot at a fifth seed, but again put themselves at risk of having to win a play-in game. That could happen if New Mexico were to unexpectedly win its last two games, against UNLV tonight and against Colorado State on Saturday. In such a case, the Utes would lose tie-breakers against all of the three teams with which they could be tied - Wyoming, Colorado State and New Mexico.

Obviously, the most likely scenario is that the Utes lose at BYU, but the Lobos also lose at least once, keeping the Utes out of the play-in game. Then, it becomes a question of whether the Utes would get the sixth or seventh seed, something that could go either way at the moment, depending on how the rest of the league fares tonight and Saturday.

Entertaining doesn't even begin to describe the prospect of former Utah coach Rick Majerus taking the vacant job at New Mexico - what with the visions it creates of the big man rolling back into town to take on the team he once led to glory.

And who knows?

Majerus declined to deny an interest in replacing outgoing coach Ritchie McKay with the Lobos and told the Albuquerque Tribune that "we're just going to have to see" what happens. Of course, that sounds like vintage Majerus - he never met an open job for which he did not enjoy being courted.

But his agent told the newspaper that seeking another coaching job for the ESPN broadcaster is "not something we're actively pursuing." That sounds a lot closer to reality, to be honest, although Majerus does appear to be one of the most exciting coaching candidates for many Lobo fans.

Johnnie Bryant has scored 49 points in his last two games for the Utes. Brandon Heath has scored 60 in his last two for San Diego State.

Do we smell a shootout tonight at the Huntsman Center?

"I'm not going to get into a scoring battle," Bryant said. "It's just playing basketball, you know? If I have open looks, I'm going to shoot them. If they go down, they go down. But I really don't go into the game trying to get into a scoring battle with anybody in the conference. After all, it's not about me. It's about the team, and trying to find a way to win."

Still, Bryant said that Heath had called him the day before the game to talk a little trash, continuing a series of relationships that Bryant has forged with some of the top players in the league since meeting them during the preseason Mountain West Conference media day. Among them? Wyoming's Brandon Ewing, Air Force's Jacob Burtschi and Matt McCraw and UNLV's J.R. Giddens.

Many of the players text-message or call one another - mostly to harass each other about whose teams are winning or losing, or who's playing well or not.

"Pretty much," Bryant said, laughing.

"It's good," he added. "My teammates give me a hard time about it, but you build relationships, and it's bigger than basketball. A couple of years down the line, you never know when you may run into them. ... Once we get between those lines, we're competing really hard, but otherwise, it's just all fun and games."

Point guard Curtis Eatmon isn't a big fan of the clear plastic mask he must wear the rest of the season, on account of the broken nose he suffered nine days ago against UNLV.

Didn't care much for the surgery he needed to repair the injury, either - though the result was satisfactory.

"It hurts," Eatmon said, "but it's straight."

Coach Ray Giacoletti concurred, on his way down the hallway before practice Monday. But how much Eatmon plays in the last few games will depend a lot on how well he can tolerate the pain, as well as the uncomfortable mask.

The freshman missed the trip to Wyoming last week because of the injury, and played just six minutes against New Mexico the other night as he tried to get accustomed to the mask and a tiny splint that was inserted inside his nose to help the healing.

Before the injury, Eatmon had not played so sparingly since the first two games of the league season - and only five times in the preseason before that. He has not made a basket in the last five games in which he has played, though, and has committed seven turnovers against just two assists in that span. Not exactly the best way to earn playing time.

Forward Shaun Green had perhaps the most dazzling statistical line of the season for the Utes in their double-overtime victory over New Mexico last weekend - 21 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and no turnovers in 46 minutes.

And afterward, he said coach Ray Giacoletti has been encouraging him to be more of a leader on the floor.

"He's been talking to me about being more vocal," Green said. "I'm just used to leading by example, just go out there and play hard and give it my all. But I just need to be more vocal and I think I did a pretty good job of that [against the Lobos], and I'm going to try to carry that load the rest of the year."

My personal theory had been that Green - clearly the steadiest and most natural leader on the team - nevertheless had been wary of asserting himself too much because, as only a sophomore and not a captain like senior Ricky Johns and junior Johnnie Bryant, he did not feel it was his place to take charge.

But Green said that actually has been far from the case.

It might have been hard to assert himself "on a different team, just because of the whole sophomore-senior thing," he said. "But with our team, we're such a close team, everybody listens to each other when they make suggestions. So it hasn't been that hard, because people just respect everyone on the team."

Green indeed has been pretty amazing lately, after a bit of a lull in the middle of the season.

In his last three games, he's averaging 14.7 points, 9.0 rebounds and 4.3 assists while shooting 60 percent from the field and 7-for-12 on three-pointers. He also has not committed a turnover in the last two games.

"He's doing all the little things," Giacoletti said. "I'm going to him, for him to pull guys together. ... He's done it already on his own, and we need somebody else to step up and we've talked about it and it's him. And not so much with his play, just with him pulling guys together. Even I snapped one time, in a timeout, and he told me, ‘Hey, it's OK.' Great."

One of the fun things about a winning locker room, obviously, is the amount of hassle you can give the players - such as teasing Shaun Green about his defense against New Mexico's Chad Toppert, who made only six three-pointers on his way to 20 points in the Utes' double-overtime 93-91 victory over the Lobos on Saturday.

"Shhhh!" he mock-whispered over his shoulder, playing along on the way out of the room.

Guard Johnnie Bryant certainly came in for some of the business, too, after scoring 23 points - including 13 straight at one point in the second half, to pull the Utes back into the game after they had fallen behind by nine.

Which he swore he did not realize.

"Who scored 13 in a row?" he asked.

You did, Johnnie, in the second half. Remember? After hitting a jumper in the key, drilling a three-pointer, and making a steal and fast-break layup, you hit another trey to pull the Utes to within 64-60 and were so feeling it that you waved for a long crosscourt pass and hoisted a ridiculously distant three-pointer from the right side - which naturally swished through the net and effectively ignited the victory.

"Man, I was just playing," he said, smiling. "Just playing. My teammates did a great job of looking for me, and the coaches kept telling me I was being passive in the zone and to be aggressive and go make plays. I hit a couple of shots and I got a couple of lay-ups here and there, and just kept playing. Once I'd seen one go down, seen a lay-up go down, I just kept shooting."

Just in time, too.

Bryant had been suffering through a shooting slump through most of the Mountain West Conference season, yet kept believeing that it would change as long as he kept shooting.

And what do you know?

Not only has Bryant averaged 21 points in the last three games, he has made 23 of 35 shots for 65.7 percent - including 12 of 23 three-pointers, for 52.2 percent. Pretty strong, especially considering he had shot 34.4 percent from the field and 36.7 percent from three-point range in the previous eight games.

"We're just playing," he said. "Just to prove to everbody that, you know, Utah's not done, and to prove that we still have something left inside of us. If that can't motivate anybody, then you shouldn't be playing this game. We're still being positive on the whole situation ... and we're still playing games, and still playing games to win."

Looks like everything's out the window at New Mexico, now that the Lobos have Fired embattled coach Ritchie McKay.

That disciplinary action, for example?

Gone.

Embattled guard J.R. Giddens - suspended indefinitely last weekend for undisclosed problems - has been at least partially re-instated. Gidden will begin practicing with the team, and the team's leading scorer will make the trip to Salt Lake City when the Lobos play the Utes in a pivotal game at the Huntsman Center on Saturday.

The big question now, of course, is whether coach Ray Giacoletti will meet the same fate at the end of the season. The Utes have suffered some of the same problems as the Lobos - notably wavering booster support, plummeting attendance and a poor season on the court.

The 9-17 Utes probably need to beat the 15-13 Lobos on Saturday to avoid needing to win a "play-in" game to reach the Mountain West Conference tournament next month.

But don't forget the interesting angle in play for the Lobos as they search for a replacement. Athletic director Paul Krebs is the man who, while at Bowling Green, took a chance on a certain wide receivers coach from Notre Dame as his football coach. Fella, by the name of ... Urban Meyer.

He still has trouble staying out of foul trouble, and continues to attempt moves that seem far outside his repertoire - like putting the ball on the floor or hoisting long-distance shots.

But forward Daniel Deane is making progress, too.

Once a seldom-used backup, the 6-foot-9 freshman has been playing an ever greater role for the Utes. He played a season-high 24 minutes in place of injured starting center Luke Nevill in the 86-78 loss at Wyoming on Thursday, scoring a season-high 12 points with four rebounds.

"I just like being on the floor," he said. "I feel like I can help us. You can't help from the bench."

Which brings to mind the foul trouble - Deane fouled out against the Cowboys, marking his third disqualification in the last five games (he had four fouls in another game, too). He also committed five turnovers, two of which helped the Cowboys put just enough distance on the Utes in the second half.

But Deane has averaged 5.0 points and 2.2 rebounds in 14.8 minutes over the last eight games, after contributing 2.3 points and 2.0 rebounds in 10.0 minutes in the first 18 games. At one point against the Cowboys, he kept the Utes close by scoring six straight points.

Deane could play a big role against the New Mexico Lobos at the Huntsman Center on Saturday, too, if Nevill remains out with his hip injury.

And he's not the only one who seems to be showing improvement.

Guard Lawrence Borha enjoyed his best game in a month at Wyoming, scoring 13 points and handing out a career-high seven assists to go with two steals. Turnovers were a problem for him, too - the sophomore committed four, most of them dumb traveling mistakes - but twice made big plays with hard drives to the hoop the resulted in layups and fouls. He has shot 11-for-20 and averaged 6.7 points in 23.5 minutes over the last four games, after having not made a basket in the previous four games.

"We need Lawrence to play with that freeness," coach Ray Giacoletti said. "We have to have somebody else [score]. A good example for Lawrence should have been watching those two other guards tonight - penetrate the ball. ... Do what you do well. Don't do things you can't do."

One of the referees who called the Utes' game at Wyoming on Wednesday was Tim Gabutero.

Why is that notable?

Because former Weber State coach Joe Cravens was working as an analyst for the radio broadcast of the game on KALL-AM 700 in Salt Lake City.

And Cravens had not seen Gabutero since the referee changed a charging call to a blocking call that went against Cravens during his tenure as coach at Weber State several years ago - igniting the infamous block-charge dance that Cravens performed as he left the court following his ejection, a comical bit of fury that landed Cravens on countless highlight reels.

Speaking of Cravens, a column by Randy Hollis in the Ogden Standard-Examiner on Wednesday speculated that Utah coach Ray Giacoletti will meet the same fate that his good friend Cravens did at WSU - getting fired. We'd link to it, but the Standard has one of those annoying fee-based, subscription web sites.

The Utes are facing a critical game tonight at Wyoming, where the Cowboys are coming off a victory over San Diego State that snapped a four-game losing streak.

But coach Ray Giacoletti said there's no secret strategy for winning at the Arena-Auditorium.

"Nothing changes," he said. "It's about effort, pride, and talking on the defensive end of the floor."

The 9-16 Utes haven't shown much of any of that the past two games - back-to-back blowouts that suddenly have them heading in the wrong direction after winning four of their previous six games. They held a players-only meeting earlier this week, hoping to find some solution to a slide that could cost Giacoletti his job if it isn't stopped.

"We'll see what we come up with," the coach said.

The Utes beat the Cowboys 62-60 at the Huntsman Center on Jan. 20, with Wyoming's Daaron Brown fouling out after just 14 minutes trying to defend center Luke Nevill. Brown had missed five straight games with a sprained ankle before returning for the San Diego State game - he had four points, seven rebounds, two assists and three steals in 16 minutes - and expects to be closer to full strength for the rematch with the Utes.

But the 14-12 Cowboys also have guard Brandon Ewing, the league's leading scorer at 19.5 points per game, and backcourt mate Brad Jones - who was named the weekly Mountain West Conference player of the week after making 17 of 18 free throws on his way to 32 points in the 80-71 win over San Diego State.

Still, coach Steve McClain worries about Nevill.

"Utah does a great job of getting him the basketball," McClain said. "He's gotten stronger, and he's added to his moves. The key to defending him is you can't let him get you buried in and around the goal. Even then, he's become a very good passer and does a good job of sharing the basketball."

During conversations with the freshmen recently about their tumultuous first collegiate seasons with the Utes, most of them quickly expressed support for embattled coach Ray Giacoletti when asked about his seemingly tenuous job security.

But not everybody.

Forward Daniel Deane seemed awfully hesitant to say he believes Giacoletti will return next season - he answered my question about it with a curiously long pause before finally saying, "yeah, I mean, he's coach" - perhaps suggesting a strained relationship between the two.

Then again, Deane is pretty shy and reserved when it comes to interviews, so it's fair to think he simply might have been taken aback by the question and unsure quite how to answer.

But still, it seemed odd, especially considering how Deane then answered a question about whether he wanted Giacoletti back. "I'm not at liberty to discuss my coach," he said. "He's coach."

What that meant, I have no idea.

In any case, most of the freshmen expressed opinions closer to that of forward Stephen Weigh, who strongly endorsed Giacoletti - though he might have unwittingly provided an argument against the coach, considering the Utes are 9-16 with four regular-season games remaining.

"I really hope he does come back," Weigh said. "We're the product of his hard work. He's actually the one who got us here ... so we're really grateful for that."

Finally, some potentially good news for the Utes.

Coach Ritchie McKay has indefinitely suspended star guard J.R. Giddens from his New Mexico team, apparently leaving the Lobos without their best player and leading scorer when they meet the Utes at the Huntsman Center on Saturday.

And that could help the Utes avoid the "play-in" game to reach the Mountain West Conference tournament next month. The Utes probably need to beat the Lobos to secure the seventh seed in the tournament and avoid having to beat TCU just to reach the eight-team tourney field.

Then again, as the article suggests, the Lobos might be better without the troublesome Giddens.

Speaking of curiosities, though, the suspension could ultimately help Utah coach Ray Giacoletti keep his job, while McKay loses his own. That would be a fascinating twist, considering the two coaches don't get along anymore, after working on the same staff together at Washington years ago.

While he was spending the weekend at the NBA All-Star Game in Las Vegas, former All-American Andrew Bogut could not escape the news that the UNLV Rebels had beaten his former team in Salt Lake City - sending the Utes to a 9-16 record that ranks as one of the worst in school history.

"Frustrating," is how the Milwaukee Bucks center described it.

But while Bogut suggested that "some guys should be working harder" for the Utes, he also endorsed coach Ray Giacoletti, who coached Bogut in his first year on the hill and led the Utes to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament just two years ago.

"There's definitely room for improvement," Bogut said, "but I think they should still keep him, and give him a chance at least for another year to prove himself."

Let's face it, the Utes are not suddenly going to get tougher anytime this season.

That much is clear in the wake of their disastrous 70-57 collapse - at home! - to the UNLV Rebels. This team is way too fragile and way too lacking in leadership to hope for that. No, it's looking like the best this team can hope for is a home victory over New Mexico next weekend to stay out of the play-in game for the Mountain West Conference tournament, then maybe- maybe - one win in that tournament.

"Right now, we're taking steps backward," coach Ray Giacoletti said.

Yes, they are.

Defense and toughness have been obviously huge problems - 18-0 and 16-0 runs by UNLV, after Air Force hit them with a 16-0 run in a dominating win last week - but it also hardly seems like anybody's on the same page, offensively.

Case in point?

Guard Johnnie Bryant and forward Shaun Green both have said in recent days that they feel as if the Utes have not been shooting well lately because they have been trying too hard to get the ball inside to center Luke Nevill against less frequent double-teams, thereby passing up open outside shots.

Yet Nevill said after the loss to UNLV that he felt that his teammates too often take bad shots from the outside without looking inside first.

"You know, we make a basket inside - we go inside - and we come down and instead of doing the same thing and trying to get the same thing, we'll take an easy shot. We might take a quick shot," he said. "And then we don't get back on defense, and it just fuels" the other team.

Sounds like a huge disconnect, to me, and one - along with defense - that Giacoletti is going to have to straighten out before this team is going to get any better. But don't expect that to happen in the next three weeks. No, this team already is playing for next season.

While working on the article about the downturn in the Utes' shooting percentages that will appear in the newspaper tomorrow, I listened to coach Ray Giacoletti talk about how he's more concerned about defense and turnovers.

"We're just throwing it all over the place," he said.

And boy, he's right about that.

The Utes have committed an average of 18 turnovers over the last five games - one-third more than their average of 13.5 over the first 19 games of the season. Center Luke Nevill and guard Johnnie Bryant have been the worst offenders in that span, committing 17 and 16 turnovers, respectively.

But who has been the biggest turnover machine over the course of the season?

Say hello to freshman point guard Curtis Eatmon, who averages a turnover every 9.26 minutes he plays. Maybe that's why, though he has shown some promise, he has played only 287 minutes this season - seventh on the team, and just barely ahead of guard Luka Drca and forward Daniel Deane.

Drca has not been much better, though, committing a turnover every 10.18 minutes, while guard Lawrence Borha averages one every 11.9 minutes. Guard Ricky Johns is the most sure-handed of the Utes, committing a turnover only every 26.9 minutes he plays.

It was an unhappy trip home, that's for sure, after the Utes fell apart in a 69-43 loss at No. 17 Air Force on Thursday night.

But there was an upside.

Freshman forward Kim Tillie took a big step in his recovery from a broken leg, being allowed to put on his basketball shoes and take some shots for the first time since he was hurt in practice in late December. Tillie gently shot baskets before the Utes practiced on Thursday, careful not to really jump or run.

Tillie is not expected to return before the end of the year - there's certainly no reason to push it - but his improvement still was a positive development for a team that has strained to find many of those this season.

The 9-15 Utes again showed a maddening lack of toughness against the Falcons, committed 19 turnovers, and failed to score for long stretches. They will consider themselves fortunate if they can win two of their final four regular-season games, and perhaps win a first-round game in the Mountain West Conference tournament next month.

"We couldn't sustain," coach Ray Giacoletti said. "We got off to a good start. We had a good understanding of what we needed to do, but we didn't defensively do the things early to get us off to a really good start. We had a lot of breakdowns, with foul trouble and turnovers."

After shooting nearly 71 percent against the Falcons in an 85-79 victory over them at home last month, the Utes actually burst out of the gate in the rematch with a dunk by center Luke Nevill on the first possession, followed by two three-pointers and two more easy baskets for Nevill in the post.

Suddenly, though, the shots wouldn't fall.

Nevill encountered foul trouble. The players off the bench looked timid and confused, and the Utes never did bear down with the kind of defense Giacoletti wanted. The Falcons ultimately led by 30 points.

"It was definitely, once again, a defensive problem," Nevill said.

ALL EYES ON THE BIG MAN AT AIR FORCE

While we wait for what many fear could be a long night for the Utes against Air Force and its 28-game winning streak at Clune Arena, here are a couple of articles about the Falcons in their local media.

One focuses on forward forward Dan Nwaelele and his re-emergence for the Falcons after a two-point game in a loss at San Diego State. Another spotlights guard Tim Anderson, who does many of the little, unheralded things for the Falcons.

But neither of those players figure to be the determining factor when the Utes and Falcons meet tonight.

That honor probably goes to Utah's Luke Nevill.

The 7-foot-1 center, as you might recall, did not miss any of his eight shots for the Utes in their 85-79 victory over the Falcons last month at the Huntsman Center, and helped hold Air Force's Nick Welch to two points on 0-for-5 shooting. His inside presence against the smaller Falcons created open outside shots for his teammates, and set the tone for an astonishing shooting night.

Coach Ray Giacoletti hopes it can happen again, because he still believes that as hard as it is to stop the Falcons and their Princeton offense, it's even harder to score against them. "We'll do our best to establish Luke inside," he said, "and when they have to come help, somebody's going to get an open look, and we need to knock down the open look."

By the way, now that Gonzaga has had its 50-game homecourt winning streak snapped, the longest such streak in the nation belongs to none other than ... Air Force.

And guess where the Utes play next.

Having won back-to-back games, the 9-14 Utes will meet the No. 17 Falcons at Clune Arena on Wednesday night, hoping to snap their 28-game homecourt winning streak. Brigham Young actually shares the national lead with Air Force, and the Cougars will take on New Mexico at about the same time the Utes are playing the Falcons.

"It's going to be a rough one," guard Johnnie Bryant said. "Especially because we beat them here. I really think they have this one highlighted for us. We just have to be ready for the adverse environment up there."

Walking into the locker room for a pre-practice meeting the other day, coach Ray Giacoletti carried with him a single sheet of paper.

On it?

A major-league lesson for his players.

Giacoletti had printed out a copy of a news article detailing the arrest last weekend of two Gonzaga players for allegedly possessing marijuana and psychedelic mushrooms. Josh Heytvelt and Theo Davis have been suspended from the Bulldogs, and Davis - a native Canadian - could be facing immigration issues. Police said Heytvelt was possessing enough mushrooms to constitute a felony.

"It's just a good time" to remind players to stay out of trouble, Giacoletti said.

The problems facing the Bulldogs are especially important to Giacoletti, who's close friends with Gonzaga coach Mark Few. Giacoletti said he already has spoken to Few several times about the incident, which curiously occured the night before a game against St. Mary's - not in celebration afterward.

The Bulldogs did manage to beat St. Mary's without Heytvelt and Davis last weekend, but lost to Santa Clara 84-73 on Monday night - snapping their 50-game homecourt winning streak and relegating them to second place in the West Coast Conference.

Not to sound like too much of an apologist for such a disappointing season, but has anybody checked the RPI Index lately?

The Utes are 24th.

All right, not in the actual Ratings Percentage Index, the computer measurement that helps determine which teams reach the NCAA Tournament. The Utes are 24th nationally in strength of the schedule - the toughest in the league. Only UNLV, at 29th, is even close, with BYU at 51st and everybody else no higher than San Diego State at 66th.

Maybe that's why the 9-14 Utes have had such a difficult time this season. They're young, inexperienced and inconsistent, yes - but they weren't playing a bunch of patsies in the nonconference season the way they once did, either.

The challenge of the difficult schedule also might help explain why the Utes are creeping into the middle of the Mountain West Conference standings - they're all alone in fifth place, going into their game at No. 15 Air Force on Wednesday - while teams with better overall records (forged mostly against weak nonconference opposition) are threatening to be even worse in league play than the Utes.

New Mexico, Colorado State, Wyoming? This means you.

So, is it just me, or is backup forward Daniel Deane suddenly look like he knows what he's doing?

Yes, the freshman has enjoyed back-to-back strong games off the bench.

But it's more than just the numbers that Deane has posted - 10 points and four rebounds in a win at TCU, followed by seven points and three boards in the victory over Colorado State.

It's in the way he carries himself.

Deane moves with purpose, anymore, after having spent most of the season seeming to run around almost spastically - eager to play hard and perform well, but clearly confused about where to go when, and how to actually do it. It's like he finally got his mind around the system that coach Ray Giacoletti wants him to run (though the coach could probably do without the outside jump shots that Deane occasionally puts up).

He's not much of a talker, but Deane did say after the TCU game that he feels like he's "not a freshman anymore," meaning that he has enough experience that the former star recruit from Judge Memorial should be playing better.

The only downside now?

Deane has managed to foul out in less than 20 minutes of each of the last two games.

"Hopefully, we can get him to play a few more minutes before fouling out," Giacoletti said. "But you can't put a price tag on that energy."

Hey, Lawrence Borha?

Nice to have you back.

The Utes' sophomore guard finally reappeared in an 82-77 victory over Colorado State on Thursday night, after doing virtually nothing in the six games since being dropped from the starting lineup.

Borha was instrumental in the game-winning surge against the Rams, lighting the fire with back-to-back baskets to start the second half and providing needed defensive energy while scoring all seven of his points in a dozen minutes after halftime.

"That's one thing LB is good for, is to bring that energy and intensity on the defensive end," teammate Johnnie Bryant said. "And it's contagious. You see one guy laying stuff on the line, and you're going to pick it up."

Finally.

In his previous six games, Borha had scored 13 points in a win over Air Force - the Utes travel to meet the No. 15 Falcons next week - but did not play in a loss at New Mexico and contributed a total of two points and three rebounds in the last four games combined.

Yet there he was after the game, playfully warning reporters not to stand on the Utah logo on the floor of the team room and feeling comfortable enough to acknowledge what he learned from the fiery halftime speech that some of the assistant coaches delivered.

"I don't know," he said. "I didn't listen."

Speaking of shooting slumps, check out Johnnie Bryant.

Going into tonight's game against Colorado State at the Huntsman Center, the junior guard is an abysmal 5-for-26 from the field in his last two home games, including 0-for-8 from three-point range. He also has made just 14 of 50 shots in his last four games, which include those last two at home.

Bryant acknowledged his slump after making a bunch of important free throws in the 70-65 victory at TCU last weekend - he's 20-of-23 from the line in the last six games - and suggested he might have to start spending a little more time working on his shot after practice.

Otherwise, though, he did not seem overly concerned.

"Who knows, man?" he said with a smile. "I don't know. I can't really describe it. But in order to get out of it, you have to keep shooting. ...You can't make the shots you don't take, so you just keep shooting."

Even though he has cooled off a bit, forward Shaun Green is still shooting 55.1 percent from three-point range this season.
So why isn't he still leading the nation?
Simple - not enough shots.
Green has made just five three-pointers in the last four games (out of a dozen attempts), dropping him below the minimum required to qualify for the national rankings. The NCAA says a player must make an average of 2.5 three-pointers per game, and Green is averaging just 2.45 per game - in addition to being in a mild slump.
"Teams are realizing that I'm an outside threat," he said. "They're staying close to me. I don't have as many open looks as I did at the beginning of the year. But also, when I have open looks, I need to knock them down. I've missed a couple of wide-open ones lately, so I have to fix that."
With Green out of the picture for the moment, Northern Arizona's Stephen Sir has assumed the national lead by hitting 93 of 181 three-pointers for 51.4 percent. But if Green repeats against Colorado State the 4-for-8 three-point shooting performance he enjoyed in his last meeting with the Rams, he will be right back on top.

Just when it appeared freshman forward Stephen Weigh was getting squeezed out of the lineup, there he was again for the Utes in a 76-66 home loss to Brigham Young on Wednesday night.

Too bad his seven points in 22 minutes didn’t mean more.

Weigh had watched his playing time dwindle over the last five games, to the point where he played only 19 minutes combined over the last three, and scored just two points in that span. But even though he showed some signs of life, the Utes had their usual stack of problems in their first home loss to the Cougars in 13 years to complete the first half of the Mountain West Conference season.

For example?

While center Luke Nevill scored a season-high 26 points while appearing highly motivated to dominate counterpart Trent Plaisted again, the Utes allowed 58 percent shooting after halftime and led the Cougars make all six three-pointers they attempted in the second half.

Forward Shaun Green had made just 6 of 18 shots over the last three games, representing his worst shooting slump of the season, and guard Johnnie Bryant has been awful in his last two home games. The junior has hit just 5 of 26 shots in those games, and his four points against the Cougars were his fewest since back-to-back three-point games against Northwestern and Albany last month.

Between that and their continually porous defense, the Utes will be hard-pressed to avoid having to win a play-in game just to reach the league tournament next month. They play at TCU on Saturday, which represents one of the few remaining games it appears the Utes have a decent chance of winning.