Runnin' Utes set to open final MWC season

The Utah Runnin' Utes (7-7, 0-0 MWC) open their final season of Mountain West Conference play Wednesday night at Air Force (9-4, 0-0 MWC) at 8 p.m. MT. The game will be televised on the Mtn. (channel 616 on DirecTV). I'll be watching and tweeting, which you can follow along with at twitter.com/dpaysports. I'll be back on here for recap and analysis following the game. I blogged last week about the struggles of the Utah basketball program and I feel that I chronicled my thoughts on what is going on very well. All that being said, there still is a lot of season left and the Runnin' Utes can't get down about being on a 4 game losing streak or having a couple of bad losses this season. Conference play is beginning, and everyone needs to look at it as an opportunity for a fresh start. If the team puts things together now, there is still the possibility of a good season.

Air Force is a tough team to prepare for as they test your discipline and really work the clock. However, I think Utah will win this game because they have more talent and because Coach Jim Boylen has never lost to Air Force in his tenure at Utah. I think the Falcons are better than in years past, but I think Boylen and his staff have the confidence to bring the Utes into Colorado Springs and come out with a victory.

Following the road game with Air Force, the Runnin' Utes return home for a pair of games against ranked opponents. First, Utah takes on #6 San Diego State (15-0, 0-0 MWC) on Saturday at 2 p.m. MT and then hosts rival #15 BYU (14-1, 0-0 MWC) next Tuesday night at 6:30 p.m. MT. I'm hoping for more of an electric atmosphere at the Huntsman Center for these two games. If San Diego State can win at TCU (9-6, 0-0 MWC) tomorrow night, they will be unbeaten coming into Saturday's match-up. That would be pretty special to have an undefeated team ranked #6 in the country come into our arena this far into the season. So I hope that happens. BYU is also playing some really good basketball this season and I fully expect a loud crowd for the game next Tuesday. Utah is encouraging fans to wear red for a "Red Out" for the BYU game and I am on board with that. I just like the sound of that and hope that it brings out people wearing even more red and being even more passionate about the Utah basketball than usual. As part of the Red Out, the Runnin' Utes will be wearing their red uniforms at home for the first time that I can ever remember.

I'm excited for conference play to get going in full swing. The Mountain West is a fun conference to follow and some good basketball is played there. It's been fun to have my team in the conference and be able to follow them for years. I'm going to try and soak up this last season of Utah in the Mountain West and enjoy the competitiveness and the rivalries the conference has to offer. Hopefully the Utes will put a product on the floor that I can be proud to call my team. It all starts Wednesday night.