Two straight wins for Utes; big games from Washburn

The Utah Runnin' Utes (3-8) are coming off of two wins in a row, which is quite refreshing following a string of eight straight losses.

Jason Washburn, in particular, has caught my eye the past couple of games. Washburn, a junior, has put up high numbers of points on offense, but also grabbed a lot of rebounds. In the game Monday against Portland (3-9), Washburn had a pair of huge blocks down the stretch of a tight game.

Perhaps most of all, I have noticed that Washburn is a much better free throw shooter this year. It shows that he has been working really hard at that facet of his game. I'm hoping this improvement from Washburn continues and he keeps putting up games like he did against Idaho State (2-8) and Portland. This kind of production is more of what I expected from Washburn when he came in a couple of years ago. I've always liked Washburn, but felt he could be more consistent. These last two games have really upped my hopes.

I realize the competition hasn't been the stiffest in the last two games, but it is really good for this group of Utes to get a couple of wins in a row. Utah goes on the road to face in-state rival Weber State (7-3) tomorrow night at 7 p.m. MT. The game can be seen on Altitude TV (channel 681 DirecTV, channel 61 Comcast in Salt Lake City). I'll be on the scene and will tweet out updates from Ogden. Go Utes! (P.S., here is an interesting link about recruit Jordan Loveridge).

Runnin' Utes blown out by Boise State

Utah (1-1) lost tonight at Boise State (2-0) by a score of 80-59. This win comes on the heels of the Runnin' Utes topping San Diego Christian College, an NAIA school, on Monday night by a score of 58-55.

I have not been impressed at all with the Utes so far this year. Honestly, they don't look like they know what they're doing out there. I know it's early, but this year's Utah team looks like the least talented Utes team I have ever seen -- not a good thing when entering the first year in the Pac-12. The team looks like it's playing pretty hard out there, they just don't look like they have a lot of talent.

Jiggy Watkins led the Utes with 19 points. Watkins so far has looked like by far the best Utah player. However, he can't do everything by himself. I expect more production from center Jason Washburn, who had 5 points and 6 rebounds in 25 minutes tonight. Sometimes I feel like Washburn just needs to play smarter. He's got talent, but he needs to keep his head in the game.

Look, I'm sure Utah will play better as the season goes on and the team gets more time to mesh and gel. So, we'll see if I'm overreacting. Maybe Boise State will turn out to be a better team than I'm expecting, but I still see tonight as an embarrassing loss. Larry Krystkowiak hasn't exactly set the world on fire in his first two games as head coach, but I'm willing to give him some time. I don't think the talent is all that great this year, as I alluded to. I think this team will get better, but this looks to have all the makings of a long year.

The Runnin' Utes host Montana State (1-1) on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. There is no television for the game, but you can watch a live stream of the game via utahutes.com