Last year, the Utah Utes reached the NCAA Tournament as a No. 5 seed in the Midwest Region. This year, Seattle University's men's basketball team has proven itself to be superior to coach Jim Boylen's ballclub.
Yes, Utah lost star center Luke Nevill in the offseason, as the imposing Australian took his size and strength to the NBA's minor leagues, but the Utes have still been one of the better programs in the Mountain West Conference over the past several seasons. It's a tremendous accomplishment for SU to walk into the Jon M. Huntsman Center and steal a 77-74 win that left the home team mumbling and grumbling. What jumps out on the stat sheet is the Redhawks' 45-32 rebounding edge. No Nevill, no effectiveness for Utah on the glass.
Go ahead and say that Utah lacked a massive man in the middle; it doesn't matter. Utah should be able to reload more than this upstart program that's just beginning to get accustomed to Division I play. Seems as though the Dollar Days are already bearing fruit in the Redhawks' return to college basketball's highest level of competition.
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