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Texas State isn't a tough opponent and certainly this victory won't go down in the annals of Utah basketball history ... but it's a start. In fact, this was the Utes' first road win in nearly two years - their last coming in 2010 against the Air Force Falcons.
So, it's a start and now, at 5-2, Utah is only a win away from matching their entire win total from last season.
Friday night's victory was close, but it was a game the Utes controlled for most the night and they would inevitably win 74-69, in part because of Jarred DuBois, who had a game-high 21 points on 7-11 shooting.
Utah had entered the game losers against SMU Wednesday and were in dire need of a victory before they reach the final stretch of their preseason schedule. The Utes will host Boise State Wednesday and then travel down to Provo to take on the Cougars.
It's these next two games that could prove whether the progress Utah has seen is solely because of a weakened schedule, and therefore fleeting, or the start of maybe something bigger. While I don't expect them to beat BYU, who's absolutely dominated the head-to-head series lately, I think they can be competitive and knock off the Broncos, a team that thoroughly destroyed Utah last year. Boise State was picked to finish 8th in the Mountain West this year, however, upended #11th ranked Creighton this week and are 5-1 on the season - with that lone loss coming by four against Michigan State in East Lansing.
Regardless, it's nice to win and to actually be this many games above .500. If you'll remember, at this point in the season last year, the Runnin' Utes were 1-6. That's quite the turnaround ... now let's hope it lasts.