The Texas trip

This week the Utes head south to Texas to take on Southern Methodist (Wednesday) and Texas State (Friday).  It's all part of Coach Krystkowiak's pre-season scheduling scheme, which he carefully designed to prepare the team for various components of Pac-12 play.  This week, the team will learn the nuances of a two-game road trip and play the first game of a home-and-home (vs. SMU).

Southern Methodist: The Mustangs are coached (of course) by Larry Brown.  They started off the season 5-0 but had a rough go of it last week at a tournament in Mexico.  There, they lost a head-scratcher to Arkansas-Little Rock before edging Missouri State by one point. They have five guys who average right around 10 ppg or better, each of whom pull down at least 4.5 rpg. I haven't had a chance to watch them play yet, but it sounds like Coach Brown is working hard to get the team ready for life in the Big East.

Texas State: The Bobcats are one of the new members of the WAC.  They just placed seventh (out of eight teams) in the Great Alaskan Shootout last week.  They've got a couple guys who average 15 and 5 and a couple who average 9 and 3. From the stat sheet, they appear to be a veteran team poised to finish in the middle of the WAC. 

For what it's worth, SMU and Texas State already faced off this season, with the Mustangs winning 78-75.  SMU led by as many as 15 in the second half.  The Bobcats ended the game on a 15-6 run, but it wasn't enough to get the win.  Joel Wright had 28 points and 5 rebounds for Texas State; Jalen Jones led SMU with 24 points, 8 rebounds and 2 blocks.