It was a mercenary game, played on a foreign court, in front of a semi-interested audience, for a five-figure guarantee.
But 11th-ranked Utah was more worried about Great Eight opponent Providence than appearances. After all, a win is what mattered most to coach Rick Majerus, and he got it in a messy 64-58 affair Tuesday night at the United Center.
Nobody will remember this one come March. Chances are, nobody will remember it come Wednesday. That’s because Utah and Providence were the undercard for No. 2 Kansas vs. No. 4 Arizona. It’s also because the Runnin’ Utes and the Friars didn’t exactly make the skin tingle.
“I never asked to be voted this high,” said Majerus, whose team improved to 6-0. “I never said we were that good.”
They were good enough against the 2-2 Friars, who barely beat Vermont two weeks ago and who were crushed by a so-so Boston College team Sunday. Utah’s Hanno Mottola, a sophomore from Helsinki, led everyone with 17 points, thanks to a generous share of gimme shots.
Providence had quickness but no size and only one returning starter from the team that upset Duke in last season’s NCAA tournament. Utah had size, three returning starters from a 29-4 team but no Keith Van Horn. Van Horn, the all-time leading scorer in the Western Athletic Conference, now earns millions in the NBA.
“A tractor pull, we’re going to win it,” Majerus said. “A race, they’re going to win it.”
It was a tractor pull, with Providence committing 25 fouls, with Utah out-rebounding the undersized Friars 25-11 (18-6 on the offensive boards), with bodies bouncing off the chilled court. Majerus said he feared a game where Providence ran and pressed. What he got was a game where Providence walked and occasionally pressed.
“We thought we could spread them out and drive on them,” Friars coach Pete Gillen said.
Instead, Providence stayed relatively close with perimeter play, with a third of its field goals (7 of 21) coming from beyond the arc.
Ben Perkins (15 points), Jamel Thomas (14) and Kendrick Moore (12) each had two three-pointers.
Utah didn’t seem to mind. It held Thomas, the lone returning Friars starter, to just one field goal in the first half. It also was never threatened on the boards.
By the time postgame interview sessions arrived, Gillen was congratulating his team for its tenacity and kiddingly campaigning for Mottola to transfer.
“There’s a big Finnish population,” Gillen said. “If not, we’ll start one.”
Until then, he’ll have to settle for watching Utah.
Majerus will take the win and take Mottola and move on to their next stop: Wake Forest on Saturday.
“I don’t know who would vote for us where we are,” Majerus said. “I’m glad everybody sees that now.”
