The next 31 days will determine what seed the No. 20 Utah women\u2019s basketball team will receive in the Pac-12 tournament in Las Vegas in early March.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That will play a factor in whether the Utes receive a Day 1 bye in the tournament with a top-four seed or be forced to play every round in what ESPN\u2019s Charlie Creme called<\/u><\/a> \u201cthe most important conference tourney in the country.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe top teams aren\u2019t just battling for a league championship. Every Friday and Sunday for the rest of the season, Pac-12 play will impact NCAA Tournament seeding,\u201d Creme wrote of the Pac-12 two weeks ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Utah arrived at the midpoint of conference play with a 15-6 overall record, 5-4 in Pac-12 action. The Utes are fifth in the league standings, though that can change quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While that\u2019s not where the Utes were projected to be \u2014 Utah was the preseason favorite to win the Pac-12<\/u><\/a> \u2014 it\u2019s not as simple as defining success and progress by looking at where the Utes currently sit in the standings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are other factors among them \u2014 for example, is the team showing growth?<\/p>\n\n\n\n After a stretch where Utah lost three of its first four Pac-12 games while going through a metamorphosis with injuries to Gianna Kneepkens and Issy Palmer, the Utes have responded well, outside of last Sunday\u2019s blowout loss at Oregon State<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before that, the Utes won four straight, including victories over No. 6 USC and No. 2 UCLA in a highly charged weekend series.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Palmer is back after missing 10 weeks due to an undisclosed injury, and while Kneepkens is out for the season with a broken foot, the team has transformed into a resilient bunch behind ninth-year coach Lynne Roberts<\/u><\/a> and All-American forward Alissa Pili<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Utes could have folded after losing at home to Stanford<\/u><\/a>, their first loss at the Huntsman Center since falling to Oregon in the 2021-22 regular-season finale, but responded with their most impressive stretch of the season \u2014 beating California by 37<\/u><\/a>, top-10 USC by 20<\/u><\/a> and then-No. 2 UCLA by 13<\/u><\/a> in overtime, followed by a 10-point victory at Oregon<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, Utah heads into the back half of Pac-12 play with the chance to improve its stock not only in the league but on a national scale as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What are some of the key questions surrounding the Utes as they embark on the final month of the regular season? Here\u2019s a look at three pressing issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Utah still has nine games remaining in the regular season, five at home, beginning with a two-game road swing to Washington this Friday (8 p.m. MST, Pac-12 Washington) and at Washington State on Sunday (1 p.m., Pac-12 Washington).<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Utes are coming off a stretch where they played four games in nine days, thanks to playing the first pair of games on a Friday and Monday, followed by two more on a Friday and Sunday the next weekend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s the nature of conference action. During the next five weeks, Utah will only have one week with a single game and four with a pair of contests as they wind down the regular season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of particular importance will be to see how the Utes respond on the road, where they are 5-4 on the year and 2-3 in conference play. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Those losses include blowing an eight-point fourth-quarter lead before falling at top-five Colorado, losing in overtime at Arizona, and the aforementioned loss to Oregon State, where the Beavers shot 69.4%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Outside of that Oregon State loss, Utah was in every Pac-12 game thus far and arguably wasn\u2019t that far from an 8-1 league record.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI refuse to buy into the narrative of, \u2018Oh, we\u2019re just not as good … on the road.\u2019 Like, we\u2019re not going to do that. And I think something you know, it\u2019s like I\u2019ve said before, it\u2019s like missing free throws, the more you talk about it \u2014 we\u2019re not buying into that narrative,\u201d Roberts said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019re gonna play well on the road this weekend. Like, that\u2019s it. I know that sounds silly, but that\u2019s the reality. I\u2019m not buying into that. Our players, we need to figure it out. You need to prepare the same way and even have a little more edge. You know, to beat a good team at home you got to first keep their energy and I think that\u2019s where we\u2019re lacking and that\u2019s 100% controllable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n February will be a mentally and physically challenging month for Utah and every team in the conference. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI think for the rest of the games, you know, we\u2019re the underdog. I really believe that. In February, the toughest teams win \u2014 mentally, physically, the toughest teams win,\u201d Roberts said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the hallmarks of the Pac-12, traditionally one of the top conferences in women\u2019s basketball, is the parity that\u2019s been on display throughout league play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Behind league leader Stanford, there\u2019s a logjam of six schools all within 2.5 games of each other in the standings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last weekend, the Utes\u2019 two upcoming opponents both went on the road and sprang upsets. Washington went in and beat then-No. 11 USC at the Galen Center, while Washington State knocked off then-No. 2 UCLA at historic Pauley Pavilion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Regarding Washington, Roberts said, \u201cThey run their offense for 20-25 seconds, it\u2019s really hard to speed them up. They\u2019re really effective with it. And then defensively, they just kind of play percentage D. They play really hard.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n As for the Cougars? \u201cWashington State is always really hard to beat. Pullman\u2019s a tough place to win. I don\u2019t know why, it\u2019s a hard place to play,\u201d Roberts said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n