Utah Adds Two Games As Last Week of Regular Season Finalized

Utah, who is set to host UCLA and USC this weekend, will now end the season with four consecutive home games. The Pac-12 announced on Monday that both Oregon State and Arizona State would be traveling to Salt Lake City the first week fo March

When the Pac-12 basketball conference schedule was first released, the week prior to the conference tournament beginning was left wide open.

This was intentional as the Pac-12 decided that the final week would be used as a 'makeup' week for games that may have been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The conference announced on Monday evening the schedule for the final week of the regular season, and with it came the realization that Utah will play makeup games with Oregon State and Arizona State.

The Utes will host both Oregon State on Wednesday, March 3 and Arizona State on Saturday, March 6.

🚨SCHEDULE UPDATE🚨

Here’s a look at the final week of Pac-12 play! #GoUtes🏀🔴 #Pac12Hoops https://t.co/oQtQOAsfn9

— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) February 23, 2021

This is good news for the Utes on multiple levels.

Utah was currently set to end the regular season with back-to-back home games against UCLA and USC, the top two teams in the Pac-12. Then the Utes would've had a week and a half off prior to starting the conference tournament — not an ideal scenario considering Utah could be entering the the tourney with five consecutive losses (they're currently on a three-game losing streak).

Having those final two games will allow the Utes the opportunity to get some good mojo, and potentially rise up in the rankings. Utah is currently ranked 9th in the conference while Oregon State is 7th and Arizona State is 10th.

The bigger picture is that it means point guard Rylan Jones could potentially have the opportunity to play a game or two prior to the start of the conference tournament, Jones has been out with a right shoulder injury for the past few weeks and it doesn't look as if he'll be suiting up against the Bruins or Trojans.

Jan 14, 2021; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Utes guard Rylan Jones (15) dribbles around Stanford Cardinal guard Michael O'Connell (5) in the second half at Jon M. Huntsman Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Swinger-USA TODAY Sports

UTAH'S REMAINING SCHEDULE
*Thursday, Feb. 25 vs. UCLA / 6 p.m. — Pac-12 Network
*Saturday, Feb. 27 vs. USC / 6 p.m. — TBD
*Wednesday, Mar. 3 vs. Oregon State / 5 p.m. — ESPN2
*Saturday, Mar. 6 vs. UCLA / TBD

Making a profile is free and it only takes ~1 minute to set up. Also, be sure to like us on social media for future coverage:

Twitter — @UtahUtes_SI and Ryan Kostecka at @Ryan_Kostecka