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If there's one thing a coach doesn't like, it's not being heard.
Among several mistakes on offense in an 18-point first half on Tuesday, one of the most unnerving was when Larry Krystkowiak was sending signals from the bench, and his point guards weren't looking in his direction.
"Everybody was like a deer in the headlights, and they were trying to figure out what it was they were going to run," he said. "We had a whole bunch of visual signals that the point guard could've relayed, but it didn't happen, so it ended up being pretty sloppy from start to finish."
That wasn't the only problem in Utah's 53-49 loss to San Diego State — Utah struggled to run its offense smoothly, between not setting screens properly, not hitting open shots deep, and giving the ball away 18 times mostly in its halfcourt offense.
The issues overshadowed what Utah considered a strong defensive effort. They did limit the Aztecs backcourt to only a handful of field goals, won the rebounding battle and held them to under 33 percent shooting. The team felt that the focus that made them so good on that end didn't carry over on the other end of the floor.
But as far as the Runnin' Utes are concerned ahead of Friday night's game with UC Riverside, this is the low point: It gets better from here, they said.
"When you lose, it kind of stings you a little bit," Brandon Taylor said. "It's not going to stop us or hinder us from moving forward."
Utah is focusing on the minutiae this week. Krystkowiak wants his players to appreciate setting a good screen, for example, or for his perimeter players, waiting for the screen to open up the floor. There's no sense of panic or reinvention so early in the season, but what Utah runs, it has to run better.
Krystkowiak estimated of the roughly 30 pick-and-roll plays Utah ran, two were effective. He hopes that a few days of focus on those elements will improve the success rate.
"It's not time to come up with a new offense, just do more of the meat and potatoes," he said.
The Utes also identified aggressiveness as a problem. Taylor said he didn't think they drove into the lane and drew as many fouls as they would like.
Freshman Jakob Poeltl was happy with his 12 rebounds in his stat line, but only took three shots. Even facing double-teams, he thought he should have been more assertive. Utah had only 18 points in the paint.
"They did a good job getting the ball out of my hands," he said. "I tried to get my teammates involved. I think maybe I could have been more aggressive, maybe creating my own shot or drawing out a defender and then kicking out. I think I held my own."
Krystkowiak did praise a few of his younger guys. He came away impressed with Brekkott Chapman and Isaiah Wright's composure in an rowdy Viejas Arena, and said the two freshman will vie for more time if they keep it up.
UC Riverside has split its first two games at home, and gets much of its scoring from athletic forward Taylor Johns and shooting guard Jaylen Bland. On defense, Krystkowiak said he expects man-to-man, but the Utes are also prepared for the zone if it comes up.
It would be nice, the Utes said, if all the crowd notices is Utah putting the ball in the hoop.
UC Riverside at No. 25 Utah
O Tipoff • 7 p.m. MT
TV • Pac-12 Networks
Radio • ESPN 700 AM
Records • UCR (1-1); Utah (1-1)
Series history • First meeting
About the Highlanders • Senior guard Nick Gruninger is a Kaysville native who played for Davis High and Snow College. … UC Riverside has diverse international representation with players from Sweden, China, Mali and the Netherlands.
About the Utes • Utah is celebrating Native American Heritage month with its Ute Proud promotion, which will include free T-shirts for the first 1,000 fans and a Ute Indian Tribe halftime performance. … Freshman Jakob Poeltl has gotten double-digit rebounds in each of his first two games and is leading the team with 11.0 boards per game.