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Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak knows the history. Earning a first-round bye in the Pac-12 basketball tournament didn’t help his team the past two years, when the Utes lost quarterfinal games to California and Oregon in Las Vegas.

That’s not stopping him from making another top-four finish in the standings an annual goal for his program. The opportunity remains in front of the Utes with three games remaining: Saturday at Colorado, next Thursday vs. USC and Saturday vs. UCLA. Utah (9-6) is alone in fourth place, but only one game ahead of USC and UCLA (the crosstown rivals meet Thursday night) and two games ahead of three teams tied for seventh, including Colorado.

With some rounding off, ESPN’s Basketball Power Index forecasts a 10-8 record for Utah — and says that might be good enough for fourth place. My calculation is an 11-7 record will be necessary for fourth, and even then, the Utes may have to beat the USC-UCLA winner to own the tiebreaker.

Observers deride Pac-12 basketball in 2018-19, with some justification in terms of the national landscape. But I’m enjoying the competition from No. 2 through No. 11 that mediocrity has created in this league.

Looking back, the Utes’ victory at Washington State last Saturday was meaningful after their poor performance at league-leading Washington. Sophomore forward Donnie Tillman’s contribution was vital, and he’s important to the Utes now and in the future (TRIB).

Looking ahead, I attended Pleasant Grove’s first-round game in the Class 6A state tournament in Ogden (Krystkowiak was there too) to see future Ute center Matt Van Komen (TRIB). He was impressive against Weber; the Vikings now have reached Friday’s semifinals after beating Herriman. Thursday night, I’ll be watching another Ute signee, Olympus guard Rylan Jones, play in the 5A quarterfinals. Here’s a story from last month that includes Jones (TRIB).

Wow, what a crazy season it has been the Utah women’s basketball team, now down to seven active players after another apparent season-ending knee injury. Freshman forward Dre’Una Edwards was hurt in a win over Washington (TRIB), then the Utes celebrated their four seniors (TRIB) with a defeat of Washington State. This week, I examined whether the NCAA Tournament committee would judge the Utes in their current state or give them credit for their season’s work. I concluded that the Utes are in a position where they have to win, anyway, and prove their merit (TRIB).

In gymnastics, the Utes staged another epic competition with rival UCLA (TRIB). Responding to that defeat, the Utes will host Michigan on Saturday (TRIB).

And with the Utes about to begin spring football practice, here’s a look at the six former players who are in Indianapolis for the NFL Scouting Combine (TRIB).

Other voices

John Canzano of The Oregonian in Portland continues to look closely at the Pac-12′s finances. Here are his latest findings (ORE).

Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News looked into a possible alliance between the Big 12 and the Pac-12. (MERC)

Dirk Facer of the Deseret News profiled Ute senior Parker Van Dyke, who has been great lately (DNEWS).

Around campus

• Liz Abel, a senior associate athletic director, will retire July 31 after 36 years in the department. As she pointed out, former athletic director Chris Hill “broke a gender barrier” long ago when he named Abel the primary publicist for football.

Abel is most closely associated with football and gymnastics in working with the media. Her role has gone well beyond that description as the director of the athletic media relations staff and an adviser to Hill and his successor, Mark Harlan.

Harlan is searching for Abel's successor and rebranding the position as associate AD for “strategic communications,” which is becoming popular title in college athletics.

• The Utah lacrosse team (2-3) earned its second win of the season, rallying to beat Air Force 6-5 on the road last weekend after losing 15-6 at Denver. The Utes are on the road for a third straight weekend, visiting Furman in South Carolina on Saturday. Josh Stout leads the nation with 20 goals this season; he’s tied for eighth in goals per game.

• The Ute men’s and women’s ski team was declared the regular-season champion of the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Skiing Association and will be among the favorites in the NCAA meet next week at Stowe, Vt.

• Utah’s baseball team scored 10 runs in the top of the ninth inning Tuesday, winning 16-7 at UNLV. The Utes (3-4) will meet three opponents in an event at East Carolina this weekend, before staging a home-opening series vs. Niagara next week at Smith’s Ballpark.

• Utah’s softball team (5-10) is in Phoenix for four games in Grand Canyon’s tournament before going to Hawaii next week.