Daily Skiff

The men's basketball team will hit the road this weekend in search of a victory against the Utah Utes in Salt Lake City.

With three consecutive conference wins under their belts, the team is confident it can come out on top Saturday.

"We have a lot of work to get prepared for this weekend, but I think our team is good enough to get this win," senior guard Brent Hackett said.

The Horned Frogs are 3-1, which places them second in the Mountain West Conference behind San Diego State University­ - their only conference loss of the season.

As the season moves into full swing, the men's basketball team is starting to mesh.

"Our team has been playing really well together and have been hitting on all cylinders," senior guard Ryan Wall said.

Although the team is off to a good start, it's still early in the season, and the purple and white have many more games left on the schedule.

"I don't know that there is one particular reason for our success. We have been fortunate to win three games in a row, but it is awful early," head coach Neil Dougherty said. "At this point someone has got to be second, and because we have won three in a row, we are right there."

For now, the team is focusing on Saturday's game. Dougherty and the players say Utah will be a tough team offensively.

"They run a ton of NBA-style set plays. You have to defend against several different types of set plays," Dougherty said. "In order to beat them you have to be really good at fundamental defense."

Last season the Horned Frogs beat Utah 71-68 in their first matchup but lost in their second game 65-70.

San Diego State's loss agaisnt BYU on Wednesday puts the Horned Frogs one half-game behind the Aztecs for the conference lead.

A win against Utah would tie TCU and SDSU for first in the conference with matching 4-1 records.

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