Utah Still Searching For 40 Minute Effort As Houston Looms
Feb 9, 2026, 8:25 PM | Updated: Feb 10, 2026, 10:22 am
SALT LAKE CITY —There’s no long-range reflection coming from Alex Jensen right now. Not about Utah’s season arc. Not about the end of the season. Not about what the Runnin’ Utes might look like with a full season under the belt.
That’s no surprise to anyone watching the season unfold. Utah sits at 9–14 overall and 1–9 in Big 12 play, mired in a five-game losing streak and having dropped nine of their last 10 games.
“We have a year under our belt and when that time comes we’ll address that,” Jensen said. “But again, right now it’s trying — we have a game on Tuesday and can’t look past that with a really good Houston team.”
Game Details, How to Watch: Utah vs Houston
- Matchup: Utah Runnin’ Utes vs. Houston Cougars
- When: Tuesday, February 10 —7:00 p.m. Mountain Time
- Where: Jon M. Huntsman Center
- TV: ESPN2
Utah’s Consistency Issue
It’s been a tough year to this point but Jensen isn’t questioning the team’s effort. In fact, he was quick to defend it.
“I think we’ve played hard for the most part,” he said. “We’ve dug ourselves holes that we’ve come back from. This group has shown a lot of fight this year.”
That’s been the paradox of this Utah team. They battle. They fight. The team is limited from a personnel standpoint due to the injuries suffered this season, which contributes to their biggest problems.
“We’re just trying to be more consistent and not have those three or four minute stretches where we dig ourselves those holes,” he said. “In the NBA you can sometimes have the luxury to have a bad week or two… in college, you can’t. A bad week could be the difference in a lot of things.”
In the Big 12, those stretches are fatal. A five-point lapse becomes 12 in under two minutes. A missed rotation becomes a 10–0 run. And in a league this deep, you don’t get the luxury of correcting it over an 82-game season.
Houston, we have a problem
Jensen’s comments about effort? That part checked out in Saturday’s game. Utah played hard against the Jayhawks. The effort on the defensive end was rather notable even.
Now Utah prepares for one of college basketball’s top teams: the No. 3 Houston Cougars, winners of 15 of their last 16 games and one of the Big 12’s most efficient offenses and stingy defenses.
“Kelvin — there’s not a better coach in the conference,” he said. “They do what they do and they’re really good at it.”
He praised the Cougars’ clarity of identity and personnel alignment — a program that recruits to fit and executes with discipline. Then came the warning to his own team.
“I’m trying to warn them today that I think this would be the hardest playing team that we’ve played against.”
Hardest playing. That’s not about talent or size or athleticism. That’s about effort and toughness.
For Utah, this game becomes more than just a contest, it’s a test. It’s a measuring stick for whether the lessons Jensen is preaching — consistency, assertiveness, complete guard play — are starting to take root.
Utah’s had great stretches of effort this season. The next step is sustaining it for 40 minutes. And against Houston, there’s no margin for anything less.
Keanu Dawes, a special talent when assertive
If Utah is going to stabilize their effort and level play, it likely starts with Keanu Dawes. The gifted forward is coming off one of his better games of the season.
Dawes is coming off a 22-point, 12-rebound performance, including a pair of early three-pointers. But Jensen isn’t grading him solely on box score production.
“He’s a lot more assertive,” Jensen said. “I think he’s getting more comfortable, not as comfortable as I’d like.”
Utah doesn’t just want Dawes to be productive. They are looking for him to be aggressive and live up to his talent level. There have been flashes throughout the season and even a handful of games, but when he’s assertive, he’s a special player.
“He’s capable of it,” Jensen said. “He needs to for his career, and we need him to be aggressive.”
The Bottom Line
Utah’s season, through the lens of raw numbers and Jensen’s messaging, boils down to one uncomfortable truth:
This team has some talent to compete but the lack of depth has impacted and limited Utah’s ability to play a full 40 minutes.
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Scoring isn’t the issue — Terrence Brown’s 21+ points per game anchors Utah’s offense, and Keanu Dawes flashes star power on the boards and at the rim.
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Defense is — conceding 80+ points with too much frequency in Big 12 play is a recipe for losses, especially when droughts occur.
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In-game execution falters — Utah’s long scoring droughts and defensive lapses turn tight games into margins that feel much wider than the box score suggests.
Under Jensen’s watch, effort will be a major sticking point. The Cougars test that thesis like few teams can. If Utah still can’t string together consistent stretches of quality basketball, this season won’t just slip — it’ll fade quietly.
