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Oregon guard Tyler Dorsey, center left, embraces forward Dillon Brooks as they celebrate after Oregon defeated Utah in an NCAA college basketball game in the championship of the Pac-12 men's tournament Saturday, March 12, 2016, in Las Vegas. Oregon won 88-57. (AP Photo/John Locher)

EUGENE -- Dana Altman tried to play it off humbly.

When asked about Oregon's recent dominance of Utah, the Oregon head coach pivoted, opting to talk about the playing careers of him and Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak.

"I haven't been 10-1, Larry would kick the heck out of me," Altman said. "He was a much better player than me. Bigger, stronger, NBA guy, it wouldn't be a match."

That may be true, as the 6-foot-9 Krystkowiak played nine seasons in the NBA and has a bit of a height advantage over Altman, who played two junior college years before finishing his playing career at Eastern New Mexico.

So in that case, advantage Krystkowiak.

But when it comes to the success of the teams the two men coach, Altman's had quite the edge over Krystkowiak.

Altman is 10-1 all-time against Krystkowiak and the Ducks are coming off a season in which they beat the Utes three times. Most recently, the Ducks throttled the Utes in the Pac-12 title game, winning 88-57.

Altman didn't really have a definitive answer for why the Ducks seem to play so well against a Utah team that routinely finds itself in contention late in the year.

"It is one of those things that is really hard to explain because they have had really good teams and we have just been lucky," he said. "It doesn't matter going into this one, they might remember last year because they had a few guys on that team, but other than that, I am sure they don't remember much."

Oregon's success this season might give the Utes a quick reminder. Oregon has won a program-record 16 consecutive games, is 7-0 in Pac-12 play and the Ducks, along with UCLA and Arizona, are in the clear top echelon of the conference.

"A lot of people know what Oregon wants to do, and they can't stop it," Krystowiak told reporters this week. "I'm a big believer that defense wins championships and they've proven it."

But the Utes are putting together another NCAA Tournament-type season of their own, albeit more quietly than in past years. While the Utes don't have a Jakob Poeltl or a Delon Wright, Utah has comfortably nestled into the Pac-12's second-tier with solid all-around team play.

Five Utes are averaging double figures, with junior forward Kyle Kuzma leading the way with 15.3 points and 10 rebounds per game.

David Collette, a 6-foot-10 junior who became eligible in December after transferring from Utah State, averaged 14.9 points in his first nine games with the Utes, but has missed the last two games due to concussion. He's questionable for Thursday's game.

The Utes also added sophomore transfer Sedrick Barefield in December.

"They are a greatly improved team with the two transfers they added at Christmas," Altman said. "They are experienced and I like their team. They don't take bad shots and their ball movement is really good. They do some things different than in the past, but it will be a big challenge for us."

For both teams, there is plenty on the line Thursday. For the Utes, a win against Oregon would be item No. 1 to put on a NCAA Tournament resume. Utah has only one win against a top-50 RPI team and current bracket projections from ESPN and CBS have the Utes on the outside looking in.

"They played UCLA very hard," Oregon sophomore Tyler Dorsey said. "They probably figure they could have won that game. Definitely they're going to look at us as one of those games they need to get into March Madness."

Oregon is in no danger of missing the NCAA Tournament, in fact, it's quite the opposite. Oregon's current winning streak has put the Ducks in contention to earn a No. 1 seed in the tournament for a second straight year. Last year, Oregon earned the first top seed in program history with a 14-4 conference record. But with tough games remaining at home against Arizona and on the road at UCLA, a win over a respectable Utah team will be crucial for Oregon's resume.

And the Ducks aren't sure if preseason All-American Dillon Brooks will be able to help them. Brooks sprained his foot last week against Cal and missed Saturday's win over Stanford. After wearing a protective boot for a couple of days, Brooks had the boot off on Tuesday and was moving around freely while shooting baskets.

Altman said he'll be a game-time decision.

Whether Brooks plays or not, Altman wants the Ducks ready for the test a road game at Utah will present. All but seven of Oregon's games this year have been played at Matthew Knight Arena.

"Where we're at now is not good enough to withstand that challenge, of those seven road games -- and the four home games we have left," Altman said. "So my constant message is, we've got to get better."

-- Tyson Alger

talger@oregonian.com

@tysonalger