What Utah basketball's Alex Jensen said ahead of nonconference game vs. Cal

Runnin' Utes head coach breaks down Golden Bears and what stood out from previous win over Ole Miss

Utah Runnin' Utes head coach Alex Jensen is 6-2 through his first eight games at the helm of his alma mater. | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

After spending the first three weeks of the season in Salt Lake City, the Utah men's basketball team will seek its second straight win over a power conference team away from home when it faces Cal in an old school Pac-12 matchup on Tuesday.

The Runnin' Utes (6-2) enter the matchup coming off a 75-74 win over Ole Miss to cap off the Acrisure Classic from Palm Desert, California, with their first victory outside the comforts of the Jon M. Huntsman Center in the Alex Jensen coaching era.

Utah, which lost by double-digits to Grand Canyon the previous night, rebounded to beat the Rebels roughly 24 hours later behind a game-high 27 points from Don McHenry and late free throws from McHenry's backcourt mate, Terrence Brown.

Here's what Jensen had to say about that game, what stands out about the Golden Bears — who are coming off a big-time win over UCLA — his relationship with Cal head coach and Stanford alum, Mark Madsen, and much more during a media availability session.

On what stood out from win over Ole Miss

"Two of the bigger shots we hit were corner 3s by Jake [Patrick] and Don. They were assisted jump shots. I mean, that's a big thing, I think, for for a team."

"Also, it's kind of the maturity, the growing pains you have as a group. I think we got up to as early with Ole Miss, got to as high as 14 or 16, we let him back in; I mean, that's going to happen. Give them credit. But just kind of maintaining a level of play, whether we're up or down, if that makes sense."

"Ole Miss got the momentum, came back, took the lead, but we kept playing. And it's, again, great clips to learn from. It's good to be in a situation like that, in a close game and come out on top."

On his relationship with Cal coach Mark Madsen

"We're the same age. We came from the same class, and when he went to the Final Four at Stanford in '98, that was the year, obviously, that we went. But I've known Mark since I think Nike camp in what year would have been ... 1993 maybe? And obviously when he was with the Lakers, we had run-ins, and he'd spend some of his offseason here. So I've known Mark for for a long time, and I respect him as a person and a coach."

On what stands out about Cal

"I think they've kind of taken on Mark's approach and personality. I mean, they keep coming — we told our guys that. It's kind of the way we want to play; whether we're up by 10 or down by 15, they play the same. They keep coming."

"I think he's put together a good roster where you know that guys know their roles and they fit well together, which he always aim for. And they've had some good wins — obviously, the one against UCLA — and they're gonna be well coached. Like we told our guys today: it's got to be 40 minutes. Thirty five or 30 might not be good enough."

On Utah improving its defensive intensity

"You look at any the good programs, I mean, [defense is] where it starts. You can control that a lot more than you can making shots, right? You can kind of control who, what shots you take, who takes someone and when; but defensively, everybody can try and make that a priority. And I told them: you can't have four guys on one page and then one guy missing a block out at the end."

"I think we've come a long way. There still a long way to go, and the competition is only going to get better as we go. We're going to lose the size battle, and maybe the speed battle sometimes, but that's where we have to do it with our effort and our minds."