Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak bumped into a blotto basketball fan in Denver on Thursday night. The guy, possibly drunk, gave the coach a backhanded compliment.
“I had a gentleman last night tell me, came up and said, ‘You’re the coach of Utah, right?’ ” Krystkowiak recalled Friday after the Utes off-day practice at the Pepsi Center.
“He goes, ‘I sure hope you win tomorrow.’ I said, ‘Why is that? How are you tied into it?’ He said, ‘Because I know if you win tomorrow, you’ll be an easier team for us to beat to go to the Elite 8.’ “
Third-seeded Utah plays No. 11-seed Gonzaga in Denver’s West Regional on Saturday night in a battle of the two best centers in the country, Utes sophomore Jakob Poeltl and Bulldogs sophomore Domantas Sabonis. The winner will advance to face the winner of a four-team bracket that included No. 2-seed Michigan State, the highest seed in that section of the bracket.
The fan who cornered Krystkowiak was a Michigan State fan.
“I said, ‘Well, I think we both have a little meat left on the bone,’ ” the coach said. “What makes you so sure you’re going to get to the Sweet 16?’ “
“He said, ‘Well, haven’t you been watching college basketball?’ I just kind of dismissed it. I said, ‘Obviously you’ve been drinking, right?’ “
On Friday Michigan State was upset in a shocker by No. 15 Middle Tennessee. Krystkowiak didn’t watch Friday’s game, he said, but someone told him the Michigan State score.
“So I’d like to run into him today at the hotel and see how he’s doing,” the coach said.
Nick Groke: ngroke@denverpost.com or @nickgroke
