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By Bruce Pascoe / 51黑料网

Arizona sophomore Dylan Smith knows of the rumor, but the vast majority of his teammates can鈥檛 confirm it first-hand.

鈥淭he last time we went to the mountains, I heard we were 0-2,鈥� Smith said.

The archives say it鈥檚 true. Arizona lost 75-72 at Colorado on Feb. 24, 2016, and then 70-64 at Utah聽three days later, one of only eight times since 2010-11 that the Wildcats have lost multiple games in a row.

It was memorable, too: Colorado students celebrated the Buffs鈥� upset win with a rowdy court storm that prompted an outburst from UA coach Sean Miller 鈥� which in turn helped lead to new Pac-12 court storming fines 鈥� while Utah beat Arizona for the first time ever in Pac-12 play by shooting 60 percent in the first half against the Wildcats.

While Parker Jackson-Cartwright, Allonzo Trier and Dusan Ristic were the only three current Wildcats to experience the trip, Miller said he would not be using that history to warn his other players about what鈥檚 ahead.

鈥淣ah, that鈥檚 like 15 years ago,鈥� Miller said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 so irrelevant to the world today, you know. Obama used to be the president, Trump is now. Khalil Tate is the quarterback. Remember when Gronkowski was here? Sean Elliott used to play here. Doesn鈥檛 have a lot to do with today.鈥�

Maybe not, but history says the mountain trip is never easy for the Wildcats. They are 6-4 on it since the Utes and Buffaloes joined the Pac-12 in 2011-12. Here鈥檚 why:

Under coach Larry Krystkowiak, the Utes have come the closest to matching UA鈥檚 Pac-12-leading home attendance of 14,224 by filling most of the 15,000-seat Huntsman Center on a regular basis. They drew an average of 11,988 for a nonconference schedule this season that included only one power conference team (Missouri) and none of its heated instate rivals.

In that supportive environment, the Utes have won 78.1 percent of their games over Krystkowiak鈥檚 seven seasons. They went 14-4 at home during their NIT-bound season last year and are 6-0 so far this season.

And even though Utah lost its first four home games to Arizona as members of the Pac-12, three of them were decided by six points or less 鈥� and the Elite Eight Wildcats of 2013-14 needed overtime to get it done in Salt Lake.

Thursday鈥檚聽game figures to have a tense vibe to it, too. Both teams play at a relatively slow tempo, the game will be carried on ESPN and another big crowd will be on hand. Even though Utah students won鈥檛 return until聽Monday, the school said it sold 12,385 tickets for the game as of聽Wednesday聽morning.

Arizona has had an even tougher time of it in Boulder, losing 3 of 5 games there since the Buffs joined the Pac-12.

That includes what some CU fans called the 鈥淰alentine鈥檚 Day Massacre鈥� of 2012-13, a 71-57 Colorado win that the Buffs used as payback for an earlier game at McKale Center, when a would-be buzzer beater from Sabatino Chen was controversially called off, allowing Arizona to win in overtime.

There was also a 64-63 CU win over UA during the Wildcats鈥� NIT season of 2011-12 and, of course, the chaos of that 2015-16 game.

Because Colorado鈥檚 student section, known as the C-Unit, is adjacent to the Wildcats鈥� bench, students not only had easy access to the Wildcats鈥� ears but also to their bodies during their post-game court storm. Miller said center Kaleb Tarczewski was bumped by a fan, prompting a five-minute outburst during his post-game media session.

鈥淓ventually what鈥檚 going to happen in the Pac-12 is this: An Arizona player is going to punch a fan. And they鈥檙e going to punch the fan out of self-defense,鈥� Miller said. 鈥淎nd when it happens, only when it happens, will everybody say 鈥榃e have to do something so that when the game ends we have a deep breath to be able to leave the court. Or at least shake the other team鈥檚 hand and then get to our locker room.

鈥淭here鈥檚 no sport鈥攆ootball, any sport in the country, professional, major league, whatever, where this happens to the level it happens. And what I mean is it鈥檚 literally within five seconds you have a mad rush on the court before our players can even leave the court.

Exactly聽three months later, the Pac-12 announced it would fine schools a minimum of $25,000 if fans rush a field or court before an opponent can safely leave the area.

Utah plays its games at an elevation of about 4,800 feet while Colorado鈥檚 Coors Events Center sits at about 5,400 feet, over a mile high.

Buffs coach Tad Boyle says CU trainers and coaches have told him it takes about three weeks to fully acclimate, which of course is impossible for visiting basketball teams.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 why I always laugh at coaches who say they鈥檙e coming in a day early to get used to the altitude,鈥� Boyle said. 鈥淚t takes a while. You can tell if you leave for three, four or five days, go on vacation and come back. It鈥檚 a real thing. It鈥檚 been a real equalizer for us.鈥�

It鈥檚 tough to tell whether the Wildcats might be impacted this time. UA beat New Mexico 89-73 at 5,300 feet on Dec. 16 in Albuquerque, but the Lobos are 6-9 and actually lost by 18 points to the rebuilding Buffs at Boulder on Dec. 6.

In addition, Miller says he鈥檚 still hoping to get more out of his reserves after the Wildcats 鈥渨ore down a little bit鈥� in the final minutes against ASU 鈥� a game that was played at McKale Center鈥檚 elevation of only 2,300 feet.

鈥淲e鈥檝e had games where our bench has been tentative and it hasn鈥檛 helped our team,鈥� Miller said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 made the game more difficult. But the more that we play, because of the youthfulness of our bench, I think they will continue to develop and settle in and have a sense of confidence about them.鈥�

This weekend will provide a test of that confidence. For the Wildcats鈥� reserves and, possibly everyone else, too.