CONWAY, S.C.-Thursday, Utah men’s basketball (3-0) sojourns out of the Beehive State for the first time on the season as they compete at the Myrtle Beach Invitational of Conway, S.C., through Sunday.

The Utes will play against de facto host team Coastal Carolina (2-2) as the venue, the HTC Center, is the Chanticleers’ home arena.

Utah head coach Larry Krystkowiak (158-111, .587 in his career at Utah) has a statistically prolific squad in his ninth season at the helm for the Utes.

The Utes lead the nation in total rebounds per game (53.3) and are second nationally in rebounding margin per game (+20), out-rebounding opponents 53.3-33.3 per contest.

Utah also ranks third nationally in scoring offense (98.3 points per game) and their scoring margin (+34) per game ranks fifth in the nation.

Additionally, the Utes are fifth nationally in field goal shooting percentage (55.1 percent) and are 13th in the nation in field goal shooting percentage defense (33.8 percent).

Should such complementary basketball ensue, the Utes look to have a successful season on the heel of a solid start.

Sophomore forward Timmy Allen (22.7 points, 8.3 rebounds) is shooting 59.5 percent (25-42) to start the season. Allen is tied for 17th nationally in points per game with Richmond’s Jacob Gilyard. He also is tied for the team lead in blocked shots with freshman center Branden Carlson (3 apiece).

Sophomore guard Both Gach (17.7 points, 5 rebounds per game) is shooting 52.9 percent from the field and sophomore forward Riley Battin (12.3 points, 7.3 rebounds per game is shooting 54.2 percent from the field.

Freshman guard Eli Ballstaedt (12 points per game) is connecting on a team-best 80 percent of his shots from the field.

Junior guard Alfonso Plummer (10.5 points per game) also scores in double figures for the Utes.

Freshman guard Rylan Jones has a team-best 22 assists and 6 steals for Utah.

Defensively, Utah is tied for 123rd nationally in scoring defense by giving up 64 points per game. They are tied with Houston, Texas-Arlington, Little Rock, Fairleigh-Dickinson and Texas-Rio Grande Valley in this category.

In his 13th season at the helm of Coastal Carolina’s program, head coach Cliff Ellis is 232-166 (.583) and has led the Chanticleers to four NCAA Tournament appearances.

The Chanticleers come into Thursday’s game scoring 84.3 points per game, ranking them 42nd nationally.

Canadian national, senior guard Tyrell Gumbs-Frater (16.3 points per game) shoots 52 percent from the field and is Coastal Carolina’s leading scorer.

Sophomore guard DeVante Jones (15 points per game, .500 percent shooting from the field), junior guard Keishawn Brewton (14.8 points per game, a team-best 92.3 percent at the foul line), junior guard Garrick Green (11.3 points, a team-best 7.8 rebounds per game) and sophomore guard, Swedish national Ebrima Dibba (11 points per game, a team-best 19 assists and 7 steals) all score in double figures for the Chanticleers. Green and senior forward Tommy Burton are tied for the team lead with 4 blocked shots.

Coastal Carolina surrenders 70.5 points per game, tying them for 220th nationally with Incarnate Word, Lafayette, Air Force and Milwaukee.

This is the first time the Utes and Chanticleers have ever met on the hardwood.

Other potential opponents for the Utes at this tournament include the Ohio Bobcats of the Mid-American Conference or the Baylor Bears of the Big 12 Conference.

The Bobcats (3-1) are coached by Jeff Boals, who is also 3-1 in coaching the Bobcats at his first season at Athens, Ohio.

Boals is 58-43 (.574) as a Division I men’s basketball coach, having coached at Stony Brook from 2016-2019.

The Bobcats score 72 points per game, tying them for 200th nationally with Wisconsin, Mississippi State, Lipscomb, Loyola (Md.) and Southeast Missouri State.

Sophomore guard Jason Preston (17.5 points, 7.5 rebounds per game) leads Ohio while shooting 50.9 percent from the field. Preston also leads the Bobcats in assists (9.3 per game) and steals (2.5 per game).

This past week, Preston was named as the MAC East division co-player of the week for his heroics in an 81-72 win over Iona and a 78-54 loss to Villanova.

Redshirt sophomore forward Ben Vander Plas (15.3 points, 6.3 rebounds per game) is a complementary figure to Preston on the squad.

Defensively, the Bobcats surrender 57.3 points per game, tying them for 26th nationally with Missouri State and Pacific.

Freshman guard Sylvester Ogbonda, a Nigerian national, averages 1.3 blocks per game to lead the Bobcats in that category.

The No. 23/24 Baylor Bears (2-1) are 20-4 in regular season tournaments since the 2013-14 season.

Should the Utes encounter Baylor in the tournament semifinals, this could be their first significant test of the season.

In his 17th season at the helm at Baylor, head coach Scott Drew (320-210, .604) has made the Bears one of the better programs in the nation.

The Bears score 80.3 points per game, tying them for 73rd nationally with Bryant and Eastern Washington.

Sophomore guard Jared Butler (21 points per game) is Baylor’s leading scorer.

Other stalwarts for the Bears include redshirt junior guard MaCio Teague (12.7 points, 5.7 rebounds per game; a team-best 13 assists), redshirt senior forward Freddie Gillespie (12 points, a team-best 9.7 rebounds per game and a team-best 7 steals and 6 blocks) and senior guard Canadian national Devonte Bandoo (11.7 points, 5.3 rebounds per game) who all score in double figures.

Baylor ranks 122nd nationally in scoring defense, surrendering 63.7 points per contest.