we're gathering info on this week's sched in this particular conference.
anyone have any insights?
anyone have any insights?
Info on the Mountain West: week of jan 19
- Thread starter TORONTO-VIGILANTE
- Start date
Monday, January 19
WYOMING at BYU* (SportsWest) 8:30 p.m.
COLORADO STATE at UTAH* (ESPN) 10 p.m.
Wednesday, January 21
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at AIR FORCE 7 p.m.
Saturday, January 24
UTAH at NEW MEXICO* (ESPN+Plus) 1 p.m.
BYU at AIR FORCE* (SportsWest) 4 p.m.
UNLV at WYOMING* (SportsWest) 4 p.m.
SAN DIEGO STATE at COLORADO STATE* 7 p.m.
WYOMING at BYU* (SportsWest) 8:30 p.m.
COLORADO STATE at UTAH* (ESPN) 10 p.m.
Wednesday, January 21
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at AIR FORCE 7 p.m.
Saturday, January 24
UTAH at NEW MEXICO* (ESPN+Plus) 1 p.m.
BYU at AIR FORCE* (SportsWest) 4 p.m.
UNLV at WYOMING* (SportsWest) 4 p.m.
SAN DIEGO STATE at COLORADO STATE* 7 p.m.
Conference Overall
Team W L Pct W L Pct
Air Force......... 2 0 1.000 11 2 .846
Utah.............. 2 0 1.000 14 3 .824
San Diego State... 2 0 1.000 11 6 .647
BYU............... 1 1 .500 11 4 .733
Wyoming........... 1 1 .500 8 7 .533
UNLV.............. 0 2 .000 9 5 .643
New Mexico........ 0 2 .000 9 6 .600
Colorado State.... 0 2 .000 8 7 .533
Team W L Pct W L Pct
Air Force......... 2 0 1.000 11 2 .846
Utah.............. 2 0 1.000 14 3 .824
San Diego State... 2 0 1.000 11 6 .647
BYU............... 1 1 .500 11 4 .733
Wyoming........... 1 1 .500 8 7 .533
UNLV.............. 0 2 .000 9 5 .643
New Mexico........ 0 2 .000 9 6 .600
Colorado State.... 0 2 .000 8 7 .533
UTAH COL ST NOTES
The Game At A Glance
Utah Head Coach: Rick Majerus Colorado St. Head Coach: Dale Layer
Alma Mater: Marquette, 1970 Alma Mater: Chadron St., 1984
Record at Utah: 322-93 (15th Season) Record at CSU: 54-52 (4th Season)
Overall Record: 421-145 (20th Season) Overall Record: 221-139 (13th Season)
Television: ESPN. Bob Carpetner (play-by-play) and Jimmy Dykes (analyst).
Radio: Utah Sports Network (KALL-700 AM in Salt Lake City and affiliate stations).
On the Internet at www.UtahUtes.com and www.kall700.com.
Bill Marcroft (play-by-play), Mark Rydalch (analyst) and Brad Stone (host).
Series Record: Utah leads 90-39
Utah's Record Home/Away/Neutral: 50-15/35-23/5-1
Last Meeting: Colorado State won 66-65 on March 6, 2003 in Salt Lake City.
After This
The Utes hit the road for a pair of games next weekend, facing New Mexico on Saturday at 1:05 p.m. (MST) in Albuquerque, N.M., and Air Force on Monday at 7:05 pm. (MST) in Colorado Springs, Colo.
Quickly On Utah
Utah (14-3, 2-0 MWC) closes out a two-game Mountain West Conference homestand against Colorado State (8-7, 0-2 MWC) on Monday at 10:00 p.m. (MST) in the Jon M. Huntsman Center. The game will be televised as a part of ESPN's "Big Monday" and broadcast on KALL-700 AM and the Utah Sports Network. The Utes are 10-0 at home this season.
The Utes have won eight in a row and 11 of their last 12 games. Utah is off to a 2-0 start in MWC play, opening its conference slate with a 72-67 win over UNLV last Monday night in Las Vegas and a 60-49 win over Wyoming on Saturday in Salt Lake City.
Senior guard Nick Jacobson (6-4, 206) leads the Utes in scoring (15.2 ppg), hitting 47.3 percent of his three-point attempts. Freshman forward Andrew Bogut (6-10, 233) is second on the team in scoring (12.1 ppg), and first in both rebounding (10.1 rpg) and blocked shots (18). The native of Melbourne, Australia, has eight double-doubles this season and is shooting 64.1 percent from the field. Sophomore forward Richard Chaney (6-4, 195) is third in scoring (11.7 ppg), shooting 52.3 percent from the field and 45.5 percent from three-point range. Sophomore guard Tim Drisdom (6-2, 212) leads the Utes in assists (3.6 apg).
From The Training Room
* Senior center Tim Frost has been nursing a sore back since the start of fall practice. After sitting out three of four games, Frost has been back in the starting lineup against UNLV and Wyoming. He will be day-to-day the rest of the season.
* Freshman forward Justin Hawkins bruised his knee during the Pepperdine game and sat out against Whitworth. He has played in the last two games.
* Sophomore center Chris Jackson has a sore back but hasn't missed any games due to the injury.
Scouting Colorado State
The Rams are 8-7 overall, 0-2 in Mountain West Conference play and 3-4 on opponents' homecourts this season. After a reeling off four straight wins, Colorado State has lost its last three games. The Rams dropped their final nonconference game at Montana State (82-75) on Jan. 5, lost to Air Force at home in their MWC opener (65-57) last Monday and lost at BYU (82-53) on Saturday.
Two of Rams' top players are doubtful for the game due to injury. Junior center Matt Nelson (7-0, 255) has missed the last two games with a knee injury and sophomore guard Michael Morris (6-3, 208) has sat out the last two games with an injured hamstring. Nelson ranks eighth in the Mountain West in scoring (14.1 ppg), 14th in rebounds (4.8 rpg) and fourth in blocked shots (19). Morris ranks fourth in the conference in assists (4.25 apg) and is averaging 7.0 points per game.
Junior forward Matt Williams (6-6, 212) is 16th in the league in scoring (11.0 ppg) and sixth in rebounding (6.0 rpg). Senior forward Ronnie Clark (6-5, 220) is third on the team in scoring (9.5 ppg) and 10th in the MWC in rebounding (5.5 rpg). Junior guard Jon Rakiecki (6-3, 195) ranks 14th in the MWC in three-point percentage (40.3), hitting 29-of-72.
Colorado State ranks fifth in the MWC in scoring (72.0 ppg), eighth in scoring defense (71.9 ppg) and fifth in rebound margin (+2.9 rpg).
Both Utah and CSU have faced Colorado this season. The Utes defeated the Buffs (77-57) in Boulder on Dec. 23, while the Rams lost to CU (84-78) in Fort Collins on Dec. 10.
Utes On ESPN's Big Monday
Utah is making its third of four appearances this season on ESPN's "Big Monday" against Colorado State. Utah has a 20-6 record all-time on Big Monday, inlcuding a 12-2 record at home and an 8-4 mark on the road. The Utes already defeated Pepperdine (76-69) at home and UNLV (72-67) on the road this season, and play their final "Big Monday" game at BYU on March 1.
Head Coach Dale Layer
Dale Layer has a 54-52 record in his fourth season at Colorado State and a 221-139 career record in his 13th year as a head coach. He previously served as an assistant coach for two seasons at CSU (1998-2000) and was the head coach for nine seasons at Queens College (1989-98) in Charlotte, N.C.
Last season, Layer led CSU to its first NCAA Tournament since 1989-90. Colorado State went 19-14 overall and placed sixth in the MWC with a 5-9 mark. The Rams also captured their first-ever conference tournament championship to receive the MWC's automatic bid to the NCAAs. They fell to Duke (67-57) in the first round in Salt Lake City.
The Rams' 15 wins under Layer in 2000-01 was the fourth-highest win total by a first-year head coach in school history. Layer built the Division II program at Queens from the ground up and went 168-87 (.659), twice earning NCAA Regional Coach of the Year honors. Layer took Queens College to the national tournament twice and produced eight consecutive winning seasons.
Utah vs. Colorado State Series Notes
* Utah and Colorado State meet for the 130th time on Monday night. The series dates back to a 41-25 win by Utah on Jan. 2, 1937. The two teams have met every year since 1969-70 with the exception of the 1998-99 season.
* The Runnin' Utes lead the all-time series 90-39 and had won five in a row over the Rams before Colorado State prevailed in the second meeting last season (66-65) on March 6 in the Huntsman Center.
* The U. won the first meeting last season, prevailing 71-66 on Feb. 8 in Fort Collins, Colo., after taking all three games in 2001-02.
* In conference play, Utah has an 82-34 advantage.
* In Salt Lake City, the Utes are 50-15 and had won seven in a row before falling last season. Their previous loss to CSU in the Huntsman Center was 71-70 on Jan. 27, 1994.
* Utah's most decisive win over Colorado State during the Rick Majerus era was 35 points (92-57) on Feb. 11, 1995 in the Huntsman Center.
* Colorado State's most decisive win against Utah under Rick Majerus was 19 points (67-48) on Jan. 18, 1992.
* Rick Majerus is 17-7 against Colorado State all-time with all of those games taking place during his tenure at Utah.
* Dale Layer is 2-5 against Utah during his tenure at CSU. In addition to beating the Utes last season in Salt Lake City, his other win was 73-65 on Jan. 22, 2001 at Moby Arena.
Last Meeting
Michael Morris hit two three-pointers in the final minutes, including the game-winner with 1.6 seconds left, as Colorado State rallied for a 66-65 win over Utah on last season March 6 in the Huntsman Center. Brian Greene scored 14 points and Ronnie Clark finished with 12 points.
Tim Frost scored 23 points, hitting 8-of-16 shots and 3-of-4 three-pointers, to lead Utah. Nick Jacobson had eight points.
Utah regrouped and led by as much as six late in the second half, but couldn't stop Morris, who led the Rams with 17 points-six of which came on his final two shots.
The Utes were close to wrapping it up with a 64-60 lead and Marc Jackson going to the line for two free throws with 1:01 left. But Jackson, an 88 percent free throw shooter, went 1-for-2 and the Rams still had plenty of time.
Morris cut the lead to two with a three-pointer with 47.4 seconds left, then the Rams forced a turnover and had a chance to tie it or win it. After a time out with 17.1 seconds left, they got the ball to Morris to the right of the key, where he was good again and the Rams had a 66-65 lead with 1.6 seconds left.
Utah inbounded the ball deep to Frost, but Britton Johnsen's pass bounced off his hands and the Rams regained possession with 0.8 left and won their second straight game after a seven-game losing streak.
Colorado State outshot Utah 46.0 to 44.7 percent and made 5-of-9 three-pointers. Utah had 32-26 advantage on the boards.
The Game At A Glance
Utah Head Coach: Rick Majerus Colorado St. Head Coach: Dale Layer
Alma Mater: Marquette, 1970 Alma Mater: Chadron St., 1984
Record at Utah: 322-93 (15th Season) Record at CSU: 54-52 (4th Season)
Overall Record: 421-145 (20th Season) Overall Record: 221-139 (13th Season)
Television: ESPN. Bob Carpetner (play-by-play) and Jimmy Dykes (analyst).
Radio: Utah Sports Network (KALL-700 AM in Salt Lake City and affiliate stations).
On the Internet at www.UtahUtes.com and www.kall700.com.
Bill Marcroft (play-by-play), Mark Rydalch (analyst) and Brad Stone (host).
Series Record: Utah leads 90-39
Utah's Record Home/Away/Neutral: 50-15/35-23/5-1
Last Meeting: Colorado State won 66-65 on March 6, 2003 in Salt Lake City.
After This
The Utes hit the road for a pair of games next weekend, facing New Mexico on Saturday at 1:05 p.m. (MST) in Albuquerque, N.M., and Air Force on Monday at 7:05 pm. (MST) in Colorado Springs, Colo.
Quickly On Utah
Utah (14-3, 2-0 MWC) closes out a two-game Mountain West Conference homestand against Colorado State (8-7, 0-2 MWC) on Monday at 10:00 p.m. (MST) in the Jon M. Huntsman Center. The game will be televised as a part of ESPN's "Big Monday" and broadcast on KALL-700 AM and the Utah Sports Network. The Utes are 10-0 at home this season.
The Utes have won eight in a row and 11 of their last 12 games. Utah is off to a 2-0 start in MWC play, opening its conference slate with a 72-67 win over UNLV last Monday night in Las Vegas and a 60-49 win over Wyoming on Saturday in Salt Lake City.
Senior guard Nick Jacobson (6-4, 206) leads the Utes in scoring (15.2 ppg), hitting 47.3 percent of his three-point attempts. Freshman forward Andrew Bogut (6-10, 233) is second on the team in scoring (12.1 ppg), and first in both rebounding (10.1 rpg) and blocked shots (18). The native of Melbourne, Australia, has eight double-doubles this season and is shooting 64.1 percent from the field. Sophomore forward Richard Chaney (6-4, 195) is third in scoring (11.7 ppg), shooting 52.3 percent from the field and 45.5 percent from three-point range. Sophomore guard Tim Drisdom (6-2, 212) leads the Utes in assists (3.6 apg).
From The Training Room
* Senior center Tim Frost has been nursing a sore back since the start of fall practice. After sitting out three of four games, Frost has been back in the starting lineup against UNLV and Wyoming. He will be day-to-day the rest of the season.
* Freshman forward Justin Hawkins bruised his knee during the Pepperdine game and sat out against Whitworth. He has played in the last two games.
* Sophomore center Chris Jackson has a sore back but hasn't missed any games due to the injury.
Scouting Colorado State
The Rams are 8-7 overall, 0-2 in Mountain West Conference play and 3-4 on opponents' homecourts this season. After a reeling off four straight wins, Colorado State has lost its last three games. The Rams dropped their final nonconference game at Montana State (82-75) on Jan. 5, lost to Air Force at home in their MWC opener (65-57) last Monday and lost at BYU (82-53) on Saturday.
Two of Rams' top players are doubtful for the game due to injury. Junior center Matt Nelson (7-0, 255) has missed the last two games with a knee injury and sophomore guard Michael Morris (6-3, 208) has sat out the last two games with an injured hamstring. Nelson ranks eighth in the Mountain West in scoring (14.1 ppg), 14th in rebounds (4.8 rpg) and fourth in blocked shots (19). Morris ranks fourth in the conference in assists (4.25 apg) and is averaging 7.0 points per game.
Junior forward Matt Williams (6-6, 212) is 16th in the league in scoring (11.0 ppg) and sixth in rebounding (6.0 rpg). Senior forward Ronnie Clark (6-5, 220) is third on the team in scoring (9.5 ppg) and 10th in the MWC in rebounding (5.5 rpg). Junior guard Jon Rakiecki (6-3, 195) ranks 14th in the MWC in three-point percentage (40.3), hitting 29-of-72.
Colorado State ranks fifth in the MWC in scoring (72.0 ppg), eighth in scoring defense (71.9 ppg) and fifth in rebound margin (+2.9 rpg).
Both Utah and CSU have faced Colorado this season. The Utes defeated the Buffs (77-57) in Boulder on Dec. 23, while the Rams lost to CU (84-78) in Fort Collins on Dec. 10.
Utes On ESPN's Big Monday
Utah is making its third of four appearances this season on ESPN's "Big Monday" against Colorado State. Utah has a 20-6 record all-time on Big Monday, inlcuding a 12-2 record at home and an 8-4 mark on the road. The Utes already defeated Pepperdine (76-69) at home and UNLV (72-67) on the road this season, and play their final "Big Monday" game at BYU on March 1.
Head Coach Dale Layer
Dale Layer has a 54-52 record in his fourth season at Colorado State and a 221-139 career record in his 13th year as a head coach. He previously served as an assistant coach for two seasons at CSU (1998-2000) and was the head coach for nine seasons at Queens College (1989-98) in Charlotte, N.C.
Last season, Layer led CSU to its first NCAA Tournament since 1989-90. Colorado State went 19-14 overall and placed sixth in the MWC with a 5-9 mark. The Rams also captured their first-ever conference tournament championship to receive the MWC's automatic bid to the NCAAs. They fell to Duke (67-57) in the first round in Salt Lake City.
The Rams' 15 wins under Layer in 2000-01 was the fourth-highest win total by a first-year head coach in school history. Layer built the Division II program at Queens from the ground up and went 168-87 (.659), twice earning NCAA Regional Coach of the Year honors. Layer took Queens College to the national tournament twice and produced eight consecutive winning seasons.
Utah vs. Colorado State Series Notes
* Utah and Colorado State meet for the 130th time on Monday night. The series dates back to a 41-25 win by Utah on Jan. 2, 1937. The two teams have met every year since 1969-70 with the exception of the 1998-99 season.
* The Runnin' Utes lead the all-time series 90-39 and had won five in a row over the Rams before Colorado State prevailed in the second meeting last season (66-65) on March 6 in the Huntsman Center.
* The U. won the first meeting last season, prevailing 71-66 on Feb. 8 in Fort Collins, Colo., after taking all three games in 2001-02.
* In conference play, Utah has an 82-34 advantage.
* In Salt Lake City, the Utes are 50-15 and had won seven in a row before falling last season. Their previous loss to CSU in the Huntsman Center was 71-70 on Jan. 27, 1994.
* Utah's most decisive win over Colorado State during the Rick Majerus era was 35 points (92-57) on Feb. 11, 1995 in the Huntsman Center.
* Colorado State's most decisive win against Utah under Rick Majerus was 19 points (67-48) on Jan. 18, 1992.
* Rick Majerus is 17-7 against Colorado State all-time with all of those games taking place during his tenure at Utah.
* Dale Layer is 2-5 against Utah during his tenure at CSU. In addition to beating the Utes last season in Salt Lake City, his other win was 73-65 on Jan. 22, 2001 at Moby Arena.
Last Meeting
Michael Morris hit two three-pointers in the final minutes, including the game-winner with 1.6 seconds left, as Colorado State rallied for a 66-65 win over Utah on last season March 6 in the Huntsman Center. Brian Greene scored 14 points and Ronnie Clark finished with 12 points.
Tim Frost scored 23 points, hitting 8-of-16 shots and 3-of-4 three-pointers, to lead Utah. Nick Jacobson had eight points.
Utah regrouped and led by as much as six late in the second half, but couldn't stop Morris, who led the Rams with 17 points-six of which came on his final two shots.
The Utes were close to wrapping it up with a 64-60 lead and Marc Jackson going to the line for two free throws with 1:01 left. But Jackson, an 88 percent free throw shooter, went 1-for-2 and the Rams still had plenty of time.
Morris cut the lead to two with a three-pointer with 47.4 seconds left, then the Rams forced a turnover and had a chance to tie it or win it. After a time out with 17.1 seconds left, they got the ball to Morris to the right of the key, where he was good again and the Rams had a 66-65 lead with 1.6 seconds left.
Utah inbounded the ball deep to Frost, but Britton Johnsen's pass bounced off his hands and the Rams regained possession with 0.8 left and won their second straight game after a seven-game losing streak.
Colorado State outshot Utah 46.0 to 44.7 percent and made 5-of-9 three-pointers. Utah had 32-26 advantage on the boards.
Jacobson Stroking "J"s
Senior guard Nick Jacobson (6-4, 206) has been a third team all-Mountain West selection the last two seasons. This season, he leads the Utes in scoring (15.2 ppg), hitting 47.3 percent (43-of-91) from beyond the arc and 87.0 percent from the free throw line.
* In the NCAA statistical rankings released Jan. 12, Jacobson was 17th in three-point field goal percentage (47.1).
* Jacobson has scored at least 20 points in five of the last eight games-including four consecutive games Dec. 19 through Jan. 3. During this eight-game stretch, Jacobson has shot 50.0 percent from the field and 48.1 percent (25-for-52) from three-point range to average 20.0 points per game. He had a career-high 28 points against Weber State on Jan. 3, hitting 8-of-12 field goals, 5-of-7 threes and 7-of-7 free throws in 39 minutes. He has had six 20-point games this season.
* Jacobson has already climbed into 18th place in career scoring at Utah with 1,332 points. He is one of just 30 players in the 1,000-point club and currently ranks behind Jerry Chambers (1,400 points).
Boasting Of Bogut
Freshman forward Andrew Bogut (6-10, 233) is second on the team in scoring (12.1 ppg) and first in rebounding (10.1 rpg) while shooting 64.1 percent from the field. He also leads the team with 18 blocked shots.
* Bogut is one of four players in the Mountain West Conference averaging a double-double.
* Bogut has 12 double-figure scoring games and nine double-figure rebound games. He has scored in double-figures eight of the last 10 games, missing only in the first scoreless game of his college career against Pepperdine on Jan. 5 and at UNLV (8 points) on Jan. 12.
* In the NCAA statistical rankings released on Jan. 12, Bogut was 23rd in rebounds per game (9.7).
* Bogut has eight double-doubles this season, most recently getting one with a career-best 20 points (8-of-13 FG, 4-of-12 FT) and 16 rebounds against Wyoming on Saturday. He also had a career-best five blocked shots against Wyoming.
Take Note Of These Utes
* Sophomore forward Bryant Markson (6-6, 189) came up big in Utah's MWC opener at UNLV. Playing a season-high 28 minutes, Markson had seven points and season-highs of five rebounds and three assists. He also had a solid defensive effort, guarding players in positions one through four.
* Sophomore point guard Tim Drisdom (6-2, 212) is averaging 8.3 points in the last four games. He Has been shooting 76.9 percent from the field, 71.4 percent from three-point range (5-of-7) and 88.9 percent at the line. Drisdom had a season-high 10 points seven assists and against Pepperdine.
Game #17 Rewind
Andrew Bogut scored a career-high 20 points and grabbed 16 rebounds, helping Utah outlast Wyoming 60-49 Saturday at the Huntsman Center for its eight straight victory.
Bogut blocked a career-best five shots and hit 8-of-13 from the floor, but converted just 4-of-12 free throws and didn't score in the last 14:50 of the game.
As the Cowboy defense began focusing on Bogut, Nick Jacobson found his range. Jacobson scored 13 of his 17 points in the final 13:16, including four free throws in the final minute, to keep Utah (14-3, 2-0 MWC) unbeaten at home this season.
Mory Correa scored 14 points and Jay Straight added 11 for the Cowboys (8-7, 1-1 MWC), who scored just three points after cutting Utah's lead to 47-46 with 4:47 to play.
The Utes didn't lead until the second half, but then a pair of three-pointers by Jacobson-including a four-point play where he was fouled on the shot-gave them to a 46-35 advantage with 10:52 to play.
The Cowboys started going inside to Correa, who scored seven points in an 11-1 run and forced Utah starting center Tim Frost to foul out. Correa scored and drew Frost's fifth foul on a runner in the lane with 4:47 remaining to close the gap to 47-46.
Correa missed the free throw and then missed the front end of a one-and-one on the next possession. Jacobson and Justin Hawkins hit jumpers down the stretch and the Utes made their final eight free throws.
The Utes, who rank second in the country in scoring defense, held the Cowboys to a season-low in points. Utah also outrebounded Wyoming 39-28, and kept the Cowboys without a single fast break point.
Utes One Of The Nation's Youngest Teams
With eight of the Utes' 10 contributing players freshmen and sophomores (80%), Utah is fielding one of the six youngest teams in NCAA Division I in 2003-04. The Utes are topped only by Northwestern State (85%), Florida (82%) and Maryland (82%), and are tied with La Salle and Villanova. The numbers are based on student-athletes accounting for at least two percent of the team's minutes played.
The young Utes have also faced a challenging nonconference schedule, facing two teams from the Big 12 (Texas Tech and Colorado), one from the Big Ten (Minnesota), one from the Big East (Connecticut), one from the SEC (LSU). With the exception of the Minnesota game, all of them were on the road.
Getting Defensive
One of the trademarks of a Utah team during the Rick Majerus era is a stifling half-court defense. Since 1989-90, Utah has ranked in the top 30 in the nation 11 times in scoring defense, nine times in rebound margin, eight times in field goal percentage defense and eight times in scoring margin.
* In the NCAA statistical rankings released on Jan. 12, Utah ranked second nation in scoring defense (54.6 ppg), 12th in field goal percentage defense (38.7) and 17th in rebound margin (+7.3 rpg). Currently, opponents are averaging 54.2 points per game and shooting 38.8 percent against the Utes. Utah also has a +7.5 rebound margin.
* The Utes have outrebounded 15 of 17 opponents this season.
* Utah has held 10 of its 17 opponents to less than 40 percent shooting from the field. Only six teams have reached 60 points and eight opponents have been held to under 50 points this season. Savannah State shot 18.2 percent against the Utes on Dec. 13, which is the lowest mark for a Utah opponent all-time. Only one team (UConn at 62.3 percent) has shot better than 50 percent from the field against the Utes this season.
* Utah has not allowed an opponent to score 80 points in 112 consecutive games that have ended in regulation. The last team to score 80 points on the Utes in a 40-minute game was Wyoming (88) on Feb. 28, 2000 in Laramie, Wyo.
Ute Items
* Utah's shooting cooled off Saturday against Wyoming. After shooting 52.9 percent from the field in the last seven games and 50.5 percent from three-point range over its last six games, the Utes went 42.2 percent and 28.6 percent, respectively, versus the Cowboys.
* Utah has made significant progress at the free throw line. After shooting just 26.8 percent (11-of-41) from the stripe against Stony Brook, Texas Tech and UConn (getting losses in the later two games), Utah has shot 75.3 percent (171-of-227) in the last 11 games. The Utes shot a season-best 97.1 percent (11-of-12) from the line against Whitworth. Utah is currently shooting 68.4 percent at the line this season.
* Turnovers have been a problem for the Utes, who are averaging 15.1 per game. Utah has had a positive assist/turnover ratio in just five of the 17 games this season. Utah averaged 18.0 turnovers during the first five games, including a season-high 21 against Georgia State in the opener. Since that opening stretch, Utah has improved slightly by averaging 13.8 turnovers over the last 12 games. The Utes had a season-low nine turnovers against Wyoming on Saturday.
Strong At The Finish
The Utes have finished off seven close games in the final eight minutes for wins this season. In its first two Mountain West Conference games, Utah has made a combined 15-of-16 free throws in the final three minutes to get wins over UNLV and Wyoming.
* Utah was tied with UNLV at 65-65 with 2:12 remaining on Jan. 12. The Utes then made 7-of-8 free throws to finish the game on a 7-2 run.
* Leading Wyoming 47-46 with 4:47 to play on Jan. 17, the Utes finished with a 13-2 run and made all eight free throws.
Utes Tough At Home In The Huntsman Center
Utah is 205-18 (.919) in the Huntsman Center during the Rick Majerus era and has never lost back-to-back home games. With Majerus on the bench, taking out the games he missed during the 1989-90 and 2000-01 seasons, the Utes are 187-13 (.935) at home.
* The Utes have won 143 of their last 151 games in the Jon M. Huntsman Center, dating back to the 1993-94 season.
* More recently, Utah has won 11 in a row (including a 10-0 record this season) and 27 of the last 28 at home. Its last loss in the JMHC was to Colorado State on March 6, 2003, which ended a 16-game home winning streak.
* In conference home games over the last 10 years, Utah is 66-3 (.957), which is the best record in the nation over that time spaN
Senior guard Nick Jacobson (6-4, 206) has been a third team all-Mountain West selection the last two seasons. This season, he leads the Utes in scoring (15.2 ppg), hitting 47.3 percent (43-of-91) from beyond the arc and 87.0 percent from the free throw line.
* In the NCAA statistical rankings released Jan. 12, Jacobson was 17th in three-point field goal percentage (47.1).
* Jacobson has scored at least 20 points in five of the last eight games-including four consecutive games Dec. 19 through Jan. 3. During this eight-game stretch, Jacobson has shot 50.0 percent from the field and 48.1 percent (25-for-52) from three-point range to average 20.0 points per game. He had a career-high 28 points against Weber State on Jan. 3, hitting 8-of-12 field goals, 5-of-7 threes and 7-of-7 free throws in 39 minutes. He has had six 20-point games this season.
* Jacobson has already climbed into 18th place in career scoring at Utah with 1,332 points. He is one of just 30 players in the 1,000-point club and currently ranks behind Jerry Chambers (1,400 points).
Boasting Of Bogut
Freshman forward Andrew Bogut (6-10, 233) is second on the team in scoring (12.1 ppg) and first in rebounding (10.1 rpg) while shooting 64.1 percent from the field. He also leads the team with 18 blocked shots.
* Bogut is one of four players in the Mountain West Conference averaging a double-double.
* Bogut has 12 double-figure scoring games and nine double-figure rebound games. He has scored in double-figures eight of the last 10 games, missing only in the first scoreless game of his college career against Pepperdine on Jan. 5 and at UNLV (8 points) on Jan. 12.
* In the NCAA statistical rankings released on Jan. 12, Bogut was 23rd in rebounds per game (9.7).
* Bogut has eight double-doubles this season, most recently getting one with a career-best 20 points (8-of-13 FG, 4-of-12 FT) and 16 rebounds against Wyoming on Saturday. He also had a career-best five blocked shots against Wyoming.
Take Note Of These Utes
* Sophomore forward Bryant Markson (6-6, 189) came up big in Utah's MWC opener at UNLV. Playing a season-high 28 minutes, Markson had seven points and season-highs of five rebounds and three assists. He also had a solid defensive effort, guarding players in positions one through four.
* Sophomore point guard Tim Drisdom (6-2, 212) is averaging 8.3 points in the last four games. He Has been shooting 76.9 percent from the field, 71.4 percent from three-point range (5-of-7) and 88.9 percent at the line. Drisdom had a season-high 10 points seven assists and against Pepperdine.
Game #17 Rewind
Andrew Bogut scored a career-high 20 points and grabbed 16 rebounds, helping Utah outlast Wyoming 60-49 Saturday at the Huntsman Center for its eight straight victory.
Bogut blocked a career-best five shots and hit 8-of-13 from the floor, but converted just 4-of-12 free throws and didn't score in the last 14:50 of the game.
As the Cowboy defense began focusing on Bogut, Nick Jacobson found his range. Jacobson scored 13 of his 17 points in the final 13:16, including four free throws in the final minute, to keep Utah (14-3, 2-0 MWC) unbeaten at home this season.
Mory Correa scored 14 points and Jay Straight added 11 for the Cowboys (8-7, 1-1 MWC), who scored just three points after cutting Utah's lead to 47-46 with 4:47 to play.
The Utes didn't lead until the second half, but then a pair of three-pointers by Jacobson-including a four-point play where he was fouled on the shot-gave them to a 46-35 advantage with 10:52 to play.
The Cowboys started going inside to Correa, who scored seven points in an 11-1 run and forced Utah starting center Tim Frost to foul out. Correa scored and drew Frost's fifth foul on a runner in the lane with 4:47 remaining to close the gap to 47-46.
Correa missed the free throw and then missed the front end of a one-and-one on the next possession. Jacobson and Justin Hawkins hit jumpers down the stretch and the Utes made their final eight free throws.
The Utes, who rank second in the country in scoring defense, held the Cowboys to a season-low in points. Utah also outrebounded Wyoming 39-28, and kept the Cowboys without a single fast break point.
Utes One Of The Nation's Youngest Teams
With eight of the Utes' 10 contributing players freshmen and sophomores (80%), Utah is fielding one of the six youngest teams in NCAA Division I in 2003-04. The Utes are topped only by Northwestern State (85%), Florida (82%) and Maryland (82%), and are tied with La Salle and Villanova. The numbers are based on student-athletes accounting for at least two percent of the team's minutes played.
The young Utes have also faced a challenging nonconference schedule, facing two teams from the Big 12 (Texas Tech and Colorado), one from the Big Ten (Minnesota), one from the Big East (Connecticut), one from the SEC (LSU). With the exception of the Minnesota game, all of them were on the road.
Getting Defensive
One of the trademarks of a Utah team during the Rick Majerus era is a stifling half-court defense. Since 1989-90, Utah has ranked in the top 30 in the nation 11 times in scoring defense, nine times in rebound margin, eight times in field goal percentage defense and eight times in scoring margin.
* In the NCAA statistical rankings released on Jan. 12, Utah ranked second nation in scoring defense (54.6 ppg), 12th in field goal percentage defense (38.7) and 17th in rebound margin (+7.3 rpg). Currently, opponents are averaging 54.2 points per game and shooting 38.8 percent against the Utes. Utah also has a +7.5 rebound margin.
* The Utes have outrebounded 15 of 17 opponents this season.
* Utah has held 10 of its 17 opponents to less than 40 percent shooting from the field. Only six teams have reached 60 points and eight opponents have been held to under 50 points this season. Savannah State shot 18.2 percent against the Utes on Dec. 13, which is the lowest mark for a Utah opponent all-time. Only one team (UConn at 62.3 percent) has shot better than 50 percent from the field against the Utes this season.
* Utah has not allowed an opponent to score 80 points in 112 consecutive games that have ended in regulation. The last team to score 80 points on the Utes in a 40-minute game was Wyoming (88) on Feb. 28, 2000 in Laramie, Wyo.
Ute Items
* Utah's shooting cooled off Saturday against Wyoming. After shooting 52.9 percent from the field in the last seven games and 50.5 percent from three-point range over its last six games, the Utes went 42.2 percent and 28.6 percent, respectively, versus the Cowboys.
* Utah has made significant progress at the free throw line. After shooting just 26.8 percent (11-of-41) from the stripe against Stony Brook, Texas Tech and UConn (getting losses in the later two games), Utah has shot 75.3 percent (171-of-227) in the last 11 games. The Utes shot a season-best 97.1 percent (11-of-12) from the line against Whitworth. Utah is currently shooting 68.4 percent at the line this season.
* Turnovers have been a problem for the Utes, who are averaging 15.1 per game. Utah has had a positive assist/turnover ratio in just five of the 17 games this season. Utah averaged 18.0 turnovers during the first five games, including a season-high 21 against Georgia State in the opener. Since that opening stretch, Utah has improved slightly by averaging 13.8 turnovers over the last 12 games. The Utes had a season-low nine turnovers against Wyoming on Saturday.
Strong At The Finish
The Utes have finished off seven close games in the final eight minutes for wins this season. In its first two Mountain West Conference games, Utah has made a combined 15-of-16 free throws in the final three minutes to get wins over UNLV and Wyoming.
* Utah was tied with UNLV at 65-65 with 2:12 remaining on Jan. 12. The Utes then made 7-of-8 free throws to finish the game on a 7-2 run.
* Leading Wyoming 47-46 with 4:47 to play on Jan. 17, the Utes finished with a 13-2 run and made all eight free throws.
Utes Tough At Home In The Huntsman Center
Utah is 205-18 (.919) in the Huntsman Center during the Rick Majerus era and has never lost back-to-back home games. With Majerus on the bench, taking out the games he missed during the 1989-90 and 2000-01 seasons, the Utes are 187-13 (.935) at home.
* The Utes have won 143 of their last 151 games in the Jon M. Huntsman Center, dating back to the 1993-94 season.
* More recently, Utah has won 11 in a row (including a 10-0 record this season) and 27 of the last 28 at home. Its last loss in the JMHC was to Colorado State on March 6, 2003, which ended a 16-game home winning streak.
* In conference home games over the last 10 years, Utah is 66-3 (.957), which is the best record in the nation over that time spaN
Utes Basketball: Rams enduring recent battering
Utah center Tim Frost, left, has struggled this season with a nagging back injury. (Leah Hogsten/The Salt Lake Tribune)
By Steve Luhm
The Salt Lake Tribune
If Colorado State could step back in time, the Rams would undoubtedly do it.
They would return to March 6, 2003.
On its last visit to the Huntsman Center, CSU knocked off Utah and used the last-second 66-65 victory as a springboard to one of the great runs in school history.
Over the next 19 days, the sixth-seeded Rams defeated Wyoming, Brigham Young in overtime and UNLV by a combined 10 points to win the Mountain West Conference postseason basketball tournament.
Those victories earned CSU a return trip to Salt Lake City, where the Rams battled highly regarded Duke to the wire in the first round of the NCAA Tournament before losing, 67-57.
Colorado State's late-season surge was supposed to set the table for greater things.
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The Rams were picked third in the MWC preseason poll, behind BYU and Utah but ahead of perennial contenders UNLV and Wyoming.
Colorado State got off to an 8-4 start, too.
A four-game winning streak included a 71-69 victory over nationally-ranked Purdue.
Suddenly, however, the Rams are struggling.
Heading into tonight's matchup against Utah, injury-plagued CSU has lost three straight.
Consecutive defeats to Montana State (82-75), Air Force (65-57) and BYU (82-53) have coach Dale Layer shaking his head.
"It's very disappointing," he said, following the 29-point loss in Provo on Saturday. "We're just not in sync. . . . I thought we competed for about 20-25 minutes and then we hung our heads."
Most of the Rams' recent woes can be traced to injuries.
Junior center Matt Nelson, the Mountain West's preseason player of the year, hurt his knee at Montana State. The 7-footer from Chicago missed the loss against Air Force -- snapping the Falcons' 27-game road losing streak in the Mountain West -- and played only four ineffective minutes at BYU.
Nelson is questionable for CSU's late-night battle against streaking Utah (14-3, 2-0 MWC). So is sophomore guard Michael Morris, who has missed three games because of hamstring injury.
"We need to get healthy and get guys playing competitively," Layer told The Fort Collins Coloradoan.
Utah coach Rick Majerus knows the feeling.
Tim Frost, the Utes' senior center, has been plagued all season by a back injury. After missing three of four games, he felt well enough to play two in a row. But he struggled against Wyoming, managing only two points and four rebounds in 26 minutes.
Frost went 0-for-5 from the field, and he fouled out with 3:59 remaining.
Still, the Utes had enough to defeat the Cowboys.
Asked about the Rams, Majerus said, "I don't know much about them. . . . But I know they'll be tough. They beat a hell of a Purdue team."
Australian-born freshman Andrew Bogut comes off a huge game against Wyoming. He had a season-high 20 points, 16 rebounds and a season-high five blocked shots.
Bogut matched a season-high by playing 35 minutes, though Majerus hopes that does not become routine.
"I'd like to lighten Bogut's minutes a little bit," he said. "I think he wears down."
Utah center Tim Frost, left, has struggled this season with a nagging back injury. (Leah Hogsten/The Salt Lake Tribune)
By Steve Luhm
The Salt Lake Tribune
If Colorado State could step back in time, the Rams would undoubtedly do it.
They would return to March 6, 2003.
On its last visit to the Huntsman Center, CSU knocked off Utah and used the last-second 66-65 victory as a springboard to one of the great runs in school history.
Over the next 19 days, the sixth-seeded Rams defeated Wyoming, Brigham Young in overtime and UNLV by a combined 10 points to win the Mountain West Conference postseason basketball tournament.
Those victories earned CSU a return trip to Salt Lake City, where the Rams battled highly regarded Duke to the wire in the first round of the NCAA Tournament before losing, 67-57.
Colorado State's late-season surge was supposed to set the table for greater things.
Advertisement
The Rams were picked third in the MWC preseason poll, behind BYU and Utah but ahead of perennial contenders UNLV and Wyoming.
Colorado State got off to an 8-4 start, too.
A four-game winning streak included a 71-69 victory over nationally-ranked Purdue.
Suddenly, however, the Rams are struggling.
Heading into tonight's matchup against Utah, injury-plagued CSU has lost three straight.
Consecutive defeats to Montana State (82-75), Air Force (65-57) and BYU (82-53) have coach Dale Layer shaking his head.
"It's very disappointing," he said, following the 29-point loss in Provo on Saturday. "We're just not in sync. . . . I thought we competed for about 20-25 minutes and then we hung our heads."
Most of the Rams' recent woes can be traced to injuries.
Junior center Matt Nelson, the Mountain West's preseason player of the year, hurt his knee at Montana State. The 7-footer from Chicago missed the loss against Air Force -- snapping the Falcons' 27-game road losing streak in the Mountain West -- and played only four ineffective minutes at BYU.
Nelson is questionable for CSU's late-night battle against streaking Utah (14-3, 2-0 MWC). So is sophomore guard Michael Morris, who has missed three games because of hamstring injury.
"We need to get healthy and get guys playing competitively," Layer told The Fort Collins Coloradoan.
Utah coach Rick Majerus knows the feeling.
Tim Frost, the Utes' senior center, has been plagued all season by a back injury. After missing three of four games, he felt well enough to play two in a row. But he struggled against Wyoming, managing only two points and four rebounds in 26 minutes.
Frost went 0-for-5 from the field, and he fouled out with 3:59 remaining.
Still, the Utes had enough to defeat the Cowboys.
Asked about the Rams, Majerus said, "I don't know much about them. . . . But I know they'll be tough. They beat a hell of a Purdue team."
Australian-born freshman Andrew Bogut comes off a huge game against Wyoming. He had a season-high 20 points, 16 rebounds and a season-high five blocked shots.
Bogut matched a season-high by playing 35 minutes, though Majerus hopes that does not become routine.
"I'd like to lighten Bogut's minutes a little bit," he said. "I think he wears down."
