Utes Play Two At Home This Weekend

Dec. 14, 1999

SALT LAKE CITY - The Runnin' Utes are 5-2 following two wins last week. Utah posted a 77-42 win at home over instate rival Utah State on Tuesday and a 78-66 win at Washington State on Saturday.

Senior 6-7 forward Alex Jensen leads the team in scoring (15.0 ppg) and rebounding (8.1 rpg). Jensen is also shooting 60.7 percent from the field and 57.7 percent from three-point range. Senior 5-11 guard Jeremy Killion is second in scoring (13.1 ppg) and is shooting 50.0 percent from the field and 47.6 percent from three-point range. Junior 6-11 center Nate Althoff is third in scoring (9.3 ppg) and second in rebounding (5.0 rpg). Sophomore 6-1 guard Gary Colbert leads the team in assists (4.1 apg).

Utah is outscoring the opposition 70.6 to 56.0 points per game and has a 33.6 to 29.3 edge in rebounding. The Utes are shooting 48.9 percent from the field, 44.2 percent from three-point range and 68.7 percent from the free throw line.

Game #8
Utah Utes (5-2) vs. Sioux Falls Cougars (4-6)
Dec. 17 - 7:05 p.m. (MST) - Jon M. Huntsman Center (15,000) - Salt Lake City

The Game at a Glance

Utah Coach: Rick Majerus	Sioux Falls Coach: Jim Hayford
Alma Mater: Marquette '70	Alma Mater: Azusa Pacific '90
Record at Utah: 243-66/11th Season	Record at Sioux Falls: 4-6/1st Season
Overall Record: 342-118/16th Season	Overall Record: 4-6/1st Season

Television: None
Radio: Utah Sports Network (570 K-NEWS in Salt Lake City and affiliate stations). Scott Miller (play-by-play) and Mark Rydalch (analyst).
Rankings: Utah is 28th in the A.P. poll and 25th in the USA Today/ESPN poll.

Series Record: First Meeting

Majerus vs. Sioux Falls Overall: 0-0

At Utah: 0-0

Game #9
Utah Utes (5-2) vs. Chicago State Cougars (2-3)
Dec. 18 - 7:05 p.m. (MST) - Jon M. Huntsman Center (15,000) - Salt Lake City

The Game at a Glance

Utah Coach: Rick Majerus	Chicago State Coach: Maurice "Bo" Ellis
Alma Mater: Marquette '70	Alma Mater: Marquette '77
Record at Utah: 243-66/11th Season	Record at Chicago State: 5-27/2nd Year
Overall Record: 342-118/16th Season	Overall Record: 5-27/2nd Year

Television: None
Radio: Utah Sports Network (570 K-NEWS in Salt Lake City and affiliate stations). Tape delayed after the Las Vegas Bowl. Scott Miller (play-by-play) and Jeff Jonas (analyst).
Rankings: Utah is 28th in the A.P. poll and 25th in the USA Today/ESPN poll.

Series Record: Utah leads 2-0
Utah Home/Away/Neutral: 1-0/1-0/0-0
Last Meeting: Utah won 105-38 on Dec. 20, 1994 in Salt Lake City.

Majerus vs. Chicago State Overall: 2-0

At Utah: 2-0

Utah Probable Starters

No.	Pos.	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Cl.	Ppg	Rpg	Hometown
50	F	Alex Jensen	6-7	225	Sr.	15.0	8.1	Centerville, Utah
40	F	Phil Cullen	6-9	215	So.	4.9	2.0	Chelan, Wash.
52	C	Nate Althoff	6-11	260	Jr.	9.3	5.0	Delano, Minn.
32	G	Jeremy Killion	5-11	190	Sr.	13.1	2.1	San Diego, Calif.
3	G	Gary Colbert	6-1	175	So.	3.7	3.8	Alta Loma, Calif.

Utah Off the Bench

No.	Pos.	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Cl.	Ppg	Rpg	Hometown
4	G	Adam Sharp	6-2	180	So.	1.8	0.6	Salt Lake City
5	G/F	Tony Harvey	6-5	200	Sr.	8.7	1.9	Carson, Calif.
15	F	Nick Jacobson	6-3	185	Fr.	0.0	0.0	Roseville, Minn.
21	G	Trent Whiting	6-0	180	Jr.	5.0	3.0	Kuna, Idaho
25	G	Brandon Sluga	6-4	210	Sr.	1.3	0.0	Taylorsville, Utah
34	F	Matt Vivas	6-4	210	Fr.	0.0	2.0	Honolulu, Hawaii
35	F	Jeff Johnsen	6-4	200	So.	7.4	3.9	Murray, Utah
42	F	Mike Puzey	6-8	215	Fr.	3.6	1.1	Roy, Utah

Sioux Falls Probable Starters

No.	Pos.	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Cl.	Ppg	Rpg	Hometown
30	F	Matt Honan	6-5	205	Sr.	11.3	4.6	Sioux Falls, S.D.
34	F	Brad Kennett	6-8	200	Jr.	10.6	9.6	Phoenix, Ariz.
54	C	Maik Mertens	7-1	225	Jr.	5.3	3.1	Guetersloh, Germany
5	G	Nate Deal	6-2	180	So.	7.3	2.5	Sioux City, Iowa
11	G	Corey Smith	6-4	205	Jr.	21.0	4.2	San Dimas, Calif.

Chicago State Probable Starters

No.	Pos.	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Cl.	Ppg	Rpg	Hometown
45	F	Tony Jones	6-7	200	Jr.	5.4	2.6	Mesa, Ariz.
54	F	Pierre Shuttlesworth	6-6	185	Sr.	6.2	7.2	Chicago, Ill.
44	C	Randy Nelson	6-8	225	Fr.	1.2	6.2	Toronto, Ontario
11	G	Jermaine Hicks	5-4	155	Sr.	9.8	2.6	Harvey, Ill.
23	G	Tim Bryant	6-4	190	Sr.	14.0	3.8	Chicago, Ill.

From the Training Room: Whiting Probable, M?tt?l? Out with Knee Injury
Junior guard Trent Whiting is probable for this week's games against Sioux Falls and Chicago State and is likely to take a medical redshirt this season. The junior college All-American from Snow College has been playing in pain all season because of a congenital condition in his femur bones. Whiting, averaging 5.0 points and 3.0 rebounds per game, has played in five games and started against Augusta State on Dec. 3. However he has missed the last two games and his playing time has been limited to just 17.6 minutes per game due to the injury. Whiting could play in one more game and still be able to take a medical redshirt. Players are able to take a medical redshirt in the first half of the season if they have not played in over 20 percent of a team's total regular-season games.

Utah senior forward Hanno M?tt?l? , a preseason candidate for the Wooden and Naismith awards, could be sidelined until the last week of December due to a medial collateral tear in his left knee. M?tt?l? sustained the injury after taking a charge with 5:30 left to play in an exhibition game against the California All-Stars on Nov. 9 at the Huntsman Center.

M?tt?l? is in the fifth week of what is expected to be a six-week layoff. According to team trainer Trevor Jameson, he has started running, shooting and doing some easy cutting. Team doctors are happy with his progress and M?tt?l? 's injury will be reassessed early this week. At that time, he could either continue rehabilitation or start practicing.

Coming Up
Utah plays its next six games at home. Following the Sioux Falls and Chicago State games, the Runnin' Utes host 15th-ranked Texas next Wednesday (Dec. 22) at 10:04 p.m. (MST) in a game televised by ESPN. After Christmas, Utah hosts Oregon State (Dec. 28), Wisconsin-Milwaukee (Dec. 30) and Southern Utah (Jan. 1).

Utah vs. Sioux Falls Preview

Scouting the Cougars
Sioux Falls is an NAIA Division II school of 1,107 students in Sioux Falls, S.D. The Cougars are 4-6 after falling to South Dakota 95-73 last Friday and defeating Northwestern (Minn.) 81-63 last Saturday.

Junior 6-4 guard Corey Smith leads the team in scoring (21.0 ppg) and is shooting 44.8 percent from three-point range. Senior 6-5 forward Matt Honan is second on the team in scoring (11.3 ppg) and is averaging 4.6 rebounds per game. Junior 6-8 forward Brad Kennett leads the team in rebounding (9.6 rpg) and is third in scoring (10.6 ppg). Sioux Falls is outscoring its opponents (74.2 to 74.0 ppg) and has the edge in rebounding (40.2 to 38.5 rpg). The Cougars are shooting 42.6 percent from the field and 31.0 percent from three-point range.

Majerus and Hayford Meet Again
Although Utah and Sioux Falls are playing for the first time on Friday, head coaches Rick Majerus and Jim Hayford are no strangers. Majerus has coached against Hayford three previous times when Hayford was the head coach at Azusa Pacific from 1990-99. Utah defeated Azusa Pacific 83-50 on Nov. 23, 1996, 71-55 on Dec. 12, 1997 and 76-47 on Nov. 14, 1998 with all three meetings taking place in Salt Lake City.

Utah vs. Chicago State Preview

Scouting the Cougars
Chicago State is a school of 8,416 students in Chicago, Ill. The Cougars return two starters and four letterwinners from last year's team that went 3-24 overall and 3-11 in the Mid-Continent Conference to place eighth. Chicago State is 2-3 after winning two of its last three games. Chicago State defeated Eastern Michigan 65-62 on Nov. 27, lost at DePaul 104-57 on Dec. 1 and defeated Illinois-Chicago 69-61 on Dec. 7.

Senior 6-4 guard Tim Bryant leads the team in scoring (14.0 ppg). Senior 5-4 guard Jermaine Hicks is second in scoring (9.8 ppg) and is averaging 4.4 assists per game. Senior 6-6 forward Pierre Shuttlesworth leads the team in rebounding (7.2 rpg) and is third in scoring (6.2 ppg). Chicago State has been outscored (68.8 to 56.2 ppg) and outrebounded (42.6 to 39.0 rpg) this season. The Cougars are shooting 33.4 percent from the field and 30.3 percent from three-point range.

Series Notes
Utah and Chicago State meet for the third time on Saturday with both previous meetings coming during the Rick Majerus era. The Utes won the first game of the series 84-65 on Dec. 11, 1993 in Chicago and took the second game 105-38 on Dec. 20, 1994 at the Huntsman Center.

Marquette Ties for Majerus and Ellis
Rick Majerus and CSU head coach Maurice "Bo" Ellis have never coached against each other, but they aren't strangers. While Majerus was an assistant coach at Marquette, Ellis was a senior captain on the school's 1977 national championship team. Ellis is the second-leading rebounder and fourth-leading scorer in Marquette history and had his jersey retired by the school in 1992.

Noting the Utes

Game #7 Rewind
Jeremy Killion scored a career-high 24 points, including six three-pointers, as Utah beat Washington State 78-66 on Saturday. Utah (5-2) led by as many as 23 points before Washington State drew closer near the end. The Utes hit 14-of-28 from three-point range, tying the school record for three-pointers made for the second-consecutive game.

Washington State (4-3) lost its first non-conference game at home since Idaho beat them in 1989. They had won 45 straight non-Pacific 10 home games since then. After Washington State scored the first four points of the game, Utah ran off 16 consecutive points and was never threatened again. Jeff Johnsen's buzzer beater gave them a 45-30 halftime lead.

Utah led by 23 points with 6:10 left in the game. The Cougars then scored 13 consecutive points to close to within 10 with 59 seconds left. Alex Jensen, who scored 21 points, also grabbed nine rebounds, handed out five assists and made two steals. Sophomore guard Gary Colbert dished out a career-high 10 assists in his second game as a starter.

Jan-Michael Thomas led the Cougars with 20 points. Senior Chris Crosby had 18. Washington State sank 8-of-18 from three-point range.

Rick Majerus scheduled the game to get sophomore forward Phil Cullen a game close to home. About 125 of Cullen's friends and relatives drove over from Chelan, Wash., to cheer him on and give the Utes a small rooting section among the 4,927 fans at Beasley Coliseum.

Utah shot a season-best 54.7 percent from the field, including 50 percent from three-point range.

Odd and Ends
Phil Cullen and Tony Harvey are off to great starts from the free throw line. Cullen is 7-for-7 (100%) while Harvey is 15-for-17 (88.2%) ... 42 of Jeremy Killion's 66 field goal attempts have come from three-point range ... In both of Utah's losses, it was outrebounded for the game and outscored in the second half. Utah also committed more turnovers and more fouls ... The Utes tied a school record with 14 three-pointers against both Utah State (Dec. 7) and Washington State (Dec. 11). Utah also hit 14 trifectas in 1994 against San Diego State and in 1995 against Fresno State ... Utah scored a season-high 78 points and shot a season-best 54.7 percent from the field against Washington State (Dec. 11) ... Against Utah State (Dec. 7), Utah shot 73 percent (11-of-15) from three-point range in the first half, breaking the school record of 10 three-pointers in a half set in 1993 and 1995, both times against Fresno State ... Utah surrendered a season-low 42 points in its 35-point win over Utah State on Dec. 7 . The Utes also gave up a season-low shooting night from the field against USU, allowing the Aggies to shoot just 30.8 percent from the field and 18.8 percent from three-point range ... Weber State scored the most points (58) and had the best field goal percentage (72.4) in a single-half against a Majerus-coached Utah team in the second half on Dec. 1 ... Utah's 12-point loss to Weber State (84-72) was its worse since a 13-point loss to Kentucky (72-59) Mar. 22, 1997 in the NCAA West Regional final ... Utah's most lopsided loss all of last year was eight points (66-58) to Miami-Ohio in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Mar. 14 ... After not shooting better than 41.9 percent from the field in either of its first two games, Utah shot 50.9 percent from the field against Stony Brook on Nov. 29. Utah also made 9-of-18 three-pointers (.500) after shooting 33.3 and 30.0 percent from beyond the arc against Arkansas State and Kentucky, respectively.

Rick's Remarks

On the game against Washington State -
"We played hard. Our effort was great. Our effort has been 100 percent in every game but Weber State. Sure, we made some mistakes, but some of those mistakes were made because of youth. This was a dangerous game because you don't get credit for a big win, and there's the vulnerability of a loss against a talented team. It was a nice win for the Utes.

"Those guys zoned us and the shots kept coming. We've been doing a good job of finding the open man. We had a good post presence, and that's what put them in a zone to begin with."

"Gary (Colbert) is a good passer. He has a big heart, and he's coming. Colbert saw the open man. [Killion's] defense was very good. He set the tone at the start of the game against number 4 (Jan-Michael Thomas)."

On this week -
"We'll have some aborted practices for exams. We're just on the cusp of continuity and I've got to give them the week off for exams. But I want to give them the time off to study, our academics are important."

In the Polls
Utah remained at No. 25 in the USA Today/ESPN poll released on Sunday and moved up one place to No. 28 in Associated Press poll released on Monday. Utah has been ranked in at least one of the national Top 25 polls for 13 consecutive weeks, dating back to last season. The Utes were ranked 11 consecutive weeks in the A.P. Top 25 before falling out on Dec. 6

Utah had been ranked every week since early in the 1994-95 season before falling out on on Dec. 14, 1998. After a seven-week absence, the Utes returned to the national polls on Feb. 1, 1999. Utah has finished the season ranked among the top 10 teams in the nation three consecutive years.

Awesome Alex
Senior forward Alex Jensen (6-7, 225) has started all 74 games since the start of the 1997-98 season after returning from a two-year LDS church mission. A preseason all-Mountain West Conference selection, Jensen is off to a great start to the season. He is Utah's leading scorer (15.0 ppg), shooting 60.7 percent from the field and 57.7 percent from three-point range, and top rebounder (8.1 rpg). Jensen has led Utah in scoring three times and rebounds six times this season. He has also scored in double figures in all but one game, including two 20-point performances. Jensen scored a career-high 25 points with a career-best nine field goals and three 3-point field goals against Augusta State on Dec. 3. Last Saturday against Washington State, he had 21 points by going 7-of-10 from the field, 3-of-4 from three-point range and 4-of-6 from the free throw line. He also had a season-high nine rebounds, five assists and two steals in 38 minutes against Wazzu. Jensen got 12 points, a season-high seven assists and three rebounds in 27 minutes against Utah State last Tuesday. Jensen is also an excellent defensive player who can defend all five positions on the floor.

Perhaps one of the best unknown players in the country, Jensen earned first team all-Western Athletic Conference Pacific Division honors last season and was named to the league all-defensive team. A well-rounded player, Jensen led Utah in scoring four times, rebounds 14 times and assists six times. Jensen was also voted the WAC Tournament MVP after averaging 16.0 points and 6.3 rebounds in three games, leading the Utes to the championship.

Last season, Jensen scored in double figures 23 times and had 20 points or more twice. Jensen posted 10 double-doubles and one rare triple double (points, rebounds, assists). His triple-double of 16 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists against Fresno State on Jan. 25, 1999 was only the second in the 31-year history of the Jon M. Huntsman Center, the other was posted by Magic Johnson of Michigan State in the semifinals of the 1979 NCAA Final Four.

Jensen Entering Select Company
Senior forward Alex Jensen could become the ninth Ute all-time and the fourth under Rick Majerus to record 1,000 points and 800 rebounds during their careers at Utah. Jensen currently has 965 career points and 713 career rebounds. He needs just 35 more points to become the 28th Ute to score 1,000 points and 87 more rebounds to become the ninth Ute to post 800 rebounds. Jensen also ranks third in career offensive rebounds (279) and sixth in defensive rebounds (434) at the U.

Utah 1,000 Points/800 Rebounds Club

Name	Points	Rebs.
Keith Van Horn (1993-97)	2,542	1,074
Billy McGill (1959-62)	2,321	1,106
Josh Grant (1988-93)	2,000	1,066
Danny Vranes (1977-81)	1,701	951
Tom Chambers (1977-81)	1,698	876
Mitch Smith (1985-89)	1,628	1,036
Ken Gardner (1968-71)	1,291	892
Michael Doleac (1994-98)	1,519	886

Mentioning M?tt?l?
Hanno M?tt?l? was rated among the top players in college basketball during the preseason. Playboy magazine selected M?tt?l? to their 10-player All-America team. He was also named one of the early finalists for the Wooden and Naismith National Player of the Year awards. Basketball News named M?tt?l? as the 12th-best inside-outers in college basketball. The Mountain West Conference media selected M?tt?l? as the preseason player of the year, while both the media and coaches placed him on the preseason all-conference team.

What the Utes Lose in Hanno
Senior forward Hanno M?tt?l? (6-9, 250), out until possibly the last week of December with a medial collateral tear in his left knee, earned first team all-Western Athletic Conference Pacific Division honors last season and was named second team all-WAC in the Mountain Division in 1997-98. The Helsinki, Finland, native started all 67 games the last two seasons, and is Utah's top returning scorer (15.3 ppg) and second-leading returning rebounder (5.4 rpg) from 1998-99.

As a junior, M?tt?l? ranked 13th in the WAC in scoring (15.3 ppg) and was Utah's top scorer during the conference season with an average of 16.4 points per game. He led the conference in free throw percentage (.833) and was ninth in field goal percentage (.482). M?tt?l? also made 35.4 percent of his three-point field goals (34-of-96).

M?tt?l? led the Utes in scoring a team-best 13 times, scoring in double figures in all but four of the 33 games and tossing in 20 points or more on nine occasions. He was the team's leading rebounder in 11 games and had two double-doubles.

M?tt?l? ranks high in several career statistical categories at the U. He is 22nd all-time in scoring (1,134), seventh in defensive rebounds (305), 10th in offensive boards (145) and 12th in blocked shots (38).

Killion's Got A Fever
Senior 5-11 guard Jeremy Killion was shooting the basketball at a feverish pace last week. In wins over Utah State and Washington State, Killion averaged 22.5 points per game and shot 61.5 percent from the field (16-of-26) and 57.1 percent from three-point range (12-of-21). The San Diego native scored a career-high 24 points while tying career bests for field goals (9) and three-point field goals (6) against Washington State last Saturday. He shot 9-of-17 from the field and 6-of-13 from beyond the arc in that game. Killion had a game-high 21 points with a career-best tying six three-pointers against Utah State last Tuesday, shooting 7-of-9 from the field and 6-of-8 from beyond the arc.

Althoff Stepping Up
Now in his junior season, 6-11 center Nate Althoff has asserted himself as a presence in the paint. Through six games, the Delano, Minn., native, is averaging 9.3 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.3 blocked shots per game. Althoff is also shooting 56.5 percent from the field. He has scored in double figures four times, including a career-high 14 points against Arkansas State on Nov. 16.

Last season, Althoff averaged 4.9 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.3 blocked shots per game. Althoff has improved his numbers this season despite playing with a back sprain that kept him out of both exhibition games and has significantly limited his practice time.

Slow Start, Fast Finish
Starting the season with 3-2 record was not unfamiliar territory for the Utes. Last season, Utah started the season with a 5-4 record before winning its next 23 games. Here is a statistical comparison between Utah's start and finish to last season, as well as one between its first five games this year and last two games.

1998-99

Games 1-9	FG%	3-FG%	PPG	RPG	AS/TO Ratio
Utah	44.6	29.7	66.0	36.2	.976
Opponents	39.9	40.3	59.3	31.2	.793

Games 10-33	FG%	3-FG%	PPG	RPG	AS/TO Ratio
Utah	48.9	35.8	73.3	35.9	1.68
Opponents	43.7	31.7	53.9	26.5	1.25

1999-2000

Games 1-5	FG%	3-FG%	PPG	RPG	AS/TO Ratio
Utah	46.9	37.1	67.8	35.2	1.13
Opponents	39.4	30.3	56.8	30.4	.809

Games 6-7	FG%	3-FG%	PPG	RPG	AS/TO Ratio
Utah	53.8	57.1	77.5	29.5	1.63
Opponents	39.6	32.4	54.0	26.5	.519

Defense, Defense, Defense
One of the trademarks of a Rick Majerus coached team is a stifling half-court defense. In 10 seasons under Majerus, Utah has ranked in the top 30 in the nation eight times in field goal percentage defense, seven times in the top 25 in scoring defense, seven times in the top 25 in scoring margin and seven times in the top 30 in rebound margin.

Through five games this season, Utah gave up an average of 56.8 points per game to rank 22nd in the nation in scoring defense. Through seven games, Utah's opponents are shooting just 39.5 percent from the field and 30.9 percent from three-point range.

Utah ranked fourth in the NCAA in scoring defense last season, giving up just 55.4 points per game. The Utes have been in the top eight three times in 10 seasons. The Utes ranked ninth in the nation in rebound margin last season (8.2 rpg) and have been ranked among the top 15 teams in the country in that category five years in a row. Utah has been among the top 30 teams in the nation in field goal percentage defense five consecutive years, including four top-10 rankings. The Utes were 29th in the NCAA in field goal percentage defense last season, limiting their opponents to 39.5 percent shooting from the floor.

Thanks to their stifling defense, the U. has also ranked among the top 25 teams in the nation in scoring margin five years in a row and seven times in the last 10 years. The Utes ranked fifth in the nation in scoring margin in 1998-99, outscoring the opposition by an average of 15.9 points per game.

Home Unbeaten Streak at 39 Games
After defeating Utah State last Tuesday, Utah is tied for the second-longest active homecourt winning streak in NCAA Division I. The Utes have won 39 straight games in the Jon M. Huntsman Center dating back to a Dec. 31, 1996 loss to Wake Forest. Utah's streak, which began with an 84-63 win over Colorado State on Jan. 4, 1997, is tied with Duke's 39 consecutive home wins. It is also the longest homecourt winning streak in school history. Murray State has the longest homecourt winning streak in the nation at 46 games. Arizona has the fourth-longest (37) and Cincinnati is fifth (34). Duke plays at home against North Carolina A&T on Dec. 19.

Utah went 14-0 at home in 1998-99 to post the sixth undefeated home season in the 30-year history of the Jon M. Huntsman Center. Five of those undefeated home seasons have come under Rick Majerus: 1990-91 (16-0), 1992-93 (15-0), 1994-95 (15-0), 1997-98 (13-0), 1998-99 (14-0). The Utes are 131-10 (.929) in the Huntsman Center under Majerus and have never lost back-to-back home games.

The Utes also won 27 consecutive home games from Jan. 29, 1994 through Jan 2, 1996. The streak ended with a 65-64 loss to Fresno State on Jan. 8, 1996

Current Homecourt
Winning Streaks

1.	Murray State	46
2.	UTAH	39
	Duke	39
3.	Arizona	37
4.	Cincinnati	34

Utes Favored to Win Inaugural MWC Championship
Both the league coaches and media overwhelmingly selected Utah to finish atop the conference and claim the first-ever Mountain West Conference men's basketball title. New Mexico was picked second in both polls, followed by a third-place tie in the coaches' poll with UNLV and Wyoming. Colorado State was selected to finish fifth, BYU sixth and then another tie for seventh place between San Diego State and Air Force. In the media poll, UNLV was chosen to finish third, followed by Wyoming, Colorado State, BYU, San Diego State and Air Force.

Ute seniors Alex Jensen and Hanno M?tt?l? were named to the preseason all-conference team by both the coaches and the media. The media honored M?tt?l? as the league's top returning player.

Utes Move to Mountain West Conference
The 1999-2000 season marks the beginning of a new era in Utah basketball history. The Utes joined seven other institutions on July 1, 1999 in the launch of the new Mountain West Conference. It is the newest NCAA Division I conference, but the names of the members should be very familiar. The new conference - half of whose schools were charter members of the Western Athletic Conference when it was formed back in 1962 - consists of Utah, Air Force, Brigham Young, Colorado State, UNLV, New Mexico, San Diego State and Wyoming.

Craig Thompson is the conference's first commissioner. Amy Turner is the Assistant Commissioner for Communications. The league concludes its first season of competition with the Mountain West Conference Tournament, March 9-11 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.

Of the eight teams comprising the new league, five received postseason invitations a year ago: Utah and New Mexico were in the NCAA Tournament field, each advancing to the second round, Colorado State, UNLV and Wyoming played in the NIT.

M?tt?l? Third Ute Academic All-American in Two Years
Hanno M?tt?l? , carrying on in the tradition of academic success under head coach Rick Majerus, was selected as a GTE second-team Academic All-American in 1998-99. M?tt?l? carried a 3.33 cumulative GPA in economics.

Utah has more Academic All-Americans than any other program in the last two years. Michael Doleac and Drew Hansen were both named to the GTE Academic All-America team as seniors in 1997-98. Doleac, biology major, was a first-team selection with 3.41 GPA. Hansen, holder of a near-perfect 3.99 GPA in political science/economics, made the third team. Because of them, Utah became the first NCAA Final Four team to have two Academic All-Americans in its starting line-up.

Classroom Champions
Three of the five starters for the Runnin' Utes - Hanno M?tt?l? , Alex Jensen and Jeremy Killion - made the U. of U. academic honor roll for the 1999 spring semester. Reserve Adam Sharp, as well as walk-ons Zac Dalton, Charles Huff, Sid Krommenhoek and Brandon Sluga, were also selected to the honor roll. M?tt?l? and Sharp were named to the Western Athletic Conference all-academic team and honored as WAC scholar-athletes.

During the 1998 fall semester, nine Utes (seven on scholarship) were named to the academic honor roll. Scholarship players making the list with at least a 3.00 GPA were M?tt?l? , Sharp, Shane Willis, Killion, Phil Cullen, Gary Colbert and Brad Crockett. Walk-ons Dalton and Krommenhoek also made the list.

All players on Utah's roster are on track to graduate and the team's cumulative grade point average is above a 3.00. Utah's team GPA has been above a 3.05 in each of the last three years. Rick Majerus has had 18 players make the honor roll a combined 108 times during his tenure.

NCAA Tournament Returns to the Huntsman Center in March
The University of Utah's Jon M. Huntsman Center will host NCAA Tournament West Region first and second round games in March. Four first round games will be played on March 16 and two second round games will take place on March 18.

Recognized as a site of championships, the Huntsman Center, which opened its doors in 1969, has housed numerous national championships. In 1979, the arena accommodated the NCAA Final Four - deemed one of the most successful ever held - featuring Michigan State's Magic Johnson and Indiana State's Larry Bird in the championship game. The arena has also hosted eight national gymnastics championships.

This marks the 13th time the Huntsman Center has hosted the NCAA Tournament. The JMHC ranks third among the nation's arenas for the most NCAA Tournament games hosted, with 63 having been played in the building.

Majerus Featured in DIRECTV and ESPN Commercials
Utah head coach Rick Majerus has been named DIRECTV's advertising spokesman for its college basketball pay-per-view package, ESPN FULL COURT, during the 1999-2000 season. Majerus will appear in both print ads and television commercials produced by DIRECTV throughout the 1999-2000 college basketball season. Majerus will also appear with college basketball analyst Dick Vitale in an ESPN commercial promoting the cable network's college basketball coverage.

Summer Action for M?tt?l? and Althoff
Hanno M?tt?l? played for the Finnish National Team in a four-country tournament with Lithuania, Russia and Germany in Helsinki in May. M?tt?l? ranked second in the tournament with averages of 16.3 points and 6.7 rebounds. He also led the tournament in three-point field goals by going 7-of-9 (.778).

Nate Althoff played for the Nike NIT All Stars team that toured Austria and the Czech Republic for 13 days in early August. He averaged 3.5 points and 2.2 rebounds per game during the trip. He also shot 78.6 percent from the free throw line.

Noting the 1998-99 Season
Utah tied for the fourth-most wins in school history with a 28-5 record. The Utes' .848 winning percentage was the ninth-best all-time at Utah in seasons with 20 games or more.

Utah won 23 consecutive games to break the school record. The streak started on Dec. 19 with an 89-55 win over Loyola Marymount at the Huntsman Center and continued through the first round of the NCAA Tournament with an 80-58 win over Arkansas State on Mar. 12. The streak was halted with a season-ending 66-58 loss to Miami (Ohio) on March 14 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Utah became the first team in the history of the Western Athletic Conference to go undefeated against league foes. The U. won all of its league games during the regular season with a 14-0 record to win the Pacific Division title by five games over Fresno State and New Mexico. Utah then went 3-0 in the conference tournament to capture its third WAC Tournament title all-time.

Five Straight 25 Win Seasons
Utah joined an elite group in college basketball history by posting its fifth consecutive 25-win season in 1998-99. Only 13 times has an NCAA Division I program won 25 games in five consecutive seasons. The Utes are tied with five other programs with five straight 25-win campaigns, owning the only active streak among that group. This season, Utah could tie Syracuse's run of six straight 25-win seasons from 1990-96 for the seventh-longest streak of 25-win seasons. UCLA tops the list with 10 consecutive 25-win seasons from 1966-76.

Twenty-Twenty Vision
For the 27th time in its history, Utah won 20 games in 1998-99. Under current coach Rick Majerus, Utah has hit for 20 wins in eight of his 10 seasons, including the last five in a row. Majerus' 20-win seasons at Utah: 1990-91 (30-4), 1991-92 (24-11), 1992-93 (24-7), 1994-95 (28-6), 1995-96 (27-7), 1996-97 (29-4), 1997-98 (30-4), 1998-99 (28-5).

Harvey, Jensen and M?tt?l? Rated Among Top 25 at Their Position
Three Utes were ranked among the top 25 players in the nation at their respective positions by Dick Vitale's College Basketball. Tony Harvey (6-5, 200) was ranked as the 21st-best shooting guard in the nation, while Alex Jensen (6-9, 250) was rated as the 20th-best swing forward. Hanno M?tt?l? (6-9, 250) was rated at the fourth-best power forward in the country.

Ute Frontcourt Rated One of the Best in the Nation
Utah's frontcourt of Hanno M?tt?l? (6-9, 250), Alex Jensen (6-7, 225) and Nate Althoff (6-11, 260) was ranked as the third-best in the nation by Athlon Sports. The Ute trio was rated behind UConn's Kevin Freeman, Jake Voskuhl, Ajou Ajou Deng and Cincinnati's Pete Mickeal, Kenyon Martin, Jermaine Tate and DerMarr Johnson.

Utes on Television
A record of 22 Utah games will be televised this season, including all 14 Mountain West Conference regular-season games. The Utes will be featured 11 times on ABC, ESPN and ESPN Regional Television. Utah's game at Washington State on Dec. 11 was also carried nationally by Fox Sports Net.

The Utes' game at New Mexico on Feb. 19 will be broadcast regionally by ABC at 4:00 p.m. (MST). Five of Utah's Mountain West Conference games - three of which are at home - will be televised as a part of ESPN's "Big Monday" line-up at 10:00 p.m. (MST). The national cable network will carry Utah's games at San Diego State on Jan. 10, Colorado State at home on Jan. 24, New Mexico at home on Jan. 31, UNLV at home on Feb. 21 and at Wyoming on Feb. 28. ESPN will also televise the Utah's home game against Texas on Dec. 22 at 10:00 p.m. (MST).

ESPN Regional Television, a syndicated over-the-air network under the moniker of ESPN+Plus, will feature Utah three times in its Mountain West Conference "Game of the Week" package. KJZZ-TV is the network's Salt Lake City affiliate. Ten Utah games will also be televised locally by KJZZ-TV.

Utah in the Polls

AP		USA	Today/ESPN
1.	Cincinnati (62)	1.	Cincinnati (28)
2.	Stanford (8)	2.	Stanford (3)
3.	Connecticut	3.	Arizona
4.	Arizona	4.	Connecticut
5.	Michigan St.	5.	Michigan St.
6.	Auburn	6.	Kansas
7.	North Carolina	7.	Auburn
8.	Kansas	8.	Florida
9.	Florida	9.	North Carolina
10.	Syracuse	10.	Syracuse
11.	Duke	11.	Duke
12.	Ohio State	12.	Tennessee
13.	Tennessee	13.	Ohio State
14.	Oklahoma State	14.	Maryland
15.	Texas	15.	Oklahoma State
16.	Maryland	16.	Texas
17.	Temple	17.	UCLA
18.	UCLA	18.	Temple
19.	DePaul	19.	Indiana
20.	Illinois	20.	DePaul
21.	Indiana	21.	Purdue
22.	Gonzaga	22.	Illinois
23.	Oklahoma	23.	Wake Forest
24.	Purdue	24.	Oklahoma
25.	Wake Forest	25.	UTAH
-	-
28.	UTAH

Utah's Ranking by Week

		USA Today/
	AP	ESPN
Preseason	15	15
Nov. 14	16	15
Nov. 21	19	17
Nov. 28	20	19
Dec. 5	nr	25
Dec. 12	nr	25

Consecutive Weeks Ranked by

A.P. Before Droping Out	11
Last Time Ranked	Nov. 28, 1999
Consecutive Weeks Ranked by USA Today/ESPN	13
Last Time Not Ranked	Jan. 25, 1999

Utes in the Mountain West Conference/NCAA Stats

Team

(As of Dec. 13)		MWC	NCAA
Scoring Offense	70.6	6th
Scoring Defense	56.0	1st	22nd
Scoring Margin	+14.6	1st
FG Percentage	.489	2nd
FG Pct. Defense	.395	3rd
FT Percentage	.687	6th
Reb. Offense	33.6	7th
Reb. Defense	29.3	1st
Rebound Margin	+4.3	3rd
3 Pt. FG/Game	8.7	1st
3 Pt. Percentage	.442	1st
3 Pt. FG Pct. Defense	.309	3rd
Assists	17.1	3rd
Turnover Margin	-0.1	5th
Steals	6.7	8th
Blocked Shots	2.4	5th

Individuals

(As of Dec. 13)			MWC
Nate Althoff
	Scoring	19.3	19th
	Field Goal Pct.	.565	7th

Gary Colbert
	Assists	4.8	3rd
	Assists/TO Ratio	1.71	7th

Tony Harvey
	3-pt. FG Pct.	.444	13th
	Assists	3.3	9th
	Assists/TO Ratio	1.77	6th

Alex Jensen
	Scoring	15.0	9th
	Field Goal Pct.	.607	3rd
	3-pt. FG Pct.	.577	1st
	3-pt. FG Made	2.1	6th
	Reboundng	8.1	4th
	Offensive Reb.	2.9	5th
	Defensive Reb.	5.3	3rd
	Assists	3.4	7th
	Assists/TO Ratio	1.85	5th

Jeremy Killion
	Scoring	13.1	14th
	3-pt. FG Pct.	.476	.476
	3-pt. FG Made	2.9	3rd

Rick Majerus

Head Coach - 11th Season at Utah - Marquette '70
Considered as one of the top coaches in America, Rick Majerus has entrenched the University of Utah in college basketball's power structure. The Utes' steady rise in national prominence since Majerus' arrival on the "Hill" at the start of the 1989-90 season was crystallized by a trip to the 1998 NCAA Final Four, where Utah finished as the national runner-up.

Entering his 15th season as a college head coach, Majerus' career winning percentage of .744 was the fourth-highest among active Division I coaches and ranked 15th all-time. Among active coaches, only Roy Williams (Kansas), Jerry Tarkanian (Fresno State and John Kreese (College of Charleston) had better winning percentages. By notching his 300th career victory during the 1997-98 season, Majerus became one of just one of 12 coaches all-time to reach the 300-win plateau in 14 seasons, only five coaches have won 300 games in less time.

Majerus, who has never had a losing season, has averaged 22 wins per year over the course of his career. He has won 20 games 12 times and 30 games twice. Majerus has also guided eight teams to the NCAA Tournament and four others to the NIT.

A successful coach since the beginning, Majerus' best years have come at Utah. While leading the Utes to unprecedented success, Majerus has become the winningest coach in modern times at the U. Despite the fact that he coached just six games his first season due to heart surgery, Majerus' Utah teams have averaged nearly 24 wins a year. Take away his shortened debut season, and the Utes have won 20 games all but once, averaging 26 wins in nine full seasons under Majerus.

In each of the past five seasons, the U. has won at least 27 games, including a school-record 30 victories in 1997-98. Only 13 times has an NCAA Division I program won at least 25 games in five consecutive seasons. The Utes have claimed five consecutive Western Athletic Conference regular-season championships outright (including divisional titles the last three years) and made five straight NCAA Tournament appearances.

What Majerus' teams have accomplished since the beginning of his tenure is astounding. Consider:

In the '90s, Utah ranked eighth in NCAA Division I in both wins (250) and winning percentage (.767). Utah has averaged 25 wins over the last 10 seasons.

In the past three seasons, Utah went 87-13 to post the fourth-most wins in NCAA Division I. Utah's .870 winning percentage during that time ranked second in the nation, just a tenth of a percentage point behind the College of Charleston.

The Utes have made seven trips to the NCAA Tournament under Majerus. Utah is one of just six programs to advance to at least the second round of the NCAAs in each of the past five seasons.

Utah has advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 four times and made back-to-back Elite Eight appearances in 1997 and 1998. The Utes also played in the 1998 NCAA Final Four, losing to Kentucky in the national championship game.

Majerus guided the Utes to the ninth-most wins (15) and the ninth-best winning percentage (.682) in NCAA Tournament play in the '90s. Over the past five years, Utah moved up to fourth place in NCAA Tournament wins (12) and eighth in winning percentage (.706).

Utah advanced it to the NIT Final Four in 1992, placing third.

Before departing the WAC after last season, Utah had won seven regular-season titles - including five in a row - in 10 seasons under Majerus.

Utah won the WAC Tournament championship in 1995, '97 and '99.

His players have been named All-America five times - twice consensus choices - conference player of the year six times and first team all-conference 16 times.

The Majerus File

Year-by-Year at Utah

Year	Overall	Pct.	Conf.	Finish	Postseason
1989-90	4-2 **	.667
1990-91	30-4	.882	15-1	1st	NCAA Sweet 16
1991-92	24-11	.686	9-7	4th	NIT Final Four
1992-93	24-7	.774	15-3	1st-T	NCAA 2nd Round
1993-94	14-14	.500	8-10	5th-T	- -
1994-95	28-6	.824	15-3	1st	NCAA 2nd Round
1995-96	27-7	.794	15-3	1st	NCAA Sweet 16
1996-97	29-4	.878	15-1	1st *	NCAA Elite Eight
1997-98	30-4	.882	12-2	1st *	NCAA Runner-up
1998-99	28-5	.848	14-0	1st *	NCAA 2nd Round
1999-2000	5-2	.714	0-0
Totals	243-66	.786	118-30		11 Years
Career	342-118	.743	140-40		16 Years

* WAC Division Finish
** Majerus missed most of the season due to heart surgery

Breaking Down Majerus' Career Record

	All-Time	At Utah
Overall	342-118 (.743)	243-66 (.786)
Home	194-28 (.874)	132-10 (.930)
Away	107-68 (.611)	76-38 (.667)
Neutral	40-22 (.645)	34-18 (.654)
Conference Games	140-40 (.778)	118-30 (.797)
Conference Tournaments	18-7 (.720)	15-6 (.714)
Postseason NIT	8-4 (.667)	4-1 (.800)
NCAA Tournaments	16-8 (.667)	15-7 (.682)

Career Honors

1999 District Coach of the Year
1999 WAC Pacific Division Coach of the Year
1998 National Coach of the Year (John Wooden)
1998 National Coach of the Year (Playboy)
1998 District Coach of the Year
1997 District Coach of the Year
1997 WAC Coach of the Year (Media)
1997 Utah Sports Person of the Year
1996 District Coach of the Year
1995 District Coach of the Year
1995 WAC Coach of the Year
1993 District Coach of the Year
1993 WAC Coach of the Year
1992 National Coach of the Year (Playboy)
1991 National Coach of the Year (Basketball Times)
1991 National Coach of the Year (UPI)
1991 District Coach of the Year
1991 WAC Coach of the Year
1991 Utah Sports Person of the Year
1989 National Coach of the Year (The Hoop Scoop)

1999-2000 Standings

(As of Dec. 13)

		Conf.	Pct.	Overall	Pct.
1.	BYU	0-0	- -	6-1	.857
2.	UNLV	0-0	--	5-1	.833
3.	Wyoming	0-0	- -	6-2	.750
4.	UTAH	0-0	- -	5-2	.714
5.	New Mexico	0-0	- -	5-4	.556
6.	Colorado State	0-0	- -	3-3	.500
7.	Air Force	0-0	- -	2-5	.286
8.	San Diego State	0-0	- -	1-3	.250

Climbing the Career Charts

Scoring

1.	Keith Van Horn (1993-97)	2,542
2.	Billy McGill (1959-62)	2,321
3.	Josh Grant (1988-93)	2,000
4.	Mike Newlin (1968-71)	1,849
5.	Luther Burden (1972-75)	1,790
6.	Jeff Judkins (1974-78)	1,740
7.	Danny Vranes (1977-81)	1,701
8.	Tom Chambers (1977-78)	1,698
9.	Mitch Smith (1985-89)	1,628
10.	Andre Miller (1995-99)	1,618
	- - -
22.	Hanno M?tt?l? (1996-Present)	1,134

Blocked Shots

1.	Mitch Smith (1985-89)	157
2.	Keith Van Horn (1993-97)	126
3.	Michael Doleac (1994-98)	124
4.	Josh Grant (1988-93)	109
5.	Albert Springs (1983-87)	76
6.	Larry Cain (1989-93)	67
7.	Andre Miller (1995-99)	65
8.	Paul Afeaki (1990-92)	57
9.	Danny Vranes (1977-81)	49
10.	Tom Chambers (1977-81)	44
	- - -
12.	Hanno M?tt?l? (1996-Present)	38

Offensive Rebounds

1.	Josh Grant, 1988-93	337
2.	Michael Doleac, 1994-98	288
3.	Alex Jensen, 1994-95, 97-Present	279
4.	Mitch Smith, 1985-89	260
5.	Keith Van Horn, 1993-97	235
6.	Andre Miller, 1995-99	189
7.	Walter Watts, 1988-91	178
8.	Brandon Jessie, 1994-96	161
9.	Byron Wilson, 1990-93	148
10.	Hanno M?tt?l? , 1996-Present	145

Defensive Rebounds

1.	Keith Van Horn, 1993-97	839
2.	Josh Grant, 1988-93	729
3.	Michael Doleac, 1994-98	598
4.	Mitch Smith, 1985-89	549
5.	Andre Miller, 1995-99	454
6.	Alex Jensen, 1994-95, 97-Present	434
7.	Hanno M?tt?l? , 1996-99	305
8.	Byron Wilson, 1990-93	301
9.	Phil Dixon, 1989-94	279
10.	Walter Watts, 1988-91	275

Upcoming Events

Recent Results

Utah vs. Sioux Falls Preview

Utah vs. Chicago State Preview

Noting the Utes

Rick's Remarks

Utah in the Polls

Utes in the Mountain West Conference/NCAA Stats

Rick Majerus

The Majerus File

1999-2000 Standings

Climbing the Career Charts

Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball versus Nevada [Exh] on October 17, 2025

Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball at Oregon [Exh] on October 24, 2025

Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball versus San José State on November 3, 2025

Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball versus Weber State on November 8, 2025

Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball versus Holy Cross on November 10, 2025

Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball versus Sam Houston State on November 15, 2025

Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball versus Purdue Fort Wayne on November 18, 2025

Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball versus Cal Poly on November 20, 2025

Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball versus Grand Canyon on November 25, 2025 at 10 PM

Completed Event: Men's Basketball versus Butler on March 31, 2025 , Loss , 84, to, 86

Completed Event: Men's Basketball versus No. 14-Seed UCF on March 11, 2025 , Loss , 72, to, 87

Completed Event: Men's Basketball at #23/22 BYU on March 8, 2025 , Loss , 74, to, 85

Completed Event: Men's Basketball versus West Virginia on March 4, 2025 , Loss , 69, to, 71

Completed Event: Men's Basketball versus Arizona State on March 1, 2025 , Win , 99, to, 73

Completed Event: Men's Basketball at #22/21 Arizona on February 26, 2025 , Loss , 66, to, 83

Completed Event: Men's Basketball at UCF on February 23, 2025 , Loss , 72, to, 76

Completed Event: Men's Basketball versus Kansas State on February 17, 2025 , Win , 74, to, 69

Completed Event: Men's Basketball versus #17/20 Kansas on February 15, 2025 , Win , 74, to, 67