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The University of Utah Athletics
Men's Basketball Awaits Arkansas State
6/21/1999 12:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 9, 1999
QUICKLY: ... The Utes became the first school in WAC history to go unbeaten (14-0) in conference play and then win the WAC Tournament ... the three wins in the WAC Tournament moved Utah's winning streak to a school record 22 straight games, the third longest winning streak in the country .... last loss was Dec. 12 at Texas ... the Utes 60-45 win over New Mexico gave them their third WAC Tournament title in history, all under head coach RICK MAJERUS ... The Utes received a second seed (their highest ever) in the Midwest Region and now face Arkansas State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament ... the game will be played in New Orleans at the Louisiana Superdome on Friday, March 12 at 11:30 a.m. (cst) ... the game will be televised live on CBS (KUTV, Channel 2) and also be broadcast live on K-news Radio (570) ... tipoff time in Salt Lake is 10:30 a.m. this will be Utah's fifth straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament and their seventh in nine years ... Utah is ranked 6th in the Associated Poll and 6th in the USA Today/ESPN poll this week.
PROBABLE UTE STARTERS
F-50 Alex Jensen (6-7, 215, Jr) 12.1, 7.6 3.5 F-13 Hanno Mottola (6-10, 240, Jr) 15.2, 5.5 C-52 Nate Althoff (6-11, 245, So) 4.9, 4.5 G-32 Jeremy Killion (6-0, 197, Jr) 9.2, 1.9 G-24 Andre Miller (6-2, 203, Sr) 15.9, 5.5, 5.8
OFF THE BENCH
F/G-5 Tony Harvey (6-5, 188, Jr) 9.0, 2.5 F-40 Phil Cullen (6-9, 200, Fr) 4.3, 3.0 G-4 Adam Sharp (6-2, 184, Fr) 2.3, 1.1 F-20 Brad Crockett (6-4, 208, Fr) 0.7, 0.5 F-41 Tyson Johnston (6-10, 233, Fr) 0.8, 0.9 G-11 Ben Heusser (5-11, 177, Fr) 0.3, 0.4
NCAA FIRST/SECOND ROUND TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE OF GAMES
FRIDAY(MARCH 12)
GAME 1: 11:30 a.m. UTAH (2) vs. Arkansas St. (15)
GAME 2: 30 min. after game 1: Washington (7) vs. Miami (Ohio) (10)
GAME 3: 6:50 p.m. Kansas (6) vs. Evansville (11)
GAME 4: 25 min. after game 3:Kentucky (3) vs. New Mexico St. (14)
SUNDAY (MARCH 14) 1:30 p.m.
Utah/Arkansas St. winner vs. Washington/Miami winner 30 min. aftergame 1:
Kansas/Evansville winner vs. Kentucky/New Mexico State winner
NINE UTES MAKE HONOR ROLL: Nine Ute basketball players (seven on scholarship) were named to the Academic Honor Roll for their performance in the classroom fall semester. Scholarship players making the list with at least a 3.0 GPA are HANNO MOTTOLA (3.82 GPA), ADAM SHARP (3.46 GPA), SHANE WILLIS (3.29 GPA), JEREMY KILLION (3.21) PHIL CULLEN (3.05 GPA), GARY COLBERT (3.07 GPA) and BRAD CROCKETT (3.00 GPA). Two walk-on players SID KROMMENHOEK (3.93 GPA) and ZAC DALTON (3.34 GPA) also made the list. Ute coach RICK MAJERUS has had 95 players make the honor roll during his tenure at Utah.
MAJERUS' MARK: Ute coach RICK MAJERUS is in his 10th season at the helm of the Runnin' Utes. Majerus has a 237-63 (.790) mark as Ute coach, the best record of any coach in the modern era of Utah basketball. He is in his 14th year as a major college head coach and has a 336-115 career record. His .745 career winning percentage ranks him fourth in the country among active coaches and 21st all-time. Majerus has won seven WAC titles and made seven trips to the NCAA Tournament, reaching the "Sweet 16" four times, the "Elite Eight" twice and the "Final Four" once. He was named the 1999 WAC Pacific Division Coach of the Year. Majerus has never lost an NCAA first round game at Utah.
UTES AMONG THE TOP TEAMS IN THE 90'S: The Runnin' Utes have been one of the most successful college basketball teams in this decade. Under coach RICK MAJERUS the Utes have posted a 249-75 record for a .768 winning percentage in the 1990's. Utah is ranked 9th in the nation in total victories during that period. During the last six years the Utes are ranked seventh in the nation in total wins (155-39) and eighth in winning percentage (.799).
UTES DOMINATE ALL-WAC TEAM: The Utes dominated the all-WAC team released Sunday by the conference office. ANDRE MILLER was named the Pacific Division Player of the Year and also a first team choice (for the second year in a row). He was joined on the first team by Ute teammates ALEX JENSEN and HANNO MOTTOLA. Ute coach RICK MAJERUS was named the Pacific Division Coach of the Year. Jensen and Miller were also named to the all-Defensive team while TONY HARVEY and JEREMY KILLION were named to the all-Newcomer squad.
UTES GO UNBEATEN IN WAC PLAY: The Utes became the first team in school and WAC history to go unbeaten through the Western Athletic Conference season and the WAC Tournament. The Utes went 17-0 during the conference season and the tournament. TCU is the only other WAC team to go through the conference unbeaten when they went 14-0 in 1998 but they did not win the conference tournament. This is the first time a Ute team has gone unbeaten in conference play since the 1944-45 team went 8-0 in the old Skyline Conference. They did not have a conference tournament in those days.
ANDRE'S RECORD, THE BEST: How good has ANDRE MILLER been during his career? With Andre running the show, the Utes have posted a 113-19 (.856) overall record the last four seasons. Their WAC record, during that same period, a glossy 56-6 (.903). Miller has won more games during his career than any player in the history of the Western Athletic Conference. In NCAA Tournament play Miller has helped the Utes to a 10-3 record. He currently ranks second on the Ute list for most NCAA games played in a career. MOST NCAA TOURNAMENT GAMES PLAYED 15-Michael Doleac, Drew Hansen (1994-98) 13-Andre Miller (1995-99)
ANDRE TIME: ANDRE MILLER leads the Ute attack this season. The 6-2, senior guard was a non-qualifier as a freshman but became one of the first athletes to take advantage of a new NCAA rule allowing non-qualifiers an extra year of eligibility if they graduated in four years. Miller received his degree in sociology last June and the Utes are the better for it this season. Currently Andre is leading the Utes in scoring averaging 15.9 points per game. He is also averaging 5.5 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 2.5 steals for the season.
MILLER NAMED TO A.P. ALL-AMERICAN TEAM: ANDRE MILLER has been named a member of the 1999 Associated Press All-American team. Miller, who was the WAC Player of the Year, was the number two vote getter on this year's squad behind Elton Brand of Duke.
OTHER ANDRE HONORS: ANDRE MILLER is a finalist for the Wooden Award as well as the Naismith and Oscar Robertson Player of the Year Awards. He was named to the all-tournament team at the Maui Invitational and the MVP of the Great Eight Tournament as well as WAC Player of the Week for his games against Rhode Island and Long Beach State when he scored 57 points in the two games. He was also named WAC Player of the Year, first team all-WAC and a member of the conference all-defensive team.
UTES IN THE NCAA: This will be the 21st appearance for a Utah Basketball team in the NCAA Tournament. Utah is 30-23 in NCAA Tournament games. The Utes won the NCAA Championship in 1944 and finished second to Kentucky last season. They also finished fourth in 1961 and 1966.
LAST YEAR IN THE NCAA: The Utes were the surprise team of the 1998 NCAA Tournament as they advanced to the championship game where they fell 78-69 to Kentucky. Along the way the Utes put together wins over San Francisco (85-68), Arkansas (75-69), West Virginia (65-62), Arizona (76-51) and North Carolina (65-59). It was the first appearance for a Utah team in the Final Four since 1966 and the their first time in a championship game since 1944. Current Ute starters ANDRE MILLER, ALEX JENSEN and HANNO MOTTOLA started on last year's team. Miller was named the MVP of the NCAA West Region and a member of the Final Four All-Tournament team while Jensen and Mottola were named to the West Region All-Tournament team. Starting center NATE ALTHOFF was also on the team last season as was ADAM SHARP who redshirted last year.
UTES ON RECORD WIN STREAK: Utah's 22-game win skein is currently the third longest winning streak in college basketball. Duke has won 27 games in a row while the College of Charleston has racked up 25 straight wins.
CURRENT NCAA WINNING STREAKS
TEAM WINNING STREAK Duke 27 Charleston 25 UTAH 22
DANDY DEFENSE: The Utes have been playing outstanding defense as of late, one of the reasons they have won 22 games in a row. They are currently leading the WAC in scoring defense giving up 54.9 points per game. They gave up 54.4 points per game in WAC play. The Utes have held their opponents to under 50 points in 13 games this season and under 60 points in nine games. Only Fresno State scored over 80 points against the Ute defense this season and only six teams have even scored 70 points or better. As part of their excellent defense the Utes are holding opponents to .394 shooting from the field and .335 from three-point range for the season.
UTES REACH 20 WIN MARK: The Utes have won at least 20 games in a season for the fifth straight year. Under coach RICK MAJERUS Utah has won at least 20 games eight times. Majerus has had just two seasons at Utah where his team has not reached the 20 game win mark and one of those was his first year where he coached only six games. Majerus' teams have posted the top won-loss records in school history. Runnin' Ute teams have won 20 games or more in a season 28 times since Ute Basketball began in 1908.
TOP UTE WON-LOSS RECORDS
RECORD YEAR COACH 30-4 1997-98 Rick Majerus 30-4 1990-91 Rick Majerus 29-4 1996-97 Rick Majerus 28-6 1994-95 Rick Majerus 27-4 1998-99 Rick Majerus 27-7 1995-96 Rick Majerus 26-3 1959-60 Jack Gardner
SERIES RECORD VS. ARKANSAS STATE: This will be the first meeting between Utah and Arkansas State.
SERIES RECORDS VS. THE REST OF THE NEW ORLEANS FIELD: Washington: Utah leads 5-4; Miami (Ohio): Utah leads 1-0; Kansas: KU leads 1-0; Evansville: Series tied at 1-1; Kentucky: Kentucky leads 6-2; New Mexico State: Utah leads 5-0.
UTAH VS. THE SUN BELT CONFERENCE: The Utes are 1-0 vs. the Sun Belt Conference. They beat South Alabama 82-72 in the first round of the 1991 NCAA Tournament in Tucson.
SCOUTING THE INDIANS: Arkansas State is located in Jonesboro, Arkansas. They are a member of the Sun Belt Conference in basketball and the Big West Conference in football. They finished the season 18-11 overall and were second in Sun Belt Conference with a 9-5 record. They won their conference tournament to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. This is their first NCAA appearance in history. Indian coach DICKEY NUTT is in his fourth year and has a 62-50 record at the school and in his career.
PROBABLE ASU STARTING LINEUP
F-44 Freddy Hicks (6-7, 203, Sr) 7.1, 5.6 F-4 Antonio Harvey (6-4, 195, Sr) 14.5, 4.4 C-45 Eric Beatty (6-8, 230, Sr) 11.3, 4.1 G-11 Chico Fletcher (5-6, 170, Jr) 16.9, 3.0 G-3 Jeff Holloway (6-3, 185, Sr) 5.7, 1.9
RICK'S REMARKS: "I think Arkansas State is a quick team that is highly competitive in a league that is unappreciated and has many athletes in it. The point guard, Chico Fletcher, is a combination of Earl Boykin, Muggsy Bogues and Spud Webb. He is the best of all those guys. They are very well coached defensively and it's going to be a very difficult and highly competitive game. As everyone who approaches this tournament knows, the number one seed is the only seed who has never not lost a game in the first round. We are not seeded number one and we are going to have a tough game on our hands."
UTE NOTES: The Superdome will be the third dome the Utes have played in for an NCAA Tournament game. Utah is 1-2 in NCAA games in domes. They lost 101-70 to Kentucky in the 1996 NCAA Midwest Regional Semifinal played in the Metrodome in Minneapolis. Last year they went 1-1 in the Alamodome in San Antonio when they beat North Carolina (65-59) in the NCAA Semifinal game before losing to Kentucky (78-69) in the NCAA Championship game ... Ute junior Tony Harvey has not suffered a defeat in a Utah uniform. Harvey's first game back, after serving a nine-game suspension, was Loyola Marymount on Dec. 19 and the Utes have not lost since.
RICK MAJERUS
HEAD BASKETBALL COACH
Ten years under Head Coach Rick Majerus has entrenched the University
of Utah in the nation's basketball power structure. Majerus, the
winningest Utah basketball coach in modern times (237-63, .790
winning percentage), has led the Utes to unprecedented success. That
fact was crystallized when Majerus led his 1997-98 Utes to the NCAA
"Final Four" where they beat number one ranked North Carolina in the
semifinals to advance to the final game. It was the first time since
1944 a Ute team had made it to an NCAA Championship game.
In the 90-year history of Utah basketball, the Utes have never enjoyed a nine-year stretch like the Majerus tenure. Despite the fact Majerus coached just six games in his first season, due to heart surgery, his clubs have averaged 23 wins per year during that time. His eight postseason appearances (seven NCAA) is a school coaching benchmark. Never before has a Ute team advanced to the Sweet 16 four times in a seven-year span. Majerus' teams own seven Western Athletic Conference championships, including the last five, a feat never before achieved at Utah. This season the Utes walked away with the Pacific Division title (their third straight division crown) with a perfect 14-0 record, becoming the first Ute team in history to go through the WAC undefeated. They also won the WAC Tournament, becoming the first team in WAC history to go unbeaten in the league and the conference tournament.
Majerus' success goes far beyond the conference level. In six trips to the NCAA as Utah's coach, he has yet to lose a first round game. Utah, Kentucky and Arizona are the only teams to make the Sweet Sixteen in each of the last three years. For the second straight year, Majerus led his team into the Elite Eight. For the last two years, his teams have taken up permanent residence in the Top-10. He coached last year's team to Utah's first Final Four berth in 22 years. Actually, it is his second "Final Four" of some sort at Utah. In 1992, Utah made the Final Four of the National Invitational Tournament. In terms of wins and losses, Majerus has few peers. His .745 career winning percentage is seventh among active NCAA coaches and ranks 21st all-time. Majerus' feats have earned him national recognition and respect. The three-time WAC Coach of the Year (1991, '93, '95), was tapped for national honors in 1991 (Basketball Times' and UPI Coach of the Year) and 1992 (Playboy Coach of the Year). He received Playboy National Coach of the Year honors again in 1998. He is also a six-time District Coach of the Year. In a previous two-year stint with Ball State, Majerus received The Hoop Scoop Coach of the Year honors in 1988-89. He was voted Pacific Division Coach of the Year this season. He also was voted the John Wooden National Coach of the Year for 1997-98 by the Utah Tip Off Club. Success has followed Majerus at all of his stops. His head coaching career began at Marquette, where he compiled a 56-35 record from 1983-86 and took his teams to three NIT Tournaments. He preceded his Utah tenure with a successful two-year stint at Ball State, where he logged a 43-17 mark, including a 29-3 record and an NCAA 2nd Round berth in 1988-89. Majerus has an international resume, as well. He served during the summer of 1997 as the head coach of the USA Basketball Men's 22 and under team that competed in the World Championships in Melbourne, Australia. He spent the summer of 1994 as an assistant coach to Don Nelson for the USA "Dream Team 2, which featured the top NBA players in the Men's World Basketball Championships in Toronto. Majerus' reach extends into the classroom. In his time at Utah, 95 players have made the honor roll, including nine this past fall semester. Michael Doleac was named to the 1998 GTE Academic All-America first team, while Drew Hansen made the third team. The Utes were the only school with two players on the 1998 GTE Academic All-America squad. Hansen also won the 1997 Playboy Magazine Anson Mount Scholar/Athlete Award for basketball, was a Rhodes Scholar candidate, an NCAA Post Graduate Scholarship winner and was a finalist for the Walter Byers Award, the highest academic award given by the NCAA. The 1997-98 Utes racked up an excellent 3.31 team GPA spring quarter.
RICK'S RECORD
YEAR TEAM RECORD WAC FINISH POSTSEASON 1998-99 UTAH 27-4 1st NCAA 1997-98 Utah 30-4 1st NCAA Championship Game 1996-97 Utah 28-3 1st NCAA "Elite Eight" 1995-96 Utah 27-7 1st NCAA "Sweet 16" 1994-95 Utah 28-6 1st NCAA 2nd Round 1993-94 Utah 14-14 5th (tie) 1992-93 Utah 24-7 1st NCAA 2nd Round 1991-92 Utah 24-11 4th NIT "Final Four" 1990-91 Utah 30-4 1st NCAA "Sweet 16" 1989-90 Utah 4-2* 6th (tie) 1988-89 Ball State 29-3 NCAA 2nd Round 1987-88 Ball State 14-14 1985-86 Marquette 19-11 NIT 1984-85 Marquette 20-11 NIT 1983-84 Marquette 17-13 NIT Utah Total 237-63 (.790), 10th season Career Total 336-115 (.745), 15th season (4th in the country)
RADIO: All the NCAA Tournament games will be broadcast live on K-news (570 AM) radio and the Utah Sports Network. Stations on the network are KOAL (Price), KVEC (Vernal), KSVC (Richfield), KSGI (St. George), KUTA (Blanding) and KSHP (Las Vegas). BILL MARCROFT will call the play-by-play with JEFF JONAS adding color commentary. BRAD STONE handles pre and post game and halftime duties.
TV: All of Utah's NCAA Tournament games will be broadcast live on CBS (KUTV, Channel 2 in Salt Lake) ... JIM NANTZ and BILLY PACKER will be calling the Ute games in New Orleans. SATELLITE COORDINATES: N/A
INTERNET: Online, Utah basketball information can be found at www.UtahUtes.com.
FAX BACK: From the handset of your fax machine, dial (800) 563-2050 and follow the voice generated menu. The WAC pass code is 922. The Utah numbers follow: 2205 release; 2207 latest game box score; 2208 roster; 2206 statistics.
UTAH SPORTS INFORMATION CONTACTS
Athletic Media Relations Director (basketball contact):
Bruce Woodbury O: 801-581-3510; H: 801-295-3594
Email: bwoodbury@huntsman.utah.edu
UTES IN THE HUNTSMAN CENTER: The Utes have won 35 straight games in the Jon M. Huntsman Center dating back to the 1996-97 season. That is the third longest home winning streak in the country. It is also a new Ute record for the most consecutive games won in the Huntsman Center. Last loss in the building was to Wake Forest (70-59) on Dec. 31, 1996.
USA TODAY/ESPN TOP 25 POLL
1. Duke (32-1) 2. Michigan State (29-4) 3. Connecticut (28-2) 4. Auburn (27-3) 5. Maryland (26-5) 6. UTAH (27-4) 7. Stanford (25-6 8. St. John's (25-8) 9. Cincinnati (26-5) 10. Arizona (22-6) 11. Kentucky (25-8) 12. Miami, Fla. (22-6) 13. North Carolina (24-9) 14. Ohio State (23-8) 15. UCLA (22-8) 16. College of Charleston (28-2) 17. Wisconsin (22-9) 18. Indiana (22-10) 19. Arkansas (22-10) 20. Iowa (18-9) 21. Syracuse (21-11) 22. Kansas (22-9) 23. Texas (19-12) 24. New Mexico (24-8) 25. Florida (20-8)
ASSOCIATED PRESS TOP 25 POLL
1. Duke (32-1) 2. Michigan State (29-4) 3. Connecticut (28-2) 4. Auburn (27-3) 5. Maryland (26-5) 6. UTAH (27-4) 7. Stanford (25-6) 8. Kentucky (25-8) 9. St. John's (25-8) 10. Miami (22-6) 11. Cincinnati (26-5) 12. Arizona (22-6) 13. North Carolina (24-9) 14. Ohio State (23-8) 15. UCLA (22-8) 16. College of Charlston (28-2) 17. Arkansas (22-10) 18. Wisconsin (22-9) 19. Indiana (22-10) 20. Tennessee (20-8) 21. Iowa (18-9) 22. Kansas (22-9) 23. Florida (20-8) 24. N. C. Charlotte (22-10) 25. New Mexico (24-8)
ANDRE ON CAREER SCORING CHART: ANDRE MILLER is ranked 10th on the Ute career scoring chart with 1,590 points. He needs 39 points to pass MITCH SMITH (1985-89, 1628 points) to move into the 9th spot on the list.
ANDRE'S ASSISTS: Miller is in second place on the career assist list with 714 Current Utah radio color man JEFF JONAS (1974-77) is the Utes' career assist leader with 736 during his career. Miller needs 23 assists to take over the top spot.
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