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The University of Utah Athletics
Utes Go Perfect in WAC Play
6/21/1999 12:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 1, 1999
QUICKLY: ... The Utes became only the second team in WAC history to go through the conference season unbeaten when they blitzed New Mexico 77-47 in the Huntsman Center on Saturday ... it was also the first time in history a Ute team has gone unbeaten in WAC play ... the win was also the Utes' 19th in a row, setting a new school record for consecutive games won ... last loss was Dec. 12 at Texas ... Utah finished the regular season 14-0 in conference play and 24-4 overall ... the Utes will play the winner of Tuesday's TCU-BYU game in the quarterfinals of the 1999 WAC Tournament, Thursday at 2:30 p.m. (pst) in the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas ... the game will be televised live by KJZZ-TV (channel 14, channel 3 on cable) and also be broadcast live on K-news Radio (570) ... Utah is ranked 8th in the USA Today/ESPN poll this week.
PROBABLE UTE STARTERS
F-50 Alex Jensen (6-7, 215, Jr) 11.6, 7.7, 3.5 F-13 Hanno Mottola (6-10, 240, Jr) 15.6, 5.5 C-52 Nate Althoff (6-11, 245, So) 4.9, 4.2 G-32 Jeremy Killion (6-0, 197, Jr) 9.5, 1.9 G-24 Andre Miller (6-2, 203, Sr) 16.0, 5.8, 5.8OFF THE BENCH
F/G-5 Tony Harvey (6-5, 188, Jr) 9.1, 2.6 F-40 Phil Cullen (6-9, 200, Fr) 4.3, 3.0 G-4 Adam Sharp (6-2, 184, Fr) 2.4, 1.2 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, 0.41999 QWEST WAC TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
TUESDAY, MARCH 2
Game 1-Noon Fresno State (P3) vs. Colorado State (M6)
Game 2-2:30 p.m. TCU (M4) vs. BYU (P5)
Game 3-6:00 p.m. Rice (M3) vs. San Jose State (P6)
Game 4-8:30 p.m. UTEP (P4) vs. SMU (M5) 8:30 p.m.
THURSDAY, MARCH 4 (QUARTERFINALS)
Game 5-12:00 p.m. Tulsa (M2) vs. Winner Game 1
Game 6-2:30 p.m. UTAH (P1) VS.WINNER GAME 2
Game 7-6:00 p.m. New Mexico (P2) vs Winner Game 3
Game 8-9:00 p.m. UNLV (M1) vs. Winner Game 4 (ESPN)
FRIDAY, MARCH 5 (SEMIFINALS)
Game 9-6:00 p.m. Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6
Game 10-9:00 p.m. Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8 (
SATURDAY, MARCH 6 (CHAMPIONSHIP)
Game 11-7:00 p.m. Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 10
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 234-63 (.788) 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 333-115 career record. His .743 career winning percentage ranks him fourth in the country among active coaches and 21st all-time. Majerus has won seven WAC titles and made six 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.
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 246-75 record for a .766 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 (152-39) and eighth in winning percentage (.796).
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 history and only the second team in conference history to go unbeaten through the Western Athletic Conference season. The Utes 77-47 win over New Mexico on Saturday gave them a perfect 14-0 conference record. TCU is the only other team to go through the conference unbeaten when they went 14-0 in 1998. 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.
ANDRE'S RECORD, THE BEST: How good has ANDRE MILLER been during his career? With Andre running the show, the Utes have posted a 110-19 (.924) 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.
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. Andre had an outstanding NCAA Tournament. He was named the MVP of the West Region after the Utes knocked off defending champion Arizona 76-51. In that game Miller became the first player since Magic Johnson to hit for a triple double when he scored 18 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and passed for 13 assists. He also was named to the "Final Four" all-Tournament team as the Utes made it to the NCAA Championship game. For the six NCAA games Andre averaged 16.7 points, 7.5 rebounds and 6.8 assists per game. Currently Andre is leading the Utes in scoring averaging 16.0 points per game. He is also averaging 5.8 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 2.6 steals for the season.
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 also named to most pre-season All-American teams including garnering first team honors on the Associated Press and Playboy Magazine pre-season teams. He is rated as one of the top two point guards in the nation. This year he has been 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 HUNTSMAN CENTER: The Utes have won 35 straight games in the Jon M. Huntsman Center dating back to the 1996-97 season. That is currently 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.
ANDRE ON CAREER SCORING CHART: ANDRE MILLER is ranked 10th on the Ute career scoring chart with 1,546 points. He needs 83 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 698. Current Utah radio color man JEFF JONAS (1974-77) is the Utes' career assist leader with 736 during his career.
ANDRE'S STEALS: Miller is the Ute career steals leader with 243 career thefts. He set the new record against Weber State.
The Utes signed three players during the early signing period. They
are:
LANCE ALLRED, F/C (6-10, 220, SALT LAKE CITY/EAST HIGH SCHOOL):
Averaged 9.8 points and 5.8 rebounds a game as a junior ... shot 68.5
percent from the field ... 39 blocked shots ... academic honor roll.
CHRIS HUBER, G (6-1, 188, GARLAND, UTAH/BEAR RIVER HIGH SCHOOL): Started since freshman year ... averaged 17.0 points, 4.0 steals and 5.0 assists a game for his career ... shot 40 percent from three-point range ... first team all-state two years ... academic honor roll ... 3.8 GPA.
NICK JACOBSEN, F (6-5, 188, ROSEVILLE, MINN./ROSEVILLE HIGH SCHOOL): Played three years at Shanley High School in Fargo, North Dakota before moving to Minnesota ... all-time leading scorer with 1,598 points in Shanley High School ... as a junior averaged 30.7 points per game ... shot 50 percent from the field and 47 percent from three-point range ... all-state two years ... MVP of state tournament two years ... Shanley won state championship two straight years .... academic honor roll ... 4.0 GPA.
UTES CLOSE OUT SEASON WITH LOBO WIN: The Utes closed out their perfect season with a 77-47 victory over New Mexico Saturday in the Huntsman Center. HANNO MOTTOLA led the Utes, racking up a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds. ANDRE MILLER, playing his last game in the Huntsman Center finished in grand style with a double-double with 14 points and 11 assists. ALEX JENSEN also scored 14 points while NATE ALTHOFF tied his career-high with 9 boards. Utah shot .574 from the field while holding the Lobos to .365 shooting from the floor.
UTES SET RECORD WIN STREAK: With their 77-47 win over New Mexico Saturday in the Huntsman Center, the Utes set a new school record with their 19th consecutive win. The win broke the record of 18 straight wins set by last year's Runnin' Ute team. Utah's 19-game win skein is currently the third longest winning streak in college basketball. Duke has won 24 games in a row while the College of Charleston has notched 25 straight wins.
CURRENT NCAA WINNING STREAKS
TEAM WINNING STREAK Charleston 25 Duke 24 UTAH 19DANDY DEFENSE: The Utes have been playing outstanding defense as of late, one of the reasons they have won 19 games in a row and finished unbeaten in conference play. They are currently leading the WAC in scoring defense and are ranked third in the country giving up just 54.8 points per game overall and just 54.4 points per game in WAC play. The Utes have held their opponents to under 50 points in 12 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 .339 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 27-7 1995-96 Rick Majerus 26-3 1959-60 Jack GardnerUTES IN WAC TOURNAMENT: The Utes have posted a 17-13 record in WAC Tournament play since the tournament began in 1984. Utah has won two WAC Tournament titles. In 1995 in Albuquerque they beat Hawai'i 67-54 and in 1997 in Las Vegas they beat TCU 89-68 in the championship game. They have reached the championship game two other times losing to BYU 51-49 in Laramie in 1991 and New Mexico 64-60 in 1996 in Albuquerque.
SERIES RECORDS VS. BYU, TCU: The Utes have played the Cougars twice this season, winning 75-54 in Salt Lake on Jan. 9 and then taking a 71-46 victory in Provo Feb. 6 ... BYU leads in the series with the Utes 113-111 ... Utes have won the last nine games in a row with BYU ... Utah and TCU did not play this season ... last meeting was in 1997 in Salt Lake with the Utes winning 94-91 ... Utes lead 6-1 in the series with the Horned Frogs ... Utah has won four games in a row against TCU ... only TCU win in the series was a 71-66 victory in 1958 in Salt Lake.
RICK'S REMARKS: "I think it's a tremendous accomplishment to go undefeated. It was especially gratifying for Andre and I'm really happy for him. I think right now our focus is looking ahead to the WAC Tournament, but if we look beyond one game we will be riding a Greyhound Bus home like we did last year. I think when you get in these tournaments everyone understands the carrot you are playing for and I think the second thing is everyone understands it's a new season. We must come out with greater purpose than we had last year or it will all be for naught."
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 (234-63, .788
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 seven postseason appearances (six 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.
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 .743 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 24-4 Pacific Div. Champs 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 234-63 (.788), 10th season Career Total 333-115 (.743), 15th season (4th in the country)
RADIO: All the WAC 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: Utah's first two games in the WAC Tournament will be televised live by KJZZ-TV. STEVE BROWN and FRANK LAYDEN will call the action. The WAC Championship game will be televised nationally on ESPN.
SATELLITE COORDINATES: TBA
INTERNET: Online, Utah basketball information can be found at www.UtahUtes.com.
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