Utah Men's Basketball Prepares For Puerto Rico Shootout

Nov. 20, 2000

Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader

Just The Facts
Utah (1-0), ranked 12th by A.P. and 14th by USA Today/ESPN, plays in the Puerto Rico Shootout, Thursday through Saturday in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It is the first time the Utes will compete in the tournament. Utah plays American-Puerto Rico (0-0) in the first round on Thursday at 10:30 a.m. MST. In the second round on Friday, Utah will face either Georgia (0-2) or Indiana State (0-0). Tip-off will be at 2:30 p.m. MST for a championship bracket game or 9:00 a.m. MST for a consolation bracket game. Memphis, Miami (Ohio), Old Dominion and Stanford (5th A.P., 5th USA Today/ESPN) are on the other side of tournament draw.

On Radio
All of Utah's games in the Puerto Rico Shootout will be broadcast on the Utah Sports Network and KALL-910 AM in Salt Lake City. Thursday's and Saturday's games will be broadcast live. Friday's game will be broadcast tape-delayed following the Utah vs. BYU football game with play-by-play coverage beginning at 9:00 p.m.

Utah associate sports information director Mike Lageschulte will handle play-by-play duties for the games with Bill Marcroft remaining in Salt Lake City to cover the Utah vs. BYU football game. Mark Rydalch will be the analyst and Brad Stone the studio host.

On Television
ESPN2 will televise the championship game of the Puerto Rico Shootout on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. MST. Derrin Horton (play-by-play) and Quinn Buckner (analyst) call the action.

A Quick Look At Utah
The Utes opened the regular season with a 71-65 win at home over Idaho State last Friday night. Utah welcomes back one starter and three other letterwinners from last season, as well as two return missionaries who played on the 1998 Final Four team. Utah went 23-9 overall, advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament and tied for the inaugural Mountain West Conference championship with a 10-4 record in 1999-2000.

Senior center Nate Althoff (6-11, 265), a two-year starter at center, averaged 9.5 points and 4.7 rebounds per game last season. He was also Utah's leader in blocked shots (25) and field goal percentage (60.1) last season. Althoff is the Utes' leading returning scorer and rebounder. Junior Phil Cullen (6-9, 215) played in all 32 games and started 14 last season. Cullen averaged 5.6 points and 5.9 rebounds per game last year. He also shot 36.5 percent (31-of-85) from three-point range.

Junior guard/forward Jeff Johnsen (6-4, 200) averaged 5.9 points and 3.7 rebounds while playing in 32 games and starting five in 1999-2000. Sophomore forward Mike Puzey (6-8, 230) played in 26 games, averaging 2.5 points and 2.6 rebounds last season.

Back from LDS church missions this year are guard/forward Trace Caton (6-4, 215) and forward Britton Johnsen (6-9, 205). Both played as freshmen on Utah's 1997-98 team that made it to the national championship game. Caton played in all 34 games during his debut season. He averaged 4.0 points and 1.1 rebounds while shooting 41.7 percent (25-of-60) from three-point range. Johnsen, after missing the first eight games of the '97-98 season with patella tendonitis in his left knee, averaged 3.5 points and 1.6 rebounds in 21 games.

Rick Majerus has eight newcomers this year, including two eligible Division I transfers, two junior college transfers a redshirt freshman and three freshmen.

Rick Majerus to Miss Puerto Rico Shootout Due to Knee Surgery Complications
Head coach Rick Majerus will not accompany the team to San Juan, Puerto Rico, for this week's Puerto Rico Shootout due to complications from recent knee surgery.

Majerus, who underwent knee surgery in late September, was advised by his doctors not to make the trip due to excessive swelling in his right knee and the difficulties of making the long flight to San Juan in his condition. He will continue to rehabilitate his knee and receive medical attention while the team is playing in the tournament, which takes place Thursday through Saturday.

Assistant coach Dick Hunsaker, who is in his third year on the Utah staff, will serve as acting head coach during the Puerto Rico Shootout. Majerus will be back on the Utah bench when the team returns home next week.

From The Training Room
Freshman center Jon Godfread took a charge from Travis Spivey on Oct. 28 in practice and hit his head on the floor, suffering a severe concussion. Godfread did not play in either of Utah's exhibition games, or the Idaho State game last Friday. He is likely to take a redshirt this season.

After This
Next week, Utah returns home to host Cardinal Stritch on Tuesday (Nov.. 28) at 7:00 p.m. MST in the Jon M. Huntsman Center. On Saturday (Dec. 2), Utah plays Southern California (23rd A.P./23rd USA Today/ ESPN) in the John Wooden Classic at the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, Calif. The Utah/Southern California game will tip-off at approximately 2:30 p.m. PST following UCLA/Georgia Tech.

Puerto Rico Shootout Preview

Tournament Schedule

First Round
Game #1 - Georgia vs. Indiana State, 8:00 a.m. MST
Game #2 - Utah vs. American-Puerto Rico, 10:30 a.m. MST
Game #3 - Stanford vs. Old Dominion, 1:00 p.m. MST
Game #4 - Memphis vs. Miami (Ohio), 4:00 p.m. MST

Second Round
Game #5 - Game #1 Loser vs. Game #2 Loser, 9:00 a.m. MST
Game #6 - Game #3 Winner vs. Game #4 Winner, 12:00 p.m. MST (ESPN)
Game #7 - Game #1 Winner vs. Game #2 Winner, 2:30 p.m. MST
Game #8 - Game #3 Loser vs. Game #4 Loser, 5:00 p.m. MST

Third Round
Championship - Game #6 Winner vs. Game #7 Winner, 1:00 p.m. MST (ESPN2)
Third Place - Game #6 Loser vs. Game #7 Loser, 4:00 p.m. MST
Fifth Place - Game #5 Winner vs. Game #8 Winner, 10:30 a.m. MST
Seventh Place - Game #5 Loser vs. Game #8 Loser, 8:00 a.m. MST

Scouting American-Puerto Rico
The Pirates, the host team for the Puerto Rico Shootout, open their season against the Utes. American-Puerto Rico is a university of 4,300 students in Bayamon, P.R., which competes as an independent NCAA Division II school. The Pirates will play their only three games against NCAA Division I schools this weekend. After the Puerto Rico Shootout, AUPR will resume its schedule in February, playing smaller colleges on the island of Puerto Rico.

Three starters and nine lettermen return from last year's team that went 11-13. Guards Jonathan Colon (6-1, Jr.) and Joseph Rodriguez (6-1, Jr.) are returning starters from last year. Colon averaged 12.2 points and 1.9 assists, while Rodriguez contributed 12.7 points and 1.3 assists. Junior center Joan Hernandez, the tallest player on the team at 6-8, is also a returning starter, averaging 16.3 points and 8.8 boards per game in 1999-2000.

Head coach Flor Melendez is in his first season at AUPR. In last year's Puerto Rico Shootout, American-Puerto Rico lost to DePaul (114-69), Arizona State (103-63) and Providence (120-60). Utah and American-Puerto Rico will play for the first time.

Scouting Georgia
The Bulldogs take an 0-2 record into the Puerto Rico Shootout following a 91-78 loss to Georgia State at home last Friday and a 77-74 loss at Minnesota on Sunday.

Georgia brings back four starters and six lettermen from last year's team that went 10-20 overall and 3-13 to place sixth in the SEC Eastern Division. Among the top returnees are D.A. Layne, a 6-0 junior guard who averaged 18.3 points and 3.0 assists last season, and Anthony Evans, a 6-7 senior forward/center who put up 14.7 points and 8.7 rebounds per game in 1999-2000. Sophomore 6-4 guard Ezra Williams, who had to sit out last year as a non-qualifier, has averaged 17.0 points and shot 5-of-9 from three-point range in two games this season. Layne has averaged 15.5 points. Senior 6-6 forward Shon Coleman, another returning stater, has averaged 11.5 points and 7.0 rebounds.

Jim Harrick has a 10-22 record in his second season at Georgia and a 413-204 career mark in 21 seasons. Previously the head coach at Pepperdine, UCLA and Rhode Island, he has taken 14 teams to the NCAA Tournament.

Utah and Georgia have never met. The Utes have an all-time record of 6-14 against teams from the SEC.

Scouting Indiana State
The Sycamores open their season against Georgia in the first round of the Puerto Rico Shootout. Indiana State returns four starters and eight lettermen from last year's team that went 22-10 and won the Missouri Valley Conference with a 14-4 record. Indiana State advanced to the NCAA Tournament, losing to Texas, 77-61, in the first round in Salt Lake City.

Indiana State's major loss from last year is guard/forward Nate Green, who was the MVC Player of the Year. Back are guards Michael Menser (5-11, Sr.), a three-year starter, and Kelyn Block (6-2, Jr.). Menser averaged 11.1 points and 2.8 rebounds, while Block posted 10.6 points and 2.6 boards last season. Also back is forward Matt Renn (6-6, Sr.), who averaged 10.8 points and 7.3 rebounds, and center Djibril Kante (6-7, Jr.), who got 3.8 points and 3.4 rebounds per contest last season.

Royce Waltman is 53-33 in his fourth year at ISU and 242-119 in 13 seasons as a head coach.

Utah and Indiana State have never met. The Utes have an all-time record of 12-7 against teams from the Missouri Valley Conference.

Utes In Early Tournaments During the Majerus Era
This is the third year in a row and the fourth time overall that Utah has competed in an exempted early-season tournament under head coach Rick Majerus. The Utes have posted a 4-4 record in those tournaments. Utah has three more tournaments scheduled in the coming years, including the Maui Classic in 2002, Preseason NIT in 2003 and Great Alaska Shootout in 2004.

Team Notes

Game #1 Rewind
Phil Cullen had 14 points and a career-high 11 rebounds, and Jeff Johnsen scored a career-best 14 points as No. 12 Utah survived a late rally to beat Idaho State, 71-65, on Friday night in the opener for both schools.

Utah extended the nation's longest homecourt winning streak to 53 games and improved to 12-0 in openers under Majerus. The Utes also made the closing minutes interesting after blowing a 42-20 halftime lead.

The Bengals cut it to 66-61 with 1:02 remaining. But junior college transfer Kevin Bradley made a free throw with 12.4 seconds to play and Travis Spivey, who started all but one game three years ago as a Georgia Tech freshman, hit two more with 3.1 seconds left. Spivey scored 11 and Bradley had 10 for the Utes.

The Utes shot 66 percent in the first half, with veterans Cullen and Johnsen leading the way. Cullen posted his first career double-double in the game. Redshirt freshman Nick Jacobson got six of his eight points in the first half. Duke transfer Burgess, who picked up a foul only a few seconds into his Utah career, saw only two minutes before halftime. Utah outshot Idaho State 49 to 41 percent in the game and made 6-of-15 three-pointers. The Utes also had a 34 to 33 edge on the boards, but committed 17 turnovers to just 12 assists.

Rick's Remarks
On Utah's play against Idaho State - "I don't care who you're playing. We could have played an intramural team or we could have played Duke. We should have tried to be better ourselves, at least be unselfish. We have three variables that stop us from being cohesive. Number one, they're all new to each other. Number two, they're all new to me. Number three, they're all new to a system and style of play. I can understand being out of sync with the plays, but I can't understand not sharing the ball."

On the Puerto Rico Shootout - "We've got the ultimate road test, which will be indicative of playing the Puerto Rican team because they have an island pride. Puerto Rico hasn't played a game yet. We can't get game tapes. We could play any one of two teams in the second round. We need to worry about addressing our own situation, no matter who we play. We could be playing the little sisters of the poor, and if we don't pass the ball, we're not going to win."

Exhibition Season Rewind
Utah went 1-1 during the exhibition season, losing its opener to the EA Sports California All-Stars, 88-81, on Nov. 2 and defeating Team Reebok, 90-60, on Nov. 8.

Phil Cullen scored 19 points to lead Utah past Team Reebok. Starting guards Kevin Bradley, a junior college transfer, and Nick Jacobson, a redshirt freshman guard, scored nine points each. Bradley also handed out five assists. Travis Spivey came off the bench to get eight points and a game-high seven assists with no turnovers.

Coach Rick Majerus played his bench liberally, utilizing 11 players for 10 minutes or more. Utah built a 51-30 lead at halftime and cruised through the second half. The Utes outshot Team Reebok 55.7 to 36.2 percent from the field and converted 8-of-20 three-pointers (40.0 percent). Utah also ate up Team Reebok inside, posting a 44 to 31 advantage on the boards and scoring 40 points in the paint.

Cullen helped Utah's healthy shooting percentage by making 5-of-6 field goals, all four three-pointers and 5-of-6 free throws in 21 minutes as a starter. Chris Burgess came off the bench to contribute eight points and eight rebounds in 18 minutes. Britton Johnsen also had eight points and five boards in 16 minutes.

Against the California All-Stars, four Utes scored in double figures, including 14 points from Bradley, who went 2-of-3 from behind the arc. Jacobson, after making all four shots in the first half, shot 5-of-7 for the game and 2-of-4 from three-point range to get 12 points. Britton Johnsen, in his first game back from a Mormon mission, had 11 points, six rebounds and four assists. Senior center Nate Althoff had 10 points, eight boards and two blocked shots. Junior Jeff Johnsen contributed a game-high six assists.

The Utes hit their first six shots and 13 of their initial 17 attempts to surge to a 31-14 lead midway through the first half. However, the All-Stars, comprised of former college players, chipped away at Utah's lead, closing to within 10 points (37-27) with 4:26 left in the first half and 44-39 at halftime.

Former UCLA star Kris Johnson, who finished with a game-high 27 points, made a three-pointer with 11:51 to play to give EA Sports its first lead at 55-54. Utah came back to tie it at 58-all with 10:15 to play, but never led again.

Utah shot 68.0 percent in the first half and outshot the All-Stars 57.1 to 52.6 percent for the game. The Utes also made 47.1 percent of their three-pointers. Utah had a 32 to 24 edge on the boards, but committed 21 turnovers while breaking in a virtually-new backcourt.

Burgess and Spivey Receive Preseason Accolades
A couple of Ute newcomers, junior center Chris Burgess (6-10, 245) and junior guard Travis Spivey (6-1, 205), have received numerous preseason accolades.

Noting some of the sources, Burgess, in his first year on the court with the Utes after transferring from Duke, is predicted to be the Mountain West Conference's "Newcomer of the Year" by the league media, Basketball News and Preview Sports. The Basketball News and Preview Sports also placed Burgess on their all-conference first team. Spivey, who started as a freshman at Georgia Tech and was a second team NJCAA All-American at Salt Lake Community College last season, was predicted to be the "Newcomer of the Year" in the Mountain West Conference and first team all-league by The Sporting News. The Basketball News also placed him on its Mountain West Conference preseason first team.

Take Note of Nate
Senior 6-11 center Nate Althoff stepped up his play considerably during the 1999-2000 season. The Delano, Minn. (Delano HS) product was fourth on the team in scoring (9.5 ppg) and and third in rebounding (4.7 rpg) last season, and is the leading returner in both categories. Althoff had two 20-point games and 13 double-figure scoring games last season.

In the 2000-01 preseason publications, Althoff was listed as a second-team all-conference pick by the Basketball News and "The Best Player over 6-10" by The Sporting News.

Althoff led the Mountain West Conference in field goal percentage (60.1) in 1999-2000, also setting the Utah single-season record. He improved his shooting percentage to 64.8 during the conference season, which was also a league-best mark. Althoff ranked 22nd in the MWC in scoring (9.5 ppg), 16th in rebounds (4.7 rpg), eighth in blocked shots (0.89 bpg) and 11th in free throw percentage (71.1). With a 60.6 career field goal percentage, he is on track to break the Utah record.

Preseason Publication/Internet Polls
Despite the loss of four starters and two other letterwinners from last season, the prognosticators haven't hesitated to place Utah in their preseason Top 25 polls this season. Here's a look of where the Utes rank in the various polls: Blue Ribbon, 21st, CBS SportsLine.com, 17th, ESPN.com, 13th, Dick Vitale's, 20th, FoxSports.com,17th, Preview Sports, 18th, Street & Smith's, 16, and The Sporting News, 14th. Utah is also the consensus preseason favorite to win the Mountain West Conference championship.

Media Picks Utes to Win Mountain West Conference
The Mountain West Conference released its preseason media poll and all-conference team Oct. 4 during Basketball Media Day at the Las Vegas Four Seasons Hotel, in Las Vegas, Nev.

The league media selected Utah to claim the Mountain West Conference title for the second straight season, awarding the Utes 18 of a possible 32 first-place votes. Wyoming was picked second in the poll garnering seven first-place votes, followed by UNLV with six first-place tallies. BYU finished fourth and was the only other team to receive a first-place nomination. New Mexico was selected fifth, followed by Colorado State, San Diego State and Air Force.

The preseason all-conference team includes Wyoming's Josh Davis and Ugo Udezue, BYU's Terrell Lyday and Mekeli Wesley, and UNLV's Kaspars Kambala. Top returnee honors went to UNLV senior forward/center Kaspars Kambala, while Utah center/forward Chris Burgess, a transfer from Duke, was tabbed newcomer of the year.

All in the Family
Utah will have one of 11 brother combinations in NCAA Division I this season in Jeff and Britton Johnsen. The Johnsens, who hail from Murray, Utah, haven't played together for four years. Jeff (G/F, 6-4, 200), a junior this season, began his career at Utah in 1996-97 before going on a two-year LDS Church mission to Fresno, Calif. He averaged 5.9 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 32 games last season with five starts. Britton (F, 6-9, 205), who resumes his Utah career as a sophomore this season, played for the Utes in 1997-98 before going on his LDS Church mission to Houston, Texas. He averaged 3.5 points and 1.0 rebounds in 21 games as a freshman. The last season the Johnsens played together, they led Murray High School to the Utah 4A state title in 1996.

Rick Majerus has literally made his program a family affair at Utah. The Johnsens are the fifth set of brothers to play for Majerus spanning his 12-year career at the U. However, they are the first to play together.

Three Utes with National Championship Game Experience
Utah has three players on its 2000-01 roster that have played in an NCAA championship game. Two of them played for Utah in the 1998 national championship game, which resulted in a 78-69 loss to Kentucky. Britton Johnsen and Trace Caton, who are returning from two-year LDS church missions and will be sophomores this season, played as freshmen in that game. Johnsen had seven points (3-for-4 FG, 1-for-2 3FG) and four rebounds in 16 minutes, while Caton missed his only field goal attempt in five minutes. Senior center Nate Althoff was a freshman on that '97-98 Utah team, but did not play in the national championship game.

Chris Burgess, while still at Duke, played in the 1999 national championship game. Burgess was scoreless and did not attempt a shot while the Blue Devils lost to Connecticut, 77-74.

20/20 Vision
For the 28th time in its history, Utah won 20 games in 1999-2000. Under current coach Rick Majerus, Utah has hit for 20 wins in nine of 11 seasons, including the last six 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), 1999-2000 (23-9).

Utes Hold the Nation's Longest Home Winning Streak
Utah owns the longest active homecourt winning streak in NCAA Division I. Following its opening night win over Idaho State (71-65) last Friday, the Utes have won 53 straight in the Jon M. Huntsman Center dating back to a Dec. 31, 1996 loss to Wake Forest. Utah's current streak began with an 84-63 win over Colorado State on Jan. 4, 1997. It is the longest homecourt winning streak in school history. Michigan State has the second-longest active streak in the nation with 29 consecutive home wins heading into the Spartan Classic on Friday and Saturday.

The Utes were 17-0 at home in 1999-2000 to record the seventh undefeated home season in the 31-year history of the Jon M. Huntsman Center. Six 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), 1999-2000 (17-0). The Utes are 146-10 (.936) 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. Combining the two lengthy streaks and 13 consecutive wins sandwiched in between the two losses, Utah has won 92 of its last 94 games played in the Huntsman Center.

One of the Nation's Elite Programs in Recent Years
Under the guidance of head coach Rick Majerus, Utah won the eighth-most games in NCAA Division I during the 1990s. The Utes had a 250-76 record from 1989-99, placing them behind Kansas (286-60), Kentucky (282-63), Duke (271-78), North Carolina (270-78), Arkansas (260-83), Connecticut (259-75) and Arizona (256-67).

Utah also ranked eighth in the nation in winning percentage (.767) in the '90s. Kansas had the best winning percentage at .827, followed by Kentucky (.817), Arizona (.793), College of Charleston (.784), Duke (.777), North Carolina (.776) and Connecticut (.775).

In the last five seasons, the Utes had the fourth-most wins in NCAA Division I with a 137-29 record. Utah's .825 winning percentage over the last five years also ranks fourth in the nation, falling behind the College of Charleston (.855), Kentucky (.846) and Kansas (.831). The Utes are tied with Cincinnati (.825) and rank ahead of such programs as Duke (.809), Connecticut (.806), Stanford (.797), Arizona (.788) and Princeton (.786).

Utah Signs Three Recruits In Early Period
The Utes have signed Chris Jackson, a 7-0, 230-pound center from Los Alamos, N.M., Martin Osimani, a 6-3, 200-pound guard from Hialeah, Fla., and Eric Osmundson, a 6-4, 190-pound guard from San Diego, Calif., to national letters of intent.

Jackson averaged 20.0 points, 11.0 rebounds, 4.5 blocked shots and 2.0 steals per game last season for Los Alamos High School. He earned honorable mention All-America and New Mexico 3A Player of the Year honors. An excellent student, Jackson scored 1580 points on his SAT and is vying for a National Merit Scholarship. He has a 4.30 GPA and is expected to enroll the U. with enough class credits to bypass most of his freshman-year course work.

Osimani, a combination guard, is originally from Uruguay and played for its Junior National team in the summer of 2000. He averaged 9.0 points and 5.0 assists, and shot 40 percent from three-point range last season for Champagnat Catholic High School. He scored 930 points on his SAT and is an honor roll student with a 3.50 GPA. The Hoop Scoop ranked him as the 66th-best player in the nation among those in the 2000-01 senior class.

Osmundson, a point guard, averaged 16.9 points and 5.0 assists per game as a junior at St. Augustine High School. He was named first team Division III in California and second team all-Western League. He is an honor roll student with a 4.00 GPA.

Coach Rick Majerus
Considered 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 16th season as a college head coach, Majerus' career winning percentage of .742 was the fifth-highest among active Division I coaches and ranked 15th all-time. Among active coaches, only Jerry Tarkanian (Fresno State), John Kreese (College of Charleston), Roy Williams (Kansas) and Jim Boeheim (Syracuse) had better winning percentages. By notching his 350th career victory with a 56-49 win at Brigham Young on Jan. 15, 2000, Majerus became one of just nine coaches all-time to reach the 350 wins plateau in 16 seasons, only four coaches have won 350 games in fewer seasons than Majerus.

Majerus, who has never had a losing season, has averaged 23 wins per year over the course of his career. He has won 20 games 11 times and 30 games twice. Majerus has also guided nine 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. Bringing stability to the Utah program, Majerus is one of only 19 coaches who have been at their current school 10 years or longer among the top 10 conferences.

Over a five-year stretch from 1994-99, the U. won at least 27 games each year, 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), tied for the inaugural Mountain West Conference title in 2000 and made six 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).

Over the last five seasons (1995-2000), the Utes had the fourth-most wins with a 137-29 record and the fourth-best winning percentage (.825) in NCAA Division I.

The Utes have made eight 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 six 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.

During the Majerus era, Utah has the 10th-most wins (16) and the 12th-best winning percentage (.667) in NCAA Tournament play. OVer the last five years, Utah moves up to third place in NCAA Tournament wins (12) and ninth in winning percentage (.706).

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

Utah has won eight regular-season conference titles - including six in a row - in the 11 previous 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 seven times and first team all-conference 18 times.

Upcoming Events

Recent Results