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Utes Wrangle With Texas Longhorns Saturday
12/27/2000 12:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 27, 2000
Game #13
Utah Utes (7-5) vs. Texas Longhorns (8-2)
Dec. 30 @ 7:05 p.m. (CST) @ Frank Erwin Center (16,175) @ Austin, Texas
Television: KJZZ-TV in Salt Lake City (Channel 14, AT&T Cable 3). Steve Brown (play-by-play) and Thurl Bailey (analyst).
Radio: Utah Sports Network (KALL-910 AM in Salt Lake City and affiliate stations). On the Internet at www.UtahUtes.com. Bill Marcroft (play-by-play), Mark Rydalch (analyst) and Brad Stone (host).
Rankings:
Texas is ranked 26th by A.P. and 25th by USA Today/ESPN. Utah is receiving votes in both polls.
After This
The Utes host Long Beach State on Wednesday (Jan. 3) at 7:07 p.m. (MST) in Salt Lake City before entering Mountain West Conference play.
A Quick Look At Utah
The Utes are 7-5 on the season after getting an 88-37 win over Concordia (Calif.) on Tuesday night in Salt Lake City. The win followed up a 77-70 loss to Southern Utah in the Huntsman Center on Dec. 22.
Utah has four players averaging nine points per game or better. Junior guard Kevin Bradley leads the team in scoring (11.3 ppg), shooting 40.4 percent from three-point range, and assists (2.8 apg). Junior forward Phil Cullen is second in scoring (10.2 ppg), shooting a team-best 42.9 percent from three-point range, and second in rebounding (5.0 rpg). Senior center Nate Althoff (9.1 ppg) and junior guard/forward Jeff Johnsen (9.1 ppg), who have played off the bench the last four games, are tied for third in scoring. Johnsen leads the team in free throw percentage (.848). Junior forward/center Chris Burgess leads the team in rebounding (5.6 rpg).
Utah returned just 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.
Close Calls Lead to Slow Start
A few bounces of the ball here or there, and Utah could be boasting of a record far better than its current 7-5 mark. Utah's five losses have come by a combined 20 points for an average of four points per game.
Utah suffered a one-point loss (58-57) at Utah State on Dec. 6, a two-point loss at home (79-77) to Weber State on Dec. 9. The Utes had two five-point setbacks to Georgia (Nov. 24) and USC (Dec. 2) by identical 65-60 scores on neutral courts. Utah's worst loss of the season was by a seven-point margin (77-70) to Southern Utah at home on Dec. 22.
In three of the five losses, Utah had significant leads in the second half. The Utes led Georgia 55-36 with 12:13 to play, had a 52-48 lead over Utah State with 10:27 left and a 56-50 advantage over Southern Utah with 10:46 remaining.
Utah's five losses in nonconference play is the most that it has had in the past 12 years. The last time the Utes went into league play with more than five losses was in 1988-89, the last season of Lynn Archibald's tenure, when Utah went 9-6 through its pre-conference schedule. During the Majerus era, Utah has had four losses before the start of conference play just twice, going 7-4 in 1989-90 (Majerus' first season) and 10-4 in 1998-99.
From the Training Room
Sophomore forward Mike Puzey has plantar fasciitis (sole of the foot) and is probable for the Texas game. Puzey played only three minutes against Concordia on Tuesday.
Utah vs. Texas Notes
Scouting the Longhorns
Texas is 8-2 following a win over then No. 5 Illinois, 72-64, on Saturday night in Austin, Texas. Before facing Utah on Saturday, the Longhorns host UNC Ashville on Thursday. Texas has won 18 in a row at home, which is the sixth-longest homecourt winning streak in the nation, and 26 of its last 29 at the Frank Erwin Center. Its last home loss came to No. 4 Arizona, 88-81 on Dec. 4, 1999.
The Longhorns opened the season by reaching the semifinals of the Preseason NIT. After wins over Navy (79-65) and California (57-54) at home, UT fell to Duke (69-65) in the semifinals. The Longhorns rebounded with a win over Indiana (70-58) in the consolation championship. After a loss at South Florida (87-69) on Dec. 9 snapped a three-game winning steak, Texas has won three in a row.
Three players are averaging double figures in points for UT. Senior 6-3 guard Darren Kelly, who was ruled eligible to play after the fall semester, has averaged 22.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists in the last two games. Junior 6-5 guard/forward Maurice Evans is averaging 17.7 points, shooting 36.2 percent (25-of-69) from three-point range, and 5.4 boards. Junior 6-9 post player Chris Owens is averaging 15.7 points and a team-best 8.3 rebounds per game. At least nine players have started two games this season for the Longhorns.
Head Coach Rick Barnes
Rick Barnes is in his third year at Texas. Last season, he led the Horns to to 24-9 record overall and a 13-3 mark in Big 12 play to place second. He also took Texas to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Barnes recorded his 250th career win over Southwest Texas on Dec. 2. He has been a head coach for 14 years at George Mason, Providence, Clemson and Texas. Barnes has guided his teams to a total of eight NCAA and three NIT appearances. He is one of 23 coaches who have taken three difference teams to the NCAA Tournament
Series Notes
Utah and Texas meet for the eighth time on Saturday night. The Utes have won three of the last four over the Longhorns, including a 79-73 win last season on Dec. 22 in Salt Lake City. The Longhorns were ranked 14th at the time, with the win catapulting Utah back into the A.P. Top 25 at No. 21 the following week. Texas got its last win over Utah on Dec. 12, 1998 in Austin, Texas, by a 73-68 score. The Longhorns have a 2-1 record against Utah in the Frank Erwin Center.
Last year, Hanno Mottola got a career-high 32 points to lead the Utes to their six-point win. Phil Cullen had nine points and five rebounds in 27 minutes as a starter for the Utes. Chris Mihm led Texas with 19 points. Of the players back this year for UT, Chris Owens led the way with 10 points and four rebounds. Texas outshot Utah 55.1 to 46.6 percent and had a 34 to 28 edge on the boards. However, the Utes made 7-of-18 three-pointers and a had a 77.3 to 57.1 edge in free throw percentage.
Mottola hit a three-pointer with 1:55 left that gave the Utes a six-point lead. Utah then made seven-of-eight free throws to seal the win.
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