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The University of Utah Athletics
Utes Face SDSU Monday
1/14/2001 12:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 14, 2001
Complete Release in PDF Format
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Utah Utes (10-6, 2-0 MWC) vs. San Diego State Aztecs (10-5, 0-2 MWC)
Jan. 15 @ 7:07 p.m. (MST) @ Jon M. Huntsman Center (15,000) @ Salt Lake City
Television:
KJZZ-TV in Salt Lake City (Channel 14, AT&T Cable 3). Steve Brown (play-by-play) and Mark Easton (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).
A Quick Look At Utah
The Utes are 10-6 overall and 2-0 in Mountain West Conference play, riding a season-best three-game winning streak and winning six of their last eight games. Utah has opened Mountain West Conference play with two wins at home, defeating Wyoming, 83-71, last Monday night and UNLV, 79-70, on Saturday.
Utah has four players averaging eight points per game or better, with two in double figures. Junior guard Kevin Bradley, coming off the bench the past four games, leads the team in scoring (10.7 ppg), shooting 40.3 percent from three-point range. He is also second on the team in assists (2.5 apg). Junior forward Phil Cullen is second in scoring (10.4 ppg), shooting 43.1 percent from three-point range, and second in rebounding (5.0 rpg). Senior center Nate Althoff is third in scoring (8.9 ppg). Junior guard/forward Jeff Johnsen is fourth in scoring (8.7 ppg), shooting 36.8 percent from behind the arc and 80.5 percent from the line. Junior forward/center Chris Burgess leads the team in rebounding (5.7 rpg) and blocked shots (16). Junior Travis Spivey, who has started the last four games at point guard, is averaging a team-best 2.7 assists per game.
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.
Majerus Takes Medical Leave for Rest of the Season
Rick Majerus announced on Jan. 9 he was leaving the team for the rest of the season to be with his cancer-stricken mother and recover from his own health problems.
Majerus underwent a coronary angiography and stenting of two coronary artery branches on Jan. 2. He had a follow-up procedure performed on Jan. 3. Doctors reported that both procedures went very well. Prior to that, Majerus had been away from the team for seven weeks while undergoing rehabilitation from late-September arthroscopic surgery on his right knee. He had anticipated to rejoin the team on Jan. 1 before admitting himself to the hospital with chest pains. Majerus is planning to return to coaching for the 2001-02 season.
Hunsaker Directing the Utes
Dick Hunsaker, in his third year at Utah, is serving as the acting head coach in the absence of Rick Majerus. His record as Utah's acting head coach is 9-6, directing the team since the second game of the season.
Hunsaker was the associate head coach under Majerus at Ball State from 1987-89. Hunsaker followed Majerus as the head coach at Ball State from 1989-93. He compiled a 97-33 record with the Cardinals, giving him the seventh-best four-year coaching record in NCAA history. During his stay in Muncie, Ind., Ball State made two trips to the NIT and two appearances in the NCAA Tournament. He led the Cardinals to the NCAA Sweet 16 in 1990. Hunsaker posted four 20-win seasons at BSU. His teams also captured two Mid-American Conference championships and placed second twice. Hunsaker has a 148-61 (.708) record as a college head coach.
Hunsaker came to Utah from Manchester College in North Manchester, Ind., where he had been the head coach since 1995. During his three years at Manchester, he posted a 51-27 record and led the Spartans to three of the 10 winningest seasons in the college's 85-year history. He played college basketball one season for Hall of Fame coach Don Haskins at UTEP (1972-73) and finished his career at Weber State (1974-77).
Utah vs. San Diego State Preview
Scouting the Aztecs
San Diego State is 10-5 overall and 0-2 in Mountain West Conference play. After winning six in a row, SDSU lost at home to New Mexico, 75-67, last Monday and at Brigham Young, 79-50, on Saturday. The Aztecs already have more wins than they did last season when they went 5-23 overall and 0-14 in the MWC. Among their wins this season, the Aztecs defeated Arizona State (64-62) at home on Dec. 16 and Oklahoma State (87-66) at home on Dec. 30.
Three players are averaging double figures in scoring. Junior 6-8 forward Randy Holcomb is averaging 17.4 points per game and 6.9 rebounds to lead the team in both categories. Junior 6-6 forward Myron Epps, one of just four returning letterwinners, is averaging 13.3 points and 4.9 boards. Junior 6-2 guard Al Faux is scoring 10.9 points per contest, shooting 43.4 percent (23-of-53) from three-point range. Sophomore 5-9 guard Deandre Moore, a transfer from Vanderbilt, leads the team in assists with 5.0 per game.
Head Coach Steve Fisher
Steve Fisher is in his second season at San Diego State. In his previous college head coaching job, Fisher led Michigan to a 184-82 record (.691), three NCAA Final Fours and eight trips to the NCAA Tournament from 1989-97. As the interim head coach in 1989, he led the Wolverines to a 6-0 record and the NCAA title.
Fisher faced Utah twice while at Michigan. Utah lost to Michigan, 81-65, on Dec. 1, 1990 in Ann Arbor, Mich., in Rick Majerus' first full season at Utah. Fisher's Wolverines got the best of the Utes again on Nov. 23, 1994 in the Maui Invitational, 73-69.
Series Notes
Utah won both games over San Diego State last season by an average of 21.5 points in Steve Fisher's first year of directing the team. The Utes defeated the Aztecs 70-55 on Jan. 10 in San Diego and 83-65 on Feb. 10 in Salt Lake City. Utah has won the last 11 games in the series and has taken 25 of the last 27 meetings. The Aztec's last win over the Utes was 76-73 on Jan. 22, 1994 in San Diego. San Diego States' only win in Salt Lake City was by a 74-72 margin on Feb. 25, 1982.
Last Meeting
Nate Althoff scored a career-high 22 points, pushing Utah past San Diego State, 83-65, on Feb. 10 of last season. Althoff topped his previous career-high of 20, which he posted in Utah's 70-55 win at San Diego State on Jan. 10. The 6-foot-11 center dominated the paint, shooting 6-of-8 from the field and making 10-of-11 from the free-throw line.
Jeff Johnsen and Phil Cullen each added 11 for Utah, which shot 53.8 percent. The Aztecs did not score their first basket until David Abramowitz made a three-pointer more than five minutes into the game. Utah's pressure defense had already forced five turnovers by that point. Abramowitz made 7-of-9 three-pointers for 21 points while Marcelo Correa had 12 for the Aztecs.
A dunk by Phil Cullen followed by two free throws from Althoff gave Utah a 19-5 lead with 9:14 left in the first half. The Utes pushed their lead to 27-9 when Mike Puzey added a pair of foul shots. Utah led 42-22 at halftime. San Diego State made 8-of-16 threes and shot 47.9 percent from the field. Utah also forced 22 turnovers and had a 30 to 25 advantage on the glass.
Utah-SDSU Ties
Aztec junior guard Al Faux and Ute junior guard Kevin Bradley were teammates at Crenshaw High School in Los Angeles. Faux transferred to SDSU from Shoreline Junior College. Two Aztecs played junior college ball in the state of Utah. Senior guard Jim Roban, a native of Las Vegas, played at Dixie Junior College in St. George. Roban has played in only three games this season due to back problems. Senior forward Michael Marion played at the College of Eastern Utah in Price.
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