Men's Basketball Goes For Fourth Consecutive Win Friday

Dec. 20, 2001

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Game #10

Utah Runnin' Utes (6-3) vs. Idaho State Bengals (5-4)

Dec. 21 * 7:07 p.m. (MST) * Jon M. Huntsman Center (15,000) * Salt Lake City

The Game at a Glance

Utah Head Coach: Rick MajerusAlma Mater: Marquette, 1970Record at Utah: 268-76/13th SeasonOverall Record: 367-128/18th Season
Idaho State Head Coach: Doug OliverAlma Mater: San Jose State, 1973Record at Idaho State: 33-57/4th SeasonOverall Record: Same

Television: KJZZ-TV in Salt Lake City (Channel 14, AT&T Cable 3).Steve Brown (play-by-play) and Mark Eaton (analyst).Radio: Utah Sports Network (KALL-910 AM in Salt Lake Cityand affiliate stations).On the Internet at www.UtahUtes.com and www.kall910.com.Bill Marcroft (play-by-play),Mark Rydalch (analyst) and Brad Stone (host).

Series Record: Utah leads 19-3Utah's Record Home/Away/Neutral: 11-0/8-2/0-1Last Meeting: Utah defeated Idaho State 71-65 on Nov. 17, 2000

Utah Probable StartersNo. Pos.  Name          Ht.  Wt.  Cl.  Hometown              Statistics35   F  Jeff Johnsen    6-4  204  Sr.  Murray, Utah       7.3 ppg, 2.4 rpg31   F  Britton Johnsen 6-9  213  Jr.  Murray, Utah      11.7 ppg, 4.1 rpg34   C  Chris Burgess   6-10 240  Sr.  Irvine, Calif.    14.0 ppg, 7.6 rpg11   G  Travis Spivey   6-1  212  Sr.  Myrtle Beach, S.C. 5.8 ppg, 5.2 apg15   G  Nick Jacobson   6-4  198  So.  Fargo, N.D.       14.0 ppg, 2.8 rpg
Utah Off the BenchNo. Pos.   Name             Ht.  Wt.  Cl. Hometown                 Statistics3    G   Martin Osimani     6-3  203  Fr. Montevideo, Uruguay    0.4 ppg, 1.3 apg13   C   Cameron Koford     6-11 230  Jr. Plain City, Utah       3.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg21   F   Trace Caton        6-5  214  Jr. Alamosa, Colo.         5.3 ppg, 2.2 rpg32   G   Eric Osmundson     6-3  196  Fr. Carlsbad, Calif.       1.9 ppg, 1.4 apg40   F   Phil Cullen        6-9  221  Sr. Chelan, Wash.          4.8 ppg, 2.2 rpg41  C/F  Lance Allred       6-10 239  So. Salt Lake City         3.1 ppg, 1.4 rpg43   F   Cameron Goettschee 6-7  208  Fr. Highlands Ranch, Colo. 0.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg
Idaho State Probable StartersNo.  Pos.   Name         Ht.   Wt.   Cl.  Hometown             Statistics32    F   Jeremy Brown   6-5   210   Jr.  Phoenix, Ariz.    17.8 ppg, 8.4 rpg44    F   Ray Munyagi    6-5   210   Jr.  Tanzania, Africa   8.8 ppg, 6.1 rpg45    C   J.T. Nelson    6-10  270   Sr.  Pocatello, Idaho   5.3 ppg, 5.3 rpg20    G   Danny Boticki  6-3   185   Jr.  Victoria, B.C.     7.8 ppg, 2.8 apg21    G   D'Marr Suggs   6-3   200   Sr.  St. Paul, Minn.   15.9 ppg, 6.0 rpg

After This

The Runnin' Utes take a break for Christmas before hosting Texas next Saturday (Dec. 29) at 1:30 p.m. (MST) on ABC.

Quickly

The Runnin' Utes are 6-3 entering Friday's game against Idaho State at 7:07 p.m. (MST) in the Jon M. Huntsman Center. It will be Utah's third game in seven days. The Utes blew by Southern Utah 71-47 on Tuesday night at the Huntsman Center after defeating Weber State 70-59 last Saturday in Ogden, Utah, for their first road win of the season. Following a 3-3 start, the Utes have won three in a row and the first of four consecutive games at home, where they are 5-1 this season.

Sophomore 6-4 guard Nick Jacobson is tied for the team lead in scoring (14.0 ppg), shooting a team-best 49.1 percent (26-of-53) from three-point range. Senior 6-10 center Chris Burgess, also tied for the team lead in scoring (14.0 ppg), ranks first in rebounds (7.6 rpg), blocked shots (9) and field goal percentage (66.3). Junior 6-9 forward Britton Johnsen is third in scoring (11.7 ppg) and second in rebounding (4.1 rpg). Senior 6-1 guard Travis Spivey leads the team in assists (5.2 apg).

Scouting the Bengals

Idaho State is 5-4 and has split its last six games. Their last time out, the Bengals defeated Montana-Western 73-69 last Saturday at home. Idaho State is just 1-3 on the road this season.

Junior 6-5 guard/forward Jeremy Brown leads the Bengals in scoring (17.8 ppg), three-point percentage (34.2) and rebounding (8.4 rpg). Senior 6-3 senior guard D'Marr Suggs is second in scoring (15.9 ppg), shooting 33.8 percent from three-point range, and third in rebounds (6.0 rpg). Junior 6-3 guard Danny Boticki leads the team in assists (2.8 apg). Ten different players have started at least one game this season. Conrad Issak, a 6-3 junior guard who transferred from Puget Sound College, and Rashad Kirkland, a 6-5 senior forward who averaged 10.8 points and 5.7 boards per game as a starter last season, became eligible after the first semester and could see their first action of the season on Friday.

Comparing the Stats

            Utah    Idaho StateScoring         70.6    72.4Scoring Defense 62.8    72.6FG%         .475    .419FG% Defense .452    .4343-Pt. FG%   .386    .3083-Pt. FG% Def.  .346    .364FT%         .708    .647Rebound Margin  +5.9    +0.9Assists         16.7    15.3Turnovers   15.2    15.1Opp. Turnovers  15.1    17.2Steals          6.8 8.2

Common Opponents

Utah and Idaho State have faced two common opponents this season. The Bengals split with Southern Utah, winning 73-71 in overtime at home on Nov. 24 and losing 68-51 in Cedar City on Dec. 10. The Runnin' Utes beat SUU 71-47 on Tuesday in Salt Lake City. Both teams lost to Utah State. The Bengals fell to the Aggies 64-59 on Nov. 28 in Logan, while the U. lost 78-65 on Nov. 23 in the Huntsman Center.

Head Coach Doug Oliver

Doug Oliver is in his fourth season at Idaho State with a 33-57 record. Before taking over at ISU, he was an assistant coach for 17 years. After spending four seasons at Boise State (1976-80), he joined Lynn Archibald's staff at Utah for the 1985-86 season. The Utes went 20-10 overall, 12-4 in the WAC to earn a share of the league title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament that year. He spent the next 12 seasons at Stanford (1986-98) on the staff of Mike Montgomery. Oliver helped lead Stanford to 235 wins, including the 1991 NIT championship and a trip to the 1998 NCAA Final Four in San Antonio.

Utah-Idaho State Series Notes

* The Utes and Bengals meet for the 23rd time on Friday night. Utah has a 19-3 advantage in the series that dates back to Feb. 14, 1930. Utah has won all 11 games played in Salt Lake City.

* Utah has won four in a row since losing to ISU 71-65 in the NCAA Tournament West Regional consolation final on Mar. 14, 1959 in San Francisco.

* Idaho State's largest margin of victory in the series was six points (71-65) in the 1959 NCAA Tournament game. Utah's biggest win was 37 points (67-30) on Dec. 6, 1946 in Salt Lake City.

* Rick Majerus' only previous meeting with Idaho State was last season, which Utah won 71-65 on Nov. 17.

* All-time against the Big Sky Conference, Utah is 110-57 (.659) while Rick Majerus is 9-3 (.750).

Last Meeting

Phil Cullen had 14 points and 11 rebounds, and Jeff Johnsen scored 14 points as Utah survived a late rally to beat Idaho State 71-65 in the opener for both schools last season on Nov. 17 in the Huntsman Center.

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 when Jordie McTavish drove for a layup. McTavish scored eight of his 15 points in the last two minutes to keep the Bengals within striking distance. But junior college transfer Kevin Bradley made a free throw with 12.4 seconds to play and Travis Spivey hit two more with 3.1 seconds left.

The Utes shot 66 percent in the first half, with veterans Cullen and Johnsen leading the way. Utah outshot ISU 49.0 to 41.2 percent from the field and had a 34 to 33 advantage on the boards.

Jacobson Prolific From Beyond the Arc

* Sophomore guard Nick Jacobson (6-4, 198) had a hot hand before cooling off a bit the last two games. In the three games prior to Weber State, Jacobson shot 59.4 percent from the field (19-for-32) and 72.2 percent from three-point range (13-for-18). Against Weber State and Southern Utah, Jacobson has gone just 7-of-20 from the floor and 3-of-13 from beyond the arc. He scored 11 points in both games. On the season, Jacobson is tied for the team's top mark in scoring (14.0 ppg) and is the leader in three-point percentage (49.1). He has scored in double figures in eight of the nine games, including the last five.

* In the NCAA statistical rankings released on Dec. 17, Jacobson was tied for 23rd in three-point field goal percentage (50.0).

* The Fargo, N.D., native got off to a great start in the first two games of the season, shooting 64.7 percent (11-of-17) from the field and 85.7 percent (6-of-7) from beyond the arc. Jacobson then went into a two-game slump before getting a career-high 22 points against Pepperdine on Dec. 1, shooting 5-of-6 from beyond three-point range. Jacobson had a career-high six rebounds against Arizona State and a career-high five assists versus Troy State.

* Last season, Jacobson was named the 2000-01 Mountain West Conference Freshman of the Year, becoming the first Ute to garner conference Freshman of the Year honors since Keith Van Horn in 1993-94. Jacobson made the top 10 in five statistical categories on the all-time freshman charts at Utah last season. He ranked eighth in scoring (245 points), eighth in scoring average (7.9 ppg), second in three-pointers made (37), first in three-pointers attempted (97) and first in free throw percentage (.806).

Burgess Playing Big

* Senior center/forward Chris Burgess (6-10, 240) has led the Utes in scoring four times and rebounds seven times this season. In the last five games, he has posted double figures in points four times and rebounds three times. The Irvine, Calif., native is tied for the team lead in scoring with an average of 14.0 points per game while shooting 66.3 percent from the field. He is also averaging a team-best 7.6 rebounds this season.

* In the NCAA statistical rankings released on Dec. 17, Burgess ranked fourth in field goal percentage (66.7).

* Burgess had a career-high 22 points and 11 rebounds versus Troy State on Dec. 8. It was the third consecutive game he scored more than 15 points. He pulled down a Utah career-best 14 rebounds against Southern Utah on Tuesday to go with 15 points for this third double-double of the season.

* Returning to the court on Feb. 5 last season after missing four games with an avulsion fracture in his right ankle, Burgess played some of his best basketball down the stretch. In the final 10 games, Burgess averaged 9.1 points per game, reaching double figures six times and shooting 57.6 percent from the field. He also averaged 6.6 rebounds and 1.7 blocked shots. With Burgess in the starting line-up in Mountain West Conference games, the Utes were 8-1.

Cullen Climbing the Career Charts After A Summer on the Mound

* Even though he is just beginning his senior season, forward Phil Cullen (6-9, 221) has already moved into the top 10 on numerous career charts at Utah. Cullen ranks fifth in three-pointers made (113), sixth in three-pointers attempted (301) and 10th in blocked shots (55). He has started 42 games during his Utah career.

* This season, Cullen is averaging 4.8 points and 2.2 rebounds in 12.8 minutes per game off the bench. Cullen had a season-high nine points (3-of-6 FG, 2-of-2 3FG) in 12 minutes against Pepperdine on Dec. 1. He had eight points, five rebounds and three assists in 14 minutes against Southern Utah on Dec. 18.

* This past summer, Cullen played minor league baseball with the Seattle Mariners. The pitcher was taken in the 32nd round of the 2000 Major League Baseball draft by Seattle and signed with the organization last August. He climbed to the Class A level with the Everett (Wash.) Aquasox in the Northwest League, starting 14 games. Cullen went 1-4 with a 5.08 ERA and 64 strikeouts in 56.2 innings.

Johnsen & Johnsen

* Junior forward Britton Johnsen (6-9, 213) earned second team all-Mountain West Conference honors last season and was a preseason all-league choice by the media this season. Britton is third on the team in scoring (11.7 ppg), shooting 34.5 percent from three-point range, and second in rebounding (4.1 rpg). Dating back to last season, Britton has scored in double figures in 21 of the last 34 contests, including seven games in a row before getting just three points against Southern Utah on Dec. 18

* Britton missed his career high by two points with a season-best of 21 against Weber State on Dec. 15. Britton hit 7-of-12 from the field, 4-of-5 from three-point range and 3-of-3 at the line. Before the WSU game, he had been shooting just 38.2 percent from the field and 26.1 percent from three-point range. Britton had season bests of seven rebounds against both Boise State on Nov. 20 and Pepperdine on Dec. 1.

* Britton is joined on the Utah roster by his older brother Jeff Johnsen (6-4, 204), who is a senior guard/forward. Jeff is averaging 7.3 points (fourth-best on the team) and 2.4 assists (second-best on the team), and has started the last five games. Jeff has scored in double figures in three of the last six games and tied a season high with 12 points to go with a season-high six rebounds against Weber State on Dec. 15. Jeff tied his career high with five assists versus both Pepperdine on Dec. 1 and Weber State on Dec. 15.

* 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 13-year career at the U. However, they are the first brothers to play together.

Getting to the Point with Spivey

* Senior point guard Travis Spivey (6-1, 212) has 47 assists to 21 turnovers (2.2:1 ratio) and 10 steals this season. Spivey had a career-high 10 assists against Pepperdine on Dec. 1. He is also averaging 5.8 points per game and got a career-high 18 points against Utah State on Nov. 23.

* Spivey seemed to only get better and better as the 2000-01 season wore on after transferring from Salt Lake Community College. Spivey started the final 19 games of the season at the point, playing over 30 minutes in seven of those games. In the final 16 games of the regular season, the Myrtle Beach, S.C., native had 75 assists to 33 turnovers (2.3:1 ratio). He averaged 4.7 assists and 7.3 points per game, scoring in double figures four times during that stretch.

Take Note of These Utes

* Lance Allred had a career-best 10 points and hit 8-of-8 free throws (personal bests in both makes and attempts) against Alabama on Nov. 26. Allred, a 6-10 sophomore center/forward from Salt Lake City was a perfect 14-for-14 at the line this season before missing both of his free throw attempts against Troy State on Dec. 1. He is shooting a team-best 87.5 percent from the free throw line this season.

* Trace Caton has scored in double figures in two of the last three games. He had a season-high 16 points (all in the first half) in 18 minutes against Southern Utah on Tuesday. The junior from Alamosa, Colo., didn't miss a shot, hitting all five field goals, three trifectas and three free throws against the T-Birds, In fact, he hasn't missed a shot in the last two games, making his only field goal attempt against Weber State on Dec. 15. Caton had 14 points in 24 minutes against Troy State on Dec. 8.

* Eric Osmundson was productive in a career-best 23 minutes against Southern Utah on Tuesday. Osmundson had a career-best six assists with just one turnover, two points, three rebounds and a steal. While getting his first significant minutes of the season as the back-up point guard against Troy State on Dec. 8, Osmundson had four assists in 18 minutes. In the last three games, Osmundson has 11 assists to four turnovers (2.8:1 ratio). His best scoring output of the season came when he got nine points, making all four shots from the field and his only three-point attempt, in eight minutes against Alabama on Nov. 26.

From the Training Room

* Freshman 6-11 center Chris Jackson broke a bone in his right foot the last week of November and is expected to be out for eight weeks. Jackson has not played in a game this season and was likely to redshirt even before the injury.

* Freshman 6-7 forward Cameron Goettsche was cleared to play and dressed for his first game against Pepperdine on Dec. 1. Goettsche had been sidelined by a bone bruise in his right knee and patella tendinitis in his left knee. He has yet to play in a game this season.

Southern Utah Game Rewind

Trace Caton scored 16 points on a perfect shooting night and Chris Burgess added 15 points and 14 rebounds as Utah beat Southern Utah 71-47 Tuesday night in the Huntsman Center.

Caton made all five of his field-goal attempts, including three three-pointers, and shot 3-of-3 from the line in just nine first-half minutes as Utah led comfortably from start to finish.

Jason Baker came off the bench and had 15 points for Southern Utah (3-7), which was outrebounded 41-26 and scored the fewest points since losing 67-47 last December to Missouri-Kansas City.

While the Utes made five of their first six shots, the T-Birds started the game 1-for-11. Utah jumped ahead 18-2 on Caton's three-point play with 12:14 left until halftime. Dan Beus, SUU's leading scorer, missed his first eight shots and had two offensive fouls. He drew a technical foul with 6:46 left until halftime.

On the other end, Caton scored his 16 first-half points from all over the perimeter while Burgess was having his way inside with 10 points in the half, mostly on dunks. Utah led 39-15 at the break as the T-Birds managed just 27 percent from the field.

The Utes outshot the Thunderbirds 45.0 to 34.0 percent from the field on the night and made 17-of-26 free throws.

Rick's Remarks

On the Southern Utah game - "I used to have very good teams, of which this team is not, and struggled with those teams not playing hard throughout the entire game. But certainly if there's a team that should play hard the entire of the game, it's this team. I'm frustrated that players aren't as committed as they should be. You should be excited about the opportunity to play in a game. It's an honor and a privilege to be on a team and play in a game. I thought we did some good things. But, the game should be played the right way. Maybe a good sign is that I don't think they (our players) felt good about the second half. I credit Southern Utah for continuing to play hard."

On playing Idaho State - "I think that they're a very good defensive team. They play a variety of defenses and their coach, Doug Oliver, does an excellent job. They exploit you with switching and changing defenses. It's important that we come prepared. Last time we didn't play the game out. They came back on us and made a run, and it was a damn tough ball game. I certainly have an appreciation for how hard they play. I'm expecting a great effort from them."

The Difference Between Winning and Losing

To find reasons why Utah has won or lost games this season, one can point to four things: field goal percentage, field goal percentage defense, rebound margin and assists-to-turnover ratio. Listed below are per game averages for those statistics.

WINS (6)    FG% Rebs.   Assists TurnoversUtah            50.2    35.7    19.2    13.7Opponents   40.7    25.2    11.5    14.5
LOSSES (3)  FG% Rebs.   Assists TurnoversUtah           41.7 29.3    11.7    18.3Opponents   54.5    32.7    13.3    16.3

Inside the Numbers

* In all six of Utah's wins, the opponents have shot less than 50 percent from the field. Conversely, the opposition has shot better than 50 percent in each of Utah's three losses.

* Utah has held four opponents, including each of the last three, to 40 percent or less from the field (Boise State, Troy State, Weber State and Southern Utah).

* The Utes have had a positive assist-to-turnover ratio in all six wins and a negative ratio in each of the three losses. In its win over Weber State on Dec. 15, Utah had a season-low nine turnovers (just one in the second half) and 12 assists.

* Utah has shot at least 40 percent from three-point range in three games this season, all of them wins.

* In five of its six wins, Utah has held its opponents to under 60 points. In the three losses, the opponents have all surpassed the 70-point barrier.

* Utah has eclipsed the 80-point mark twice, winning both times (Pepperdine, 81-74, Troy State, 87-56).

* Utah scored a season-high 45 points in the second half against Troy State on Dec. 8. The Utes also connected on a season-high 55.9 percent of their field goals.

* Against Weber State on Dec. 15, Utah won for the first time this season when trailing at halftime. Utah is 1-3 when trailing after 20 minutes this season.

Getting Defensive

One of the trademarks of a Utah team during the Rick Majerus era is a stifling half-court defense. Since 1989-90, Utah has ranked in the top 30 in the nation nine times in scoring defense, nine times in rebound margin, eight times in field goal percentage defense and eight times in scoring margin.

* The Utes haven't allowed a team to score 80 points or better for 45 consecutive games. The last team to score 80 points on the Utes was Wyoming (88-61) on Feb. 28, 2000 in Laramie, Wyo.

* Utah was one of the top defensive teams in the nation once again last season. The Utes ranked 23rd in the NCAA in scoring defense (63.1 ppg), 29th in scoring margin (+8.7 ppg) and 15th in rebound margin (+6.4 ppg). Utah, which held opponents to 40.6 percent shooting from the field, was just two-tenths of a percentage point outside of the NCAA's top 30.

Utes Tough At Home In the Huntsman Center

* Utah all-time record in the Huntsman Center is 403-87. Utah got its 400th win in the history of the facility on Nov. 20 against Boise State.

* The Utes are 172-16 (.915) in the Huntsman Center during the Majerus era (including the 15 games he did not coach during the 2000-01 season) and have never lost back-to-back home games. With Majerus on the sidelines, the Utes are 152-11 (.933) in the Huntsman Center. The Utes have won 109 of their last 115 games in the Jon M. Huntsman Center.

* Utah has gone unbeaten seven times in the 33-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) and 1999-2000 (17-0).

* Utah finished its 2000-01 home schedule with a 13-3 record. The Utes ended the regular season by winning 10 in a row, including all seven Mountain West Conference games.

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