Utes Set For Conference Showdown With UNLV

Feb. 11, 2001

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A Quick Look At Utah
The Utes are 14-9 overall and in second place in Mountain West Conference with a 6-3 record. Utah got its first conference road win of the season at San Diego State on Saturday, 76-63. The Utes won two at home last weekend, getting a 63-58 win over Air Force on Saturday night and defeating New Mexico 80-69 on Monday night. Utah has won three in a row, which is its second-best streak of the season.

Utah has five players averaging eight points per game or better, with one in double figures. Junior guard Kevin Bradley, coming off the bench the past 11 games, leads the team in scoring (11.1 ppg), shooting 42.4 percent from three-point range. He is also third on the team in assists (2.2 apg). Junior forward Phil Cullen is second in scoring (9.1 ppg), shooting 36.4 percent from three-point range, and tied for second in rebounding (4.9 rpg). Senior center Nate Althoff is third in scoring (9.1 ppg). Junior guard/forward Jeff Johnsen is tied for fourth in scoring (8.7 ppg), hitting 37.8 percent from behind the arc and 77.2 percent from the line. Sophomore forward Britton Johnsen is also tied for fourth in scoring (8.7 ppg), shooting a team-best 50.0 percent from three-point range, and is tied for second in rebounding (4.9 rpg). Junior Travis Spivey, who has started the last 11 games at point guard, is averaging a team-best 3.0 assists per game. Junior center/forward Chris Burgess, who returned to action against New Mexico on Feb. 5 after fracturing his left ankle against San Diego State on Jan. 15, leads the team in rebounding average (5.4 rpg) and blocked shots (18).

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.

Strength of Schedule
According to the RPI ratings as of last Tuesday, Utah's strength of schedule ranked 22nd out of 319 NCAA Division I schools. Utah was the only Mountain West Conference team in the top 50 in strength of schedule. The next three closest were UNLV (66th), New Mexico (72nd) and Brigham Young (92nd). The Mountain West Conference has a 61-38 record in NCAA Division I nonconference games.

Utah's RPI was 62nd. Mountain West Conference schools ranked ahead of Utah were Brigham Young (51st) and Wyoming (58th). Three of Utah's nine losses have come to teams ranked in the top 25 in the RPI ratings through last Tuesday. Georgia is 12th with a 13-9 record, followed by No. 20 Southern California (15-5) and No. 23 Texas (16-6).

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 13-9, 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 160-70 record in eight seasons as a college head coach or acting 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. UNLV Notes

Scouting the Runnin' Rebels
UNLV is 14-9 overall and tied for third place in the Mountain West Conference with a 5-3 record. On Saturday afternoon, UNLV got a 68-56 win at home over BYU. The Runnin' Rebels split two games on the road last weekend, losing to Colorado State (80-55) on Saturday and defeating Wyoming (80-78) on Monday. UNLV is 11-1 at home this season, including a 4-0 record in league play.

Four players are averaging double figures in scoring. Senior 6-9 forward/center Kaspars Kambala, the preseason MWC Player of the Year, is second in the conference in scoring (16.6 ppg) and second in rebounds (9.5 rpg) to lead the the team in both categories. He is shooting 54.4 percent from the field and has made it to the free throw line 149 times in 22 games, converting 70.5 percent of those attempts. Senior 6-3 guard Trevor Diggs is 10th in the conference in scoring (12.9 ppg), 10th in assists (3.04 apg) and second in steals (1.60 spg). Sophomore 6-9 forward Dalron Johnson is 11th in the MWC in scoring (12.5 ppg) and fifth in rebounds (7.7 rpg). Junior 6-4 guard Jermaine Lewis is 19th in the league in scoring (10.3 ppg), shooting 37.2 percent from three-point range. Senior 6-4 guard Danny Brotherson, who is averaging 4.6 points and 3.0 boards, played at Utah Valley State College in Orem, Utah, before going to UNLV.

UNLV is second in the conference in scoring (75.9 ppg), eighth in scoring defense (71.9 ppg) and sixth in rebound margin (-1.1 rpg) with a deficit of 40.0 to 38.9 boards per game. The Rebels also lead the MWC in blocked shots (5.74 bpg) and steals (7.69 spg).

The Utes and Rebels have one common opponent from nonconference play. UNLV got a 69-64 decision over Pepperdine in Las Vegas on Dec. 22. Utah defeated the Waves, 69-56, on Dec. 19 in Malibu, Calif.

Head Coach Max Good
Max Good was promoted to head coach of the UNLV basketball program after the university relieved former head coach Billy Bayno of his duties on Dec. 12 because of NCAA sanctions against the program. Good was in his second year as assistant coach when he was elevated. Prior to joining the Runnin' Rebels staff, Good spent 10 seasons (1989-99) as the head coach at Maine Central Institute, a prep school in Pittsfield, Maine. He was also an assistant coach for five seasons at Eastern Kentucky before being named the head coach in 1981. In eight years at Eastern Kentucky, he went 96-129. He was named the Ohio Valley Conference Coach of the Year in 1986-87, leading his team to a 19-11 record.

Series Notes
UNLV is the only Mountain West Conference team Utah has a losing record against as the two teams meet for the 19th time on Monday. Utah is 8-10 against UNLV all-time with a 2-6 record in Las Vegas. Utah won the first game this season 79-70 on Jan. 13 in Salt Lake City.

The Utes and Runnin' Rebels split both games last season, with UNLV winning 72-66 on Feb. 5 in Las Vegas and Utah getting a decisive 96-52 win on Feb. 21 in Salt Lake City. The Utes have dropped two in a row in Las Vegas. In addition to losing last season, the Utes fell to the Rebels in the quarterfinals of the 1998 WAC Tournament (54-51) on March 5. After Utah got back-to-back wins during the 1980-81 season, UNLV has won five of the last nine.

Last Meeting
Kevin Bradley scored 13 points and Britton Johnsen had 12 as Utah used a late 10-0 run to defeat UNLV, 79-70, on Jan. 13 in Salt Lake City. Phil Cullen had 11 points and Travis Spivey added 10 for the Utes.

The game was tied at 63 with 3:47 to play when Utah began double- and triple-teaming the Rebels' post men and forcing shots from the perimeter. UNLV missed four jumpers and Kaspars Kambala had a turnover in a three-minute span. Nick Jacobson then had four of 10 consecutive points as the Utes scored on five straight possessions. The Rebels, who saw their seven-game winning streak snapped, were forced to foul, but Utah made 7-of-8 free throws in the last minute.

Trevor Diggs scored 14 points while Lafonte Johnson and Kambala had 12 each for UNLV. The starting frontline of Dalron Johnson, Lou Kelly and Kambala shot a combined 7-of-26 before two uncontested dunks in the closing moments. Kambala had 13 rebounds, but Utah outrebounded the Rebels 37-32. Despite 13 first-half turnovers, Utah battled back and tied it at 33-33 on Cullen's three-pointer just before halftime. It was tied six times in the second half before the Utes seized control.

Utah outshot the Rebels from the field 49.1 to 43.5 percent and had the edge at the free throw line, making 17-of-21 (.810) to UNLV's 8-of-11 (.727). UNLV made 8-of-18 threes to Utah's 6-of-14.

Team Notes

Game # 23 Rewind
Kevin Bradley scored 18 points as Utah defeated San Diego State 76-63 in Mountain West Conference action on Saturday night at Cox Arena in San Diego. The victory was Utah's (14-9, 6-3 MWC) first conference road win of the season. San Diego State (11-10, 1-7) has dropped seven of its last eight games.

Britton Johnsen finished with 14 points and Phil Cullen added 13 for the Utes, which shot 54.7 percent from the floor and made 10-of-26 threes against SDSU's zone. Utah, leading 37-30, went on a 13-4 run to open the second half, extending its advantage to 50-34. The Aztecs cut the Utah lead back to seven points (54-47) with 6:46 to play before Cullen hit a couple of threes. San Diego State rallied again to make it a 60-52 game with 4:15 to play before Bradley and friends took over. In a little over a minute span, Bradley sank a three-pointer, got a steal and made a layup in transition, and Johnsen got a jump shot on an assist from Bradley to increase Utah's lead to 15 points (67-52).

San Diego State was led by Al Faux, who scored all of his 12 points in the second half. Randy Holcomb added 11 points and Myron Epps and Deandre Moore each contributed 10. The Aztecs were held to 40.7 percent shooting. The Aztecs have dropped 13 straight and 27 of 29 games to Utah.

Burgess Is Back
Junior 6-10 center/forward Chris Burgess, who had been out of action since suffering an avulsion fracture in his right ankle on Jan. 15, returned to the court on Feb. 5 against New Mexico. He was back in the starting lineup against San Diego State on Saturday. Burgess, who was originally expected to be out six to eight weeks, was cleared to practice for the first time the day of the New Mexico game and participated in the team's shootaround. In a limited role, the Irvine, Calif., native played 16 minutes off the bench against New Mexico getting four points, five rebounds and two blocked shots. Against the Aztecs on Saturday, he had two points and four rebounds in 21 minutes.

Burgess leads the team in rebounding average (5.4 rpg) and blocked shots (18). Before the injury, he had started 12 games in a row at center and power forward.

The Nation's Most Dominant Team in League Play at Home
Following their 80-69 win over New Mexico on Feb. 5, the Utes have won 42 consecutive league games at home, which is the nation's longest current streak. Utah's last home conference loss was to Fresno State (65-64) on Jan. 8, 1996. Utah is the nation's most dominant team in conference home games the past seven years with a 51-1 record (.981).

Against the seven other teams that now form the Mountain West Conference, Utah has won 38 in a row at home dating back to a 71-70 loss to Colorado State on Jan. 27, 1994.

Streaky Start To Conference Play
After winning its first three Mountain West Conference games at home, Utah dropped its next three games on the road. It was the second time this season the Utes dropped three consecutive games. Utah, now 6-3 in league play, has come back to win three in a row, including its first on the road in Mountain West play with a 76-63 win over San Diego State on Saturday. The Utes' recent win streak began with a 63-58 win over Air Force at home on Feb. 3 and an 80-69 decision over New Mexico on Feb. 5.

Utah's 3-3 Mountain West record through six games marked its worst conference start since the 1993-94 season when the Utes started 3-3 in the Western Athletic Conference. After its 3-3 start that season, Utah went on to lose its next two to fall to 3-5 before finishing 8-10.

The 1993-94 season is also the last time the Utes dropped three consecutive games in league play, when it happened twice. The Utes fell at Hawaii on Jan. 20 (72-56), at San Diego State on Jan. 22 (76-73) and to Colorado State at home on Jan. 27 (71-70). The second time around, Utah fell at Fresno State on Feb. 17 (95-86), at Air Force on Feb. 19 (91-89 in OT) and at Brigham Young on Feb. 26 (73-70).

Utah had a four-game losing streak during the 1989-90 conference season from Jan. 13 through Jan. 25. That losing streak took place during Majerus' first lengthy absence from the Utah bench. Joe Cravens served as the acting head coach for 24 games that year while Majerus recovered from heart surgery.

Conference Road Woes
After winning three games at home to open its Mountain West Conference schedule, Utah dropped three consecutive games on the road. Utah kept its perfect conference home record intact with wins over Air Force and New Mexico last weekend.

Utah changed two things to get its first road win in league play at San Diego State on Saturday. Utah shot 54.7 percent from the field compared to 42.1 percent in its first three MWC road games. That also resulted in 76 points, an improvement over its 67.7 points per game average in the three previous road games. The Utes also had a much better assist to turnover ratio, getting 19 assists to 12 turnovers (1.5:1) compared to a 0.77:1 ratio in the first three games.

Close Calls In Defeat
A few bounces of the ball here or there, and Utah could have had a record far better than its 13-9 mark. Utah's nine losses have came by a combined 48 points for an average of 5.3 points per game.

Utah suffered a pair of one-point losses at Utah State (58-57) on Dec. 6 and at Wyoming (78-77 in overtime) on Jan. 20 and a two-point loss at home (79-77) to Weber State on Dec. 9. The Utes also experienced 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 an 11-point margin (70-59) at 25th-ranked Texas on Dec. 30.
In five of its nine 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 to go, a 56-50 cushion over Southern Utah with 10:46 remaining, a 53-50 advantage over Texas with 6:18 left and a 54-41 lead over Wyoming with 13:23 showing. Utah is 9-4 when it leads at the half and 11-3 when it leads with 5:00 remaining this season.
Utah's six 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 had a high mark of 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.

Getting to the Point
Junior point guard Travis Spivey, a transfer from Salt Lake Community College, has started the last 11 games with fellow junior college transfer Kevin Bradley, the staring point guard for the first 12 games, coming off the bench at both guard positions. Freshman point guard Marc Jackson has also seen significant playing time as of late, averaging 9.7 minutes per game in conference play. The shake up in the line-up has resulted in improved productivity at point guard for the Utes.

In the last 11 games, Spivey has had 40 assists to 23 turnovers (1.7:1 ratio).
Highlighting four of his better performances in conference play, Spivey had 10 points, making 4-of-6 shots from the field, four rebounds and three assists in 32 minutes on Saturday against San Diego State. Spivey had 12 points, hitting 2-of-4 three-pointers, five rebounds and three steals in 31 minutes against New Mexico on Feb. 5. He had five assists with no turnovers, eight points and three rebounds in 28 minutes against Air Force on Feb. 3. Against UNLV on Jan. 13, Spivey had six assists, three turnovers, 10 points and two steals in 25 minutes.
Against Wyoming on Jan. 20, Utah's trio of ball-handlers combined for nine assists, three steals and four turnovers, as well as 16 rebounds. Spivey had a season-high seven assists and just two turnovers in 37 minutes.
Jackson had two of his better games of the season against Wyoming on Jan. 8 and San Diego State on Jan. 15. Jackson made 7-of-8 free throws with three rebounds, two assists and no turnovers in 12 minutes against the Cowboys. He had two points, three rebounds, three assists and no turnovers in 16 minutes against the Aztecs.
Utah turned the ball over a season-low eight times while getting 15 assists against San Diego State on Jan. 15.
Utah's generals had their best floor games of the season against Long Beach State on Jan. 3, combining for seven assists and no turnovers. It was the first time this season both Spivey and Bradley went turnover free. Their effort helped Utah commit nine turnovers, the second-lowest total this season. Entering the Long Beach State game, Utah was averaging 16.5 turnovers per game.

Inside the Numbers

The Utes have utilized their depth this season. Utah's bench has been productive, outscoring its opponents bench by an average of 14 points per game. Nine players are averaging at least 10 minutes a game, while just one (Phil Cullen at 23.6) averaging more than 23 minutes per contest this season.
The Utes have used nine different starting line-ups this season with eight different players starting at least one game. Against San Diego State on Saturday, Utah went with the quintet of Britton Johnsen (SF), Chris Burgess (PF), Nate Althoff (C), Travis Spivey (PG) and Nick Jacobson (SG) for the first time. Before Spivey took over at the point the last 11 games, Kevin Bradley had started the first 12 games. Althoff has started at center the last six games. Center/forward Chris Burgess just returned to action against New Mexico and started against San Diego State after missing four games due to injury.
With 318 assists and 340 turnovers on the season, Utah has a 0.94 assists-turnover ratio and has averaged 14.78 turnovers a game. Utah has improved that number with a positive assists-turnover ratio in the last three games, getting 47 assists to 30 turnovers. A team from the Rick Majerus era has never finished the season with less than a 1.0 assists-turnover ratio. Since the turnover stat was recorded beginning in 1975-76, the only Utah team to finish with less than a 1.0 assists-turnover ratio was the 1981-82 squad that had 404 assists to 419 turnovers (0.96).
The Utes have had success when they take care of the ball, going 10-1 when they commit fewer turnovers then their opponent this season.
Utah has held eight of its opponents to less than 60 points. American-Puerto Rico (37 points) and San Diego State on Jan. 15 (39 points) have been held below 40 points. Only seven teams have reached the 70-point barrier: Weber State (79), Southern Utah (77), Texas (70), Wyoming (71) on Jan. 8, UNLV (70) on Jan. 13, Wyoming (78 in overtime) on Jan. 20 and Colorado State (73) on Jan. 22.
For nine consecutive games, Utah has held its opponents under 50 percent shooting from the field. Only two teams have shot better than 50 percent from the field against the Utes the entire season. Southern Utah connected on 53.3 percent of its shots (60.9 percent in the second half) and 66.7 percent (8-of-12) from three-point range, while Long Beach State shot 51.9 percent from the field. Utah's opponents have shot just 40.7 percent this season.
Utah has shot over 50 percent from the field in its last two games, hitting 54.3 percent against New Mexico and 54.7 percent against San Diego State. The Utes have shot better than 50 percent in 10 games this season, going 7-3 in those games.
Utah's 54.7 field goal percentage against San Diego State on Feb. 10 was its best effort on the road this season against a Division I team. Utah shot an overall season-best percentage of 64.0 at American-Puerto Rico on Nov. 23.
Utah is 7-0 when it scores 80 points or more.
The Utes have been outrebounded just four times this season: 33-24 to Georgia, 33-27 to Memphis, 46-35 to Wyoming on Jan. 8 and 58-49 to Wyoming on Jan. 20. The Cowboys have the two highest rebound totals among Ute opponents this season.
Utah has been outrebounded just twice in its last 55 regular-season conference games. Both of which came at the hands of Wyoming this season.
Eight games into the season, Utah was shooting just 67.2 percent from the free throw line. Since then, the Utes have shot 70.4 percent (155-of-220) from the line. The Utes have helped their cause at the stripe by shooting above 80 percent in five of the last 15 games, going 39-for-48 (.813) against Washington State, 21-for-26 (.808) against Pepperdine, a season-best 87.5 percent (14-for-16) against both Long Beach State and UNLV (Jan. 13), and 7-of-8 (.875) against Colorado State (Jan. 22). Utah is now shooting 70.2 percent from the line on the season.
On Jan. 20 in an overtime showdown in Laramie, Wyo., Wyoming attempted 48 free throws, the most by a Utah opponent this season, while the U. connected on just 22-of-35 free throws (.629). The Utes committed a school record 38 fouls in the game.
With defeats to then-No. 15 Southern California on Dec. 2, Utah State on Dec. 6, and Weber State on Dec. 9, Utah lost three consecutive nonconference games for the first time during the Rick Majerus era. The skid ended with an 87-63 win over Washington State on Dec. 16. Utah's most recent nonconference losing streak of three games or more came in 1988-89, the final season under Lynn Archibald, when Utah dropped four consecutive games to Florida on Nov. 27 (77-68), Cal State-Fullerton on Dec. 1 (59-57), Santa Clara on Dec. 3 (66-60) and Colorado on Dec. 6 (68-65).

Boasting of Bradley
Junior 6-0 guard Kevin Bradley, a relatively unheralded transfer from Compton Community College, has raised some eyebrows with his solid play. Bradley started the first 12 games of the season and has continued to get significant playing time off the bench since then, averaging 22.9 minutes per game. He leads the team in scoring (11.1 ppg), shooting 43.5 percent from the field, 42.4 percent from three-point range (second-best on the team) and 75.4 percent from the free throw line. Bradley is also averaging 2.2 assists per game (third-best on the team). He has led Utah in scoring nine times and assists eight times.

Bradley has scored in double figures in each of the last three games. He is also coming off of a great week in which he averaged 18.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists (with just one turnover) in two games against New Mexico (Feb. 5) and San Diego State (Feb. 10). He also shot 50.0 percent from the field, 58.3 percent from three-point range (7-of-12) and 75.0 percent from the free throw line in those games. Against San Diego State on Feb. 10, he had 18 points to score in double figures for the 13th time and tied a career high with six assists. He also had three boards and two steals in 26 minutes. Against New Mexico on Feb. 5, Bradley had 19 points, making 4-of-5 three-pointers, and got six rebounds in 30 minutes. On Feb. 3 against Air Force, Bradley got 15 points, making all of his shots from the field (four field goals and two three-pointers) and 5-of-7 free throws in 19 minutes.

In other recent games, he had 19 points at Wyoming on Jan. 20, making a three-pointer to send the game into overtime and hitting 3-of-7 treys in the contest. Bradley also came up with a career-high nine rebounds. He had a team-high 13 points against UNLV on Jan. 13. His career-high game was 20 points against Cardinal Stritch on Nov. 28.

A native of Los Angeles, Bradley was named the conference player of the year as a senior at Crenshaw High School.

All in the Family
Utah has one of 11 brother combinations in NCAA Division I this season in Jeff and Britton Johnsen. Both of the Johnsens rank among the top five Utes statistically.

Jeff (G/F, 6-4, 200), a junior, is tied for fourth on the team in scoring (8.7 ppg), shooting a 37.8 percent from three-point range (third-best on the team) and 77.2 percent from the free throw line (second-best on the team). He is also averaging 3.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists (second-best on the team), and has led the team in scoring three times and assists nine times. He returned to the starting lineup for the first time since Dec. 9 against New Mexico on Feb. 5. Jeff responded with 15 points, making 6-of-8 field goals, to score in double figures for the fourth consecutive game. He also had a season-high nine rebounds and three assists in 28 minutes.

Britton (F, 6-9, 205), a sophomore, is tied for fourth on the team in scoring (8.7 ppg), shooting a team-best 50.0 percent from behind the arc (18-of-36), and is tied for second in rebounds (4.9 rpg). He has also scored in double figures in 10 of the last 17 games. Britton got a career-high 23 points, making 8-of-14 field goals and 4-of-6 three-pointers, with eight rebounds and three blocked shots in 27 minutes against Long Beach State on Jan. 3. He had 20 points and eight rebounds in 26 minutes against Colorado State on Jan. 22.

Jeff 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 who resumes his Utah career 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 Johnsens, who hail from Murray, Utah, hadn't played together for four years. 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.

Defense, Defense, Defense

One of the trademarks of a Utah team during the Rick Majerus era is a stifling half-court defense. In the past 11 seasons under Majerus, Utah has ranked in the top 30 in the nation eight times in field goal percentage defense, eight times in the top 25 in scoring defense, seven times in the top 25 in scoring margin and eight times in the top 30 in rebound margin.
This season, the Utes are giving up 62.3 points per game. Utah ranked 20th in the NCAA in scoring defense last season, giving up 61.8 points per game. The Utes are one of just eight teams to appear in the top 10 in the NCAA in scoring defense at least four times in the last 11 years. Utah is also one of just four teams to rank in the top 25 in the nation in scoring defense at least nine times in the last 11 years.
Utah has a 7.1 rebounds per game advantage over the opposition this season and ranked 12th in the NCAA as of Feb. 5. The Utes ranked 26th in the nation in rebound margin (4.8 rpg) last season and have been ranked been ranked among the top 30 teams in the nation in rebound margin in each of the last six years. Utah is one of just seven schools to rank in the top 10 at least three times in the last five years. Only Navy's four appearances rank ahead of Utah.
Opponents have shot 40.7 percent from the field on the Utes this season. Utah is one of just eight schools to rank in the top 30 in the nation in field goal percentage defense four of the last five years. Utah has also been in the top 10 in the NCAA in field goal percentage defense four times during the Rick Majerus era.
Thanks to their stifling defense, the U. has also ranked among the top 25 teams in the nation in scoring margin four times in the last five years and seven times in the last 11 years. Utah has outscored its opponents by an average of 10.1 points per game this season. In the last five years, the Utes are one of just eight teams with four appearances in the top 25, bettered only by Cincinnati's streak of five consecutive years. Utah is also one of just six teams to rank in the top 10 at least three times in the last five years.

Utes Dealing with Rare Occurrence of No Returning All-Conference Selections
For just the second time since Rick Majerus took over the Ute basketball program, Utah doesn't feature a single returning all-conference selection on the roster.

Discounting Majerus' first season (1989-90), the only time the Utes haven't returned a first or second team all-conference selection was in 1993-94. That season resulted in the only non-winning season of the Majerus era with Utah going 14-14 overall and 8-10 in the Western Athletic Conference.

In 1991-92, Josh Grant was back for his fourth season with the Utes as the reigning WAC Player of the Year and the only returning all-conference honoree on the roster. However, he took a medical redshirt after helping the Utes win the first three games of the season. Without their leader, Utah finished 24-11 overall and 9-7 in conference play.

Home (Not So) Sweet Home
Utah is 10-2 at home this season. The last time Utah lost two home games in the same season was in 1993-94, when it went 11-3 overall and 7-2 in league games in the Huntsman Center. Since then, Utah has posted two one-loss seasons in the JMHC, going 14-1 in 1995-96 and 13-1 in 1996-97, and four undefeated seasons.

The Utes have gone unbeaten seven times in the 32-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). The Utes are 164-14 (.921) in the Huntsman Center during the Majerus era (including the 11 games he has not coached this season) and have never lost back-to-back home games.

With a best-in the-nation 54-game homecourt winning streak through the first two home games of the season, Utah lost two of its next three in the Jon M. Huntsman Center. After a 79-77 loss to Weber State gave Utah its first home loss in nearly four years on Dec. 9, the Utes bounced back with an impressive 87-63 win over Washington State on Dec. 16. The Utes then dropped their second home game of the season to Southern Utah, 77-70, on Dec. 22. Before the loss to Weber State, Utah had won 94 of its last 96 games at home.

Classroom Champions
Nine members of the University of Utah men's basketball team were named to the 2000 fall semester academic honor roll. Three of those players earned further distinction by making the Dean's List.

Named to the Dean's List with 3.50 grade point averages or better were reserve Trace Caton with a 4.00 GPA, as well as walk-ons Greg Schow and Mike Walkenhorst. Making the honor roll with 3.00 GPAs or better were starters Nick Jacobson and Britton Johnsen, reserves Lance Allred, Jon Godfread and Mike Puzey, and walk-on Jonathan Taylor.

During Rick Majerus' 12-year tenure at Utah, 26 players have made the honor roll a combined 130 times.

Utah Third Winningest Basketball School the Past Five Years
When it comes to basketball, the University of Utah has established itself among the nation's elite in recent years. Combined, the Ute men's

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Utah vs. UNLV Notes

Team Notes

Players Mentioned

Marc Jackson

Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball versus Nevada [Exh] on October 17, 2025

Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball at Oregon [Exh] on October 24, 2025

Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball versus San José State on November 3, 2025

Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball versus Weber State on November 8, 2025

Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball versus Holy Cross on November 10, 2025

Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball versus Sam Houston State on November 15, 2025

Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball versus Purdue Fort Wayne on November 18, 2025

Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball versus Cal Poly on November 20, 2025

Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball versus Grand Canyon on November 25, 2025 at 10 PM

Completed Event: Men's Basketball versus Butler on March 31, 2025 , Loss , 84, to, 86

Completed Event: Men's Basketball versus No. 14-Seed UCF on March 11, 2025 , Loss , 72, to, 87

Completed Event: Men's Basketball at #23/22 BYU on March 8, 2025 , Loss , 74, to, 85

Completed Event: Men's Basketball versus West Virginia on March 4, 2025 , Loss , 69, to, 71

Completed Event: Men's Basketball versus Arizona State on March 1, 2025 , Win , 99, to, 73

Completed Event: Men's Basketball at #22/21 Arizona on February 26, 2025 , Loss , 66, to, 83

Completed Event: Men's Basketball at UCF on February 23, 2025 , Loss , 72, to, 76

Completed Event: Men's Basketball versus Kansas State on February 17, 2025 , Win , 74, to, 69

Completed Event: Men's Basketball versus #17/20 Kansas on February 15, 2025 , Win , 74, to, 67