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Utes Look To Lower The Boom On Lobos
3/2/2001 12:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 2, 2001
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Utah Utes (18-10, 9-4 MWC)
vs.
New Mexico Lobos (17-10, 6-7 MWC)
March 3 * 1:07 p.m. (MST)
The Pit/Bob King Court (18,018)
Albuquerque, N.M.
A Quick Look At Utah
The Utes are 18-10 overall and tied with Brigham Young for second place in the Mountain West Conference with a 9-4 record. Wyoming is a game ahead of the Utes and Cougars at 10-3. Utah, which has taken 11 of its last 15, had a season-best seven-game winning streak snapped with a 71-60 loss at Air Force on Thursday night. In its only game last week, the Utes got an 82-75 win over Brigham Young in Salt Lake City to close out their home schedule.
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 16 games, leads the team in scoring (11.0 ppg), shooting 40.0 percent from three-point range, which is third-best on the team. He is also third on the team in assists (2.2 apg). Junior forward Phil Cullen is second in scoring (9.4 ppg), shooting 39.2 percent from three-point range, and third in rebounding (4.5 rpg). Junior guard/forward Jeff Johnsen is third in scoring (8.9 ppg), hitting a 40.7 percent from behind the arc--which is second-best on the team--and 76.7 percent from the line, and is second in assists (2.3 apg). Sophomore forward Britton Johnsen is fourth in scoring (8.7 ppg), shooting a team-best 44.2 percent from three-point range, and is second in rebounding (5.2 rpg). Senior center Nate Althoff is fifth in scoring (8.1 ppg). Junior Travis Spivey, who has started the last 16 games at point guard, is averaging a team-best 3.5 assists per game. Junior center/forward Chris Burgess, who has been back for seven games after fracturing his left ankle against San Diego State on Jan. 15, leads the team in rebounding average (5.7 rpg) and blocked shots (28).
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.
Utes Have Strongest Schedule and Best RPI in the Mountain West
According to the ratings as of Tuesday, Utah's strength of schedule ranked 28th 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 two closest were New Mexico (58th) and UNLV (69th). The Mountain West Conference has a 63-39 record in NCAA Division I nonconference games.
Utah's RPI was 37th, the highest in the Mountain West Conference. Brigham Young was 52nd, Wyoming was 54th and New Mexico was 55th. Three of Utah's nine losses have come to teams ranked in the top 30 in the RPI ratings through Tuesday. Texas was 11th with a 22-7 record, followed by No. 16 Georgia (15-12) and No. 26 Southern California (17-8).
Utah vs. New Mexico Notes
Scouting the Lobos
New Mexico is 17-10 overall and tied for fourth place in the Mountain West Conference with a 6-7 record. The Lobos had won four in a row before losing at Wyoming (81-61) on Monday night and to Brigham Young in Albuquerque (72-67) on Thursday night. Before then, UNM had defeated San Diego State (72-54) on Feb. 17 and UNLV (75-56) on Feb. 19 at home, and Colorado State (54-51) last Saturday on the road. New Mexico is 13-3 at home this season overall and 4-2 in MWC play.
Sophomore 6-4 guard Ruben Douglas is fifth in the conference in scoring (16.0 ppg) and 11th in rebounding (5.6 rpg). Junior 6-3 guard Eric Chatfield is eighth in the Mountain West in scoring (13.9 ppg). Sophomore 6-2 guard Marlon Parmer leads the conference in assists (5.4 apg), and is 20th in scoring (10.6 ppg) and 19th in rebounding (4.0 rpg). Junior 6-3 guard Tim Lightfoot is third in the MWC in three-point percentage (.433) and is averaging 7.9 points per game. Senior 6-6 forward Wayland White is seventh in the league in rebounding (6.0 rpg) and 25th in scoring (9.3 ppg).
The Lobos are fifth in the conference in scoring (69.5 ppg), fifth in scoring defense (65.9 ppg) and fifth in rebound margin (0.0), both getting and giving up 35.0 rebounds per game.
Head Coach Fran Fraschilla
Fran Fraschilla is in his second year at New Mexico. He took a year off from coaching after directing St. John's from 1996-98, leading the Red Storm to the NCAA Tournament in 1998. He was also the head coach at Manhattan from 1992-96. Fraschilla was named the NABC Coach of the Year in 1994-95 when he led Manhattan to its first-ever NCAA Tournament first round win and a 26-5 record.
Series Notes
Utah leads the overall series with New Mexico 68-36, but trails 31-21 in games played in Albuquerque, N.M. The Utes have won 14 of the last 18 from the Lobos. Utah had won five in a row over UNM before falling 72-65 on Feb. 19 of last season in Albuquerque, N.M. The Utes took the first of the two meetings last season, winning 82-70 on Jan. 31 at the Huntsman Center. In the first contest between the two schools this season, Utah defeated New Mexico 80-69 on Feb. 5 in Salt Lake City.
Last Meeting
Kevin Bradley scored 19 points and Jeff Johnsen had 15 as Utah made a late run to defeat New Mexico 80-69 on Feb. 5 in Salt Lake City. The Utes outscored the Lobos 16-6 to end the game and held New Mexico to just one field goal in the last 5:17.
Travis Spivey scored 12 points and Nate Althoff added 11 as the Utes shot 54 percent to overcome connecting on just 22-of-36 from the line. Ruben Douglas had 20 points for the Lobos, who lost for the 12th straight time in Salt Lake City. Wayland White scored 14 and Eric Chatfield had 13. The Lobos shot 1-11 in the last five minutes. The Utes, bolstered by the early return of Chris Burgess from an ankle injury, outrebounded New Mexico 23-11 in the second half.
Utah used a four-point play to cap a 10-3 run and take a 71-64 lead with 3:55 to play. Althoff scored on a power move and was fouled. He missed but Johnsen rebounded and scored in the lane. Johnsen, who started for the first time since Dec. 9, scored the first six points of the second half and Utah moved out to a 49-42 advantage. But the Lobos rallied and tied the game at 54 and again at 61 behind Douglas' shooting.
The game was tied 39-39 at halftime as the teams combined for 10 three-pointers. New Mexico shot 60 percent in the period and made 5-of-7 from beyond the arc.
Team Notes
Game #28 Rewind
Tom Bellairs scored 19 points and Jarvis Croff added 15 as Air Force defeated Utah 71-60 on Thursday. Lamoni Yazzie and Joel Gerlach had 11 each for Air Force (8-19, 3-10 Mountain West Conference), which never trailed. Jeff Johnsen led Utah (18-10, 9-4) with 16, making 3-of-5 threes. Chirs Burgess had 11 points. Air Force shot 55 percent from the field and hit 22 of 23 free throws. Utah shot 47 percent from the field. Air Force outrebounded Utah 22-20.
Early in the second half, Utah switched to a zone defense and went on a 15-5 run to close to within 51-46 before Yazzie hit a three-pointer with 7:43 left. Utah made it 56-52 with 4:52 left, but A.J Kuhl bounced a pass to Bellairs, who hit a layup and swung the momentum back to Air Force. Air Force made 13 of 14 free throws in the final 2:20. It was the first time Air Force has defeated Utah since 1994.
Streakin' Through the Mountain West
After winning its first three Mountain West Conference games at home, Utah dropped its next three games on the road. Then, the Utes won six league games in a row as part of a season-best seven-game winning streak before losing at Air Force on Thursday.
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. The 1993-94 season is also the last time the Utes dropped three consecutive games in league play, when it happened twice.
After its 3-3 start in `93-94, Utah went on to lose its next two to fall to 3-5 before finishing 8-10. Utah has done much better this time around, going 9-4 in league play.
Maturing Down the Stretch in the League Play
In four of the last five conference wins--two of which have been on the road--Utah has withstood runs and made the plays down the stretch to close out games. In addition, in its second-most recent win in league play, which came against Colorado State on Feb. 19, the Utes made their run early in the second half to pull away.
* New Mexico (Feb. 5 in Salt Lake City): Leading the Lobos 64-63, the Utes outscored UNM 16-6 to end the game and held New Mexico to just one field goal in the last 5:17.
* San Diego State (Feb. 10 in San Diego): The Aztecs were within 60-52 with 4:15 to play before Kevin 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 Britton Johnsen got a jump shot on an assist from Bradley to increase Utah's lead to 15 points (67-52) with 2:42 left.
* UNLV (Feb. 12 in Las Vegas): The Utes led 64-51 with 11:57 remaining but the Rebels rallied behind Kaspars Kambala, who scored 13 of his team's next 21 points as the Rebels cut the lead to 77-71 with 3:45 left. Kevin Bradley then hit a free throw and a three-pointer to put the Utes back up by nine (81-72) with 1:52 remaining. After a three-pointer by UNLV, Bradley got a layup and Jeff Johnsen sank two free throws to make it a 10-point bulge (85-75) with 44 seconds left.
* Colorado State (Feb. 19 in Salt Lake City): With a 34-23 halftime lead, Utah held CSU to 1-of-7 shooting and made a 9-2 run in over the first 5:30 of the second half to make jump out to a 43-25 lead.
* Brigham Young (Feb. 24 in Salt Lake City): Leading by 10 points (55-45) with 12:21 to play in the second half, Utah had its lead chipped away over the next seven minutes to make it just a four-point game (60-56) with 5:30 to play. After the Cougars missed out on the opportunity to make it a one-possession lead, the Utes worked their advantage back to nine points (65-56) within the next 1:14 after Nick Jacobson hit a clutch three-pointer from 22 feet with the shot clock running down and Chris Burgess got a jumper after a steal by Britton Johnsen. BYU never got closer than six points the rest of the way as Utah made 13-of-16 free throws in the last 1:27.
Lighting It Up from the Field
Utah has shot over 50 percent from the field in five of its last six wins, hitting a combined 54.8 percent (164-of-299). The only exception was a 44.0 percent effort from the field against Colorado State on Feb. 19. The Utes shot 54.3 percent against New Mexico on Feb. 5, 54.7 percent against San Diego State on Feb. 10, 60.0 percent against UNLV on Feb. 12, 58.7 percent against Louisville on Feb. 17 and 57.1 percent against BYU on Feb. 24. The Utes have shot better than 50 percent 13 times this season, going 10-3 in those games.
Utah's 60.0 field goal percentage against UNLV on Feb. 12 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.
Chairmen of the Boards
Before getting outrebounded 22-20 to Air Force on Thursday, Utah had been outrebounded just twice in its last 59 regular-season conference games. Both of the previous times came at the hands of Wyoming this season.
The Utes have been outrebounded just four other 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.
Getting Defensive
* For 13 consecutive games --12 of which have been in Mountain West Conference play--before its loss at Air Force on Thursday, Utah had held its opponent to under 50 percent shooting from the field. Until the Falcons shot 55.3 percent, Utah's opponents had mustered just 41.0 percent shooting in the previous 13 contests. Three of the Utes' top 10 defensive performances against Division I teams this season had come in the last five games.
* Utah allowed its lowest field goal percentage by a Division I opponent this season against Colorado State on Feb. 24, with CSU going hitting 28.9 percent of its shots. The Rams, which ranked sixth nationally in three-point percentage (.420) entering the game, where held to just 23.5 percent in the game and 1-of-8 from beyond the arc in the second half.
* Only three 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, Long Beach State shot 51.9 percent from the field and Air Force connected on 55.3 percent of its attempts (including 64.7 percent in the first half). Utah's opponents have shot just 40.7 percent this season overall and 42.2 percent in Mountain West Conference play.
* Utah has held nine of its opponents to less than 60 points. American-Puerto Rico (37 points), Cardinal Stritch (47), Concordia of Calif. (37), San Diego State on Jan. 15 (39) and Colorado State on Feb. 19 (45) have been held below 50 points. Only 10 teams have reached the 70-point barrier. Utah is 8-1 when it holds its opponents below 60 points and 14-4 when they score less than 70 points.
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 13.5 points per game. Nine players are averaging at least nine minutes a game, while just one (Phil Cullen at 23.9) is averaging more than 23 minutes per contest this season.
* Nine different players have led the Utes in scoring in 28 games this season. Kevin Bradley leads the way, having paced the Utes in scoring 10 times. Utah has had at least three players score in double figures in six of the last seven games.
* The Utes have used nine different starting line-ups this season with eight different players starting at least one game. The last five games--four of them resulting in wins--Utah has gone with the quintet of Britton Johnsen (SF), Phil Cullen (PF), Chris Burgess (C), Travis Spivey (PG) and Nick Jacobson (SG). Utah has an 8-2 record with that starting five this season. Before Spivey took over at the point the last 16 games, Kevin Bradley had started the first 12 games. Nate Althoff has also started 14 games at center this season.
* With 395 assists and 403 turnovers on the season, Utah has a 0.98 assists-turnover ratio and has averaged 14.11 turnovers a game. However, Utah has improved that number greatly with a positive or even assists-turnover ratio in seven of the last eight games, getting 124 assists to 93 turnovers (1.3:1 ratio). 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.
* Eight games into the season, Utah was shooting just 67.2 percent from the free throw line. Since then, the Utes have shot 70.6 percent (238-of-337) from the line. The Utes have helped their cause at the stripe by shooting above 80 percent in six of the last 18 games, going 39-for-48 (.813) against Washington State, 21-for-26 (.808) against Pepperdine, 14-for-16 (.875) against both Long Beach State and UNLV on Jan. 13, 7-of-8 (.875) against Colorado State on Jan. 22 and a season-best 89.5 percent (17-of-19) against Colorado State on Feb. 19. Utah is now shooting 70.3 percent from the line on the season.
* Utah is 10-0 when it scores 80 points or more.
* 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).
The Nation's Most Dominant Team in League Play at Home
Following an 82-75 win over Brigham Young on Feb. 24 to close out their home schedule with a 7-0 mark against Mountain West foes, the Utes have won 44 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 53-1 record (.981).
Against the seven other teams that now form the Mountain West Conference, Utah has won 40 in a row at home dating back to a 71-70 loss to Colorado State on Jan. 27, 1994.
Burgess Is Back
Junior 6-10 center/forward Chris Burgess, who missed four games with an avulsion fracture in his right ankle, returned to the court on Feb. 5 against New Mexico. He has been back in the starting lineup for the last six games. In the last five games he has averaged 13.2 points, shooting 27-of-44 from the field (.614), and 6.6 rebounds in 25.7 minutes. He also has seven blocked shots during that stretch. With Burgess in the starting line-up in Mountain West Conference games, the Utes are 7-1.
In 23 minutes against BYU on Feb. 24, he had 14 points and five boards while helping to hold his counterpart, Mekeli Wesley, to four points and three rebounds, well below his season averages of 16.3 and 5.5, respectively. Burgess had one of his better all-around games of the season against UNLV on Feb. 12. He tied Utah career highs with 15 points and three assists. Burgess also had nine rebounds, three blocked shots and two steals in 32 minutes. He followed that up with 14 points, hitting 6-of-9 at the line in 20 minutes against Louisville on Feb. 17. The Irvine, Calif., native then had 12 points (6-of-8 FG) and nine rebounds in 24 minutes against Colorado State on Feb. 19. Burgess leads the team in rebounding average (5.6 rpg) and blocked shots (26). Before the injury, he had started 12 games in a row at center and power forward.
Getting to the Point
Junior point guard Travis Spivey, a transfer from Salt Lake Community College, has started the last 16 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. The shake up in the line-up has resulted in improved productivity at point guard for the Utes.
* Utah hasn't had more than 12 turnovers in any of its last seven conference games. Utah's assists-turnover ratio in Mountain West play is 1.11, which ranks second.
* The Utes had 22 assists against UNLV on Feb. 12, its second-highest total of the season and best in Mountain West Conference play. Utah had assists on all but 11 of 33 field goals made. Utah also had 14 assists on 28 made baskets against BYU on Feb. 24.
* Utah turned the ball over a season-low eight times while getting 15 assists against San Diego State on Jan. 15.
* During Utah's recent seven-game winning streak, Spivey averaged 8.0 points, shooting 53.1 percent from the field, and 5.0 assists with a 2.7:1 assists-turnovers ratio in 28.7 minutes per game.
* In the last 14 games, Spivey has had 64 assists to 31 turnovers (2.06:1 ratio). He posted a season-high eight assists with no turnovers against Colorado State on Feb. 19 after getting seven assists against Louisville two days earlier. In Mountain West Conference play, he ranks second in assists per game (4.38).
* Highlighting some of his better performances in conference play, Spivey had had 13 points, making all seven free throws, and eight assists in 31 minutes against Colorado State on Feb. 19. He had 10 points, making 4-of-6 shots from the field, four rebounds and three assists in 32 minutes on Feb. 10 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.
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 22.4 minutes per game. He leads the team in scoring (11.0 ppg), shooting 40.0 percent from three-point range overall (second-best on the team), 46.2 percent from beyond the arc in league play to rank second in the MWC, and 72.4 percent from the free throw line. Bradley is also averaging 2.25 assists per game (third-best on the team). He has led Utah in scoring 10 times and assists nine times.
When Bradley scores in double figures, Utah is 12-3. Before getting just four points at Air Force, he had scored in double figures in each of the last six conference games, averaging 15.7 points per game. He also shot 57.7 percent from the field (26-of-45) and 55.5 percent from three-point range (15-of-27) in those games.
Bradley had 18 points and four assists against Brigham Young on Feb. 24 to score in double figures for the 15th time. At San Diego State on Feb. 10, he had 18 points 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. 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 third on the team in scoring (8.9 ppg), shooting a 40.7 percent from three-point range (third-best on the team) and 76.7 percent from the free throw line (third-best on the team). He is also averaging 2.39 assists (second-best on the team), and has led the team in scoring four times and assists 10 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 fourth on the team in scoring (8.7 ppg), shooting a team-best 44.2 percent from behind the arc (19-of-43), and is second in rebounds (5.2 rpg). He has also scored in double figures in 12 of the last 22 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.
Close Calls In Defeat
A few bounces of the ball here or there, and Utah could have had a record far better than its 18-10 mark. Utah's 10 losses have came by a combined 59 points for an average of 5.9 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 two worst losses of the season have been by 11-point margins at 25th-ranked Texas (70-59) on Dec. 30 and at Air Force (71-60) on March 1.
* In five of its 10 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 15-4 when it leads at the half and 18-3 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.
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 63.2 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 had a 7.0 rebounds per game advantage over the opposition this season and ranked 12th in the NCAA as of Feb. 27. Utah's advantage is now 6.6 boards per game. 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 9.9 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.
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 17-10, 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 165-70 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).
Mountain West Conference Teleconference Scheduled
The Mountain West Conference will hold the final of three teleconferences featuring the league's coaches on Monday, March 5. The all-conference team will also be revealed at that time. To participate, members of the media should call (719) 457-2629. To receive a confirmation number, contact Mike Lageschulte of the Utah sports information office or Javan Hedlund of the Mountain West Conference office at (710) 533-9500.
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