San Diego State Comes To Huntsman Center Monday Night

Jan. 13, 2002

Game #15

Utah Runnin' Utes (11-3, 1-0 MWC) vs. San Diego State Aztecs (10-5, 0-1 MWC)

Jan. 14 * 7:07 p.m. (MST) * Jon M. Huntsman Center (15,000) * Salt Lake City

The Game at a Glance

Utah Head Coach: Rick Majerus            San Diego St. Head Coach: Steve FisherAlma Mater: Marquette, 1970         Alma Mater: Illinois State, 1967Record at Utah: 272-76/13th Season  Record at SDSU: 29-42/3rd SeasonOverall Record: 373-128/18th Season Overall Record: 213-126/11th Season
Television: KJZZ-TV (Channel 14, AT&T Cable 3) in Salt Lake City. Steve Brown (play-by-play)and Mark Eaton (analyst).Radio: Utah Sports Network (KALL-910 AM in Salt Lake City and 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: 40-8Utah Home/Away/Neutral: 23-1/15-6/2-1Last Meeting: Utah defeated San Diego State 76-63 on Feb. 10, 2001 in San Diego.
Utah Probable StartersNo.     Pos.    Name            Ht.     Wt.     Cl.     Hometown            Statistics35  F   Jeff Johnsen 6-4 204 Sr. Murray, Utah            9.1 ppg, 3.1 rpg31  F   Britton Johnsen   6-9 213 Jr. Murray, Utah            10.9 ppg, 4.9 rpg41  C   Lance Allred 6-10    239 So. Salt Lake City          3.1 ppg, 1.6 rpg11  G   Travis Spivey   6-1 212 Sr. Myrtle Beach, S.C.  5.7 ppg, 3.4 apg15  G   Nick Jacobson   6-4 198 So. Fargo, N.D.         15.3 ppg, 2.2 rpg
Utah Off the BenchNo.     Pos.    Name            Ht.     Wt.     Cl.     Hometown            Statistics3   G   Martin Osimani 6-3 203 Fr. Montevideo, Uruguay 1.3 ppg, 1.1 apg13  C   Cameron Koford 6-11    230 Jr. Plain City, Utah    2.2 ppg, 1.7 rpg21  G/F Trace Caton   6-5 214 Jr. Alamosa, Colo.          4.4 ppg, 2.4 rpg32  G   Eric Osmundson 6-3 196 Fr. Carlsbad, Calif.    2.4 ppg, 0.9 apg40  F/C Phil Cullen   6-9 221 Sr. Chelan, Wash.           5.7 ppg, 2.6 rpg
San Diego State Probable StartersNo.     Pos.    Name            Ht.     Wt.     Cl.     Hometown            Statistics2   F   Brandon Smith   6-7 215 Sr. Amarillo, Texas         5.0 ppg, 2.2 rpg23  F   Randy Holcomb   6-9 222 Sr. Chicago, Ill.           18.3 ppg, 9.9 rpg30  C   Mike Mackell    6-9 241 Jr. Washington, D.C.    9.1 ppg, 3.9 rpg4   G   Tony Bland  6-4 192 Jr. Los Angeles, Calif. 16.7 ppg, 4.1 apg5   G   Al Faux         6-2 178 Sr. Los Angeles, Calif. 18.4 ppg, 4.0 rpg

After This

The Runnin' Utes hit the road next weekend for games at Air Force on Saturday at 3:07 p.m. (MST) and New Mexico on Monday at 7:07 p.m. (MST). Both games will be televised on KJZZ-TV in Salt Lake City.

Quickly On Utah

The Runnin' Utes are 11-3 overall and 1-0 in Mountain West Conference heading into Monday's game against San Diego State at 7:07 p.m. (MST) in the Jon M. Huntsman Center. Utah defeated UNLV 86-63 on Saturday in Salt Lake City. The Utes have won eight in row and closed out their nonconference schedule with seven consecutive wins after starting out 3-3. Utah's eight-game winning, which began with an 87-56 win over Troy State on Dec. 8, is its longest since winning nine in a row Dec. 3, 1999 through Jan. 1, 2000. The Utes are 8-1 at home this season, winning seven in a row.

Sophomore 6-4 guard Nick Jacobson leads the Runnin' Utes in scoring (15.3 ppg), shooting a team-best 49.4 percent (41-of-83) from three-point range. Junior 6-9 forward Britton Johnsen is second in scoring (10.9 ppg) and second in rebounding (4.9 rpg). Senior 6-1 guard Travis Spivey leads the team in assists (4.9 apg). Senior 6-4 guard/forward Jeff Johnsen is fourth in scoring (9.1 ppg), second in assists (2.6 apg) and first in steals (1.7 spg).

Scouting San Diego State

The Aztecs are 10-5 overall and 0-1 in Mountain West Conference play after losing to BYU 75-64 on Saturday in Provo, Utah. Before the loss to the Cougars, the Aztecs had won three in a row and six of their last seven. San Diego State beat Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne (90-72) on Jan. 2 at home and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (82-79) on Jan. 8 on the road to close out its nonconference season.

Senior 6-9 forward Randy Holcomb leads the Mountain West in both scoring (18.3 ppg) and rebounding (9.9 rpg). He also has 18 blocked shots. Holcomb entered the week ranked 10th nationally in double-doubles with eight. Junior 6-5 guard Tony Bland is fourth in the MWC in scoring (16.7 ppg) and fourth in assists (4.1 apg). Senior 6-2 guard Al Faux is third on the SDSU team in scoring (18.4 ppg) and second in rebounding (4.0 rpg).

San Diego State ranks third in the MWC in scoring (78.3 ppg), seventh in scoring defense (71.3 ppg) and third in rebound margin (+5.1). Entering this weekend, SDSU ranked 12th in the NCAA in field goal percentage (49.6).

Comparing the Stats

            Utah    SDSUScoring         69.4    78.3Scoring Defense 59.9    71.3FG%         .478    .488FG% Defense .430    .4153-Pt. FG%   .423    .3543-Pt. FG% Def.  .305    .306FT%         .713    .657Rebound Margin  +3.4    +5.1Assists         16.3    16.9Turnovers   15.2    16.7Opp. Turnovers  15.6    16.2Steals          6.8 7.7

Head Coach Steve Fisher

Steve Fisher is 29-42 in his third season at San Diego State and has a 213-126 career mark in 11 seasons. 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. He was named the 1992 National Coach of the Year by Basketball Times after leading Michigan's "Fab Five" as freshmen to a 25-9 record and the NCAA title game. As the interim head coach in 1989, he led the Wolverines to a 6-0 record and the NCAA title. Fisher went 14-14 at SDSU last season and 4-10 to place seventh in the MWC.

Utah-San Diego State Series Notes

* Utah and San Diego State meet for the 49th time on Monday night. The series dates back to a 98-89 Utah win on Dec. 13, 1975 in Salt Lake City. That was the only game played between the two teams before they became members of the WAC and later the Mountain West Conference.

* The Utes lead the all-time series 40-8 and have won 12 in a row and 21 of the last 22. The Aztecs' last win over Utah was 76-73 on Jan. 22, 1994 in San Diego.

* In conference play, the Utes have a 35-7 advantage.

* In Salt Lake City, Utah is 23-1 against SDSU. The Aztecs' only win against the Utes in Salt Lake City was 74-72 on Feb. 25, 1982. Utah has won 18 home games in a row against San Diego State since then.

* Utah's most decisive win over San Diego State under Rick Majerus was 48 points (86-38) on Feb. 11, 1999 in the Huntsman Center. It was also the Utes' biggest win over the Aztecs all-time.

* San Diego State's most decisive win over Utah under Rick Majerus was three points (76-73) on Jan. 23, 1994 in San Diego. Its biggest win all-time over Utah was 13 points (75-62) on Jan. 30, 1982 in Salt Lake City.

* Rick Majerus is 18-1 against San Diego State all-time with all of those games taking place during his tenure at Utah. Majerus is 2-2 against Steve Fisher.

* Steve Fisher is 2-4 against Utah, including an 0-4 mark while at SDSU.

The Last Time Around

Kevin Bradley scored 18 points as Utah defeated San Diego State 76-63 on Feb. 10 of last season at Cox Arena in San Diego.

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.

Jacobson Prolific From Beyond the Arc

* Sophomore guard Nick Jacobson (6-4, 198) leads the Utes in scoring (15.3 ppg) and three-point percentage (49.4). He has scored in double figures in 12 of the 14 games this season.

* After breaking a streak of eight consecutive double-figure scoring games with nine points against Saint Mary's on Jan. 7, Jacobson roared back with a career-high 26 points against UNLV on Saturday. He hit a personal-best five treys in eight attempts and converted 9-of-15 field goal attempts.

* In the last five games dating back to Idaho State on Dec. 21, Jacobson has been shooting 50 percent from three-point range (15-for-30).

* In the NCAA statistical rankings released on Jan. 7, Jacobson was 17th in three-point percentage (48.6) and tied for 29th in three-pointers made per game (3.0).

* The Fargo, N.D., native surpassed the 20-point barrier for the first time in his career with 22 points against Pepperdine on Dec. 1, shooting 5-of-6 from 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).

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 second on the team in scoring (10.9 ppg) and second in rebounding (4.9 rpg). Dating back to last season, Britton has scored in double figures in 25 of the last 39 contests-including 11 games this season.

* The Murray, Utah, native has led the Utes in rebounding the last four games since Chris Burgess was injured against Texas. During that stretch, Britton has averaged 6.8 rebounds per game.

* Britton had a season-high eight rebounds and a career-high tying three blocked shots against Texas on Dec. 29. He tied a personal best with three steals against Whitworth on Jan. 2.

* 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.

* Senior guard/forward Jeff Johnsen (6-4, 204) joins his younger brother Britton in the Utah lineup. Jeff is averaging 9.1 points (fourth-best on the team) and 2.6 assists (second-best on the team), and has started the last 10 games. Jeff has scored in double figures in seven of the last 11 games, including four in a row.

* Jeff Johnsen had a career-high five three-pointers in seven attempts against UNLV on Saturday and got 17 points, his second-highest output this season.

* Jeff had a season-high 18 points against Whitworth on Jan. 2, missing his career high by two points. He shot 8-for-12 from the field and 2-for-3 from the line that night. Against Texas on Dec. 29, Jeff had season highs of seven rebounds and three steals. Jeff set a career high with six assists against Idaho State on Dec. 21.

* 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 64 assists to 26 turnovers (2.5:1 ratio) and 10 steals this season. Spivey has had fewer than two turnovers in five games this season. He is also averaging 5.7 points per game.

* In the last three games he's played, Spivey has put up 16 turnovers to three assists (5.3:1 ratio) while averaging over 30 minutes a game.

* The Myrtle Beach, S.C., native had a career-high 10 assists against Pepperdine on Dec. 1. Spivey 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.

Cullen Climbing the Career Charts After A Summer on the Mound

* Senior 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 (121), fifth in three-pointers attempted (316) and tied for ninth in blocked shots (57). He has started 42 games during his Utah career.

* This season, Cullen is averaging 5.7 points and 2.6 rebounds in 14.8 minutes per game off the bench.

* Getting more playing time since the injury to Chris Burgess against Texas on Dec. 29, Cullen has averaged 7.3 points and 4.0 rebounds in 21.3 minutes over the last four games. He had a season-high 12 points, hitting 3-of-5 field goals and 2-of-3 three-pointers, against Texas to reach double figures for the first time this year.

* 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.

Burgess Out For A Month, Perhaps the Season

* Senior center/forward Chris Burgess (6-10, 240) will be out until at least early February and perhaps the rest of the 2001-02 season with a torn plantar fascia in his right foot. Burgess suffered the injury five minutes into the Texas game on Dec. 29.

* Burgess has led the Utes in scoring five times and rebounds eight times this season. He has also had four double-doubles. The Irvine, Calif., native still ranks second on the team in scoring average (13.2 ppg) while shooting 66.0 percent from the field, which ranked fourth-best in the nation as of Jan. 7. He is also averaging a team-best 7.2 rebounds this season.

* Prior to being injured in the first half against Texas, Burgess had reached double figures in points five times and rebounds four times in the last six games. Over that stretch, he averaged 16.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocked shots while shooting 66.7 percent from the floor. Burgess had a career-high 22 points versus Troy State on Dec. 8.

Take Note of These Utes

* Freshman guard Martin Osimani (6-3, 203) had a career-best seven points, hitting both of his field goal attempts and 3-of-4 free throws, against Saint Mary's (Calif.) on Jan. 7. He also had three rebounds, one assist, one steal and no turnovers in 25 minutes.

* Before getting 11 turnovers and just two assists in the last three games, freshman guard Eric Osmundson (6-1, 196) had put up 13 assists to four turnovers (3.3:1 ratio) during the previous four games. Osmundson showed signs of returning to form against UNLV on Saturday, getting just one turnover while scoring six points in 11 minutes. In a career-best 23 minutes against Southern Utah on Dec. 18, the Carlsbad, Calif., native posted a career-best six assists with just one turnover, two points, three rebounds and a steal.

UNLV Game Rewind

Nick Jacobson scored a career-high 26 points and Utah set a school record for three-pointers with 17 as the Utes won their Mountain West Conference opener over UNLV 86-63 on Saturday in Salt Lake City.

Jacobson led the long-range barrage, which also tied a conference record, with five three-pointers. Jeff Johnsen also had five three-pointers and 17 points for the Utes (11-3, 1-0 MWC), who have won eight straight games. Six Utes canned treys in the game.

Dalron Johnson scored 20 and Marcus Banks had 17 points as UNLV (8-6, 1-2 MWC) dropped its fourth consecutive game against Utah.

The Utes didn't need an inside game against the Rebels as they sank 17-of-26 from beyond the arc. Jacobson broke the previous Utah three-pointer mark of 14 with a deep jumper from the right corner with 7:21 to play. Phil Cullen and Jeff Johnsen added back-to-back three-pointers and Utah led 74-51 with 5:59 remaining in the game.

After a quick UNLV 7-0 start, the Utes began to destroy the Rebel zone defense with quick ball movement and dead-eye shooting from long range. Utah made nine consecutive three-pointers until UNLV switched to man-to-man for the last three minutes of the first half and the rest of the game. Utah led 39-30 at the break.

Travis Spivey returned to the starting lineup and had six assists in 28 minutes after serving a one-game suspension for conduct detrimental to the team.

Utah outshot UNLV 61.7 to 42.0 percent from the field and had a 30 to 24 advantage on the boards. The Utes also had 22 assists to 16 turnovers.

* Utah's prolific shooting broke the school single-game record of 14 set four times, most recently against Washington State (14-of-28) on Dec. 11, 1999. The Utah also broke the Mountain West conference game record for threes in a game, bettering BYU's mark of 13 against San Diego State on Jan. 13, 2001. Utah tied the MWC record for all games, equaling Colorado State's 17 treys against Michigan on Jan. 2, 2000.

* Utah improved to 9-2 in conference season openers overall under head coach Rick Majerus and 5-0 when playing at home. The Runnin' Utes have also won seven consecutive league openers under Majerus.

The Nation's Most Dominant Team in League Play at Home

* With its 86-63 win over UNLV on Saturday, Utah has won 45 consecutive league wins 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 over the past eight years with a 54-1 record (.982).

* Against the seven other teams that now form the Mountain West Conference, Utah has won 41 in a row at home dating back to a 71-70 loss to Colorado State on Jan. 27, 1994.

Seven Straight Championships Best in the Nation

The Utes have won seven consecutive regular-season conference titles and nine overall in the Rick Majerus era, dating back to the 1989-90 season. Utah's string of seven straight titles is tied with Cincinnati's as the longest active streak in the nation.

Utah won the WAC regular-season championship outright in 1991 and shared it in 1993 before winning five straight outright titles from 1995-99 (the last three being divisional titles). Utah went 10-4 in conference play in 1999-2000 to share the inaugural Mountain West Conference championship with UNLV. The Utes also went 10-4 in 2000-01 to take the title with Brigham Young and Wyoming.

The Gunnin' Utes

Utah ranks 18th in the NCAA in three-point field goal percentage, shooting 40.3 percent as of Jan. 7. Currently, the Utes are shooting 42.3 percent from beyond the arc. Individually, sophomore guard Nick Jacobson ranks 17th in the NCAA in three-point percentage (48.6) and tied for 29th in threes made per game (3.0). He is currently shooting 49.4 percent from beyond the arc and averaging 2.93 treys per game.

* Utah has shot at least 40 percent from three-point range in seven games this season, all of them wins. The Utes have made at least five three-pointers in 12 of the 14 games.

* Three Utes are shooting at least 40 percent from three-point range: Nick Jacobson (49.4), Trace Caton (52.0) and Phil Cullen (45.7).

* Utah made a season-best 17 three-pointers in 26 attempts against UNLV on Saturday. The Utes' shot their best percentage from three-point range (.714) against Pepperdine on Dec. 1.

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 is the breakdown of the per game averages for those statistics.

WINS (11)   FG% Rebs.   Assists TurnoversUtah            49.4    33.3    17.6    14.4Opponents   40.0    28.0    9.8 15.5
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 11 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 six opponents-including five of the last eight-to 40 percent or less from the field (Boise State, Troy State, Weber State, Southern Utah, Texas and Saint Mary's).

* Utah is 7-1 when outrebounding its opponents this season. Before posting a 30-24 advantage on UNLV on Jan. 12, the Utes had been outrebounded in three consecutive games.

* The Utes have had a positive assist-to-turnover ratio in 10 of their 11 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.

* In 10 of the 11 wins, Utah has held its opponent to 63 points or less. In the three losses, the opponents have all surpassed the 70-point barrier.

* Utah has eclipsed the 80-point mark three times, winning all of those games (Pepperdine, 81-74, Troy State, 87-56, UNLV on Jan. 12, 86-63).

* Utah scored a season-high 47 points in the second half against UNLV on Jan. 12. The Utes also connected on a season-high 61.7 percent of their field goals in that game.

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

* Utah had a season-high nine blocked shots against Idaho State, missing the school single-game record by one. Chris Burgess and Travis Spivey both had career highs of four blocked shots in that game.

Rick's Remarks

On facing San Diego State - "They have a tremendous offensive potency with the likes of (Tony) Bland, (Brandon) Smith and (Randy) Holcomb. (Mike) Mackell was the California state junior college player of the year in what is probably the best junior college state in the country. Let's not forget Myron Epps has hurt us for three straight years at Utah. So, in addition to being well coached and playing great defense, they have an excellent offensive efficiency and it will be a very difficult game, and one that our fans will enjoy watching because they play with such great effort."

On the win over UNLV - "The score is extraordinarily misleading. It's an adoration is what it is, period. My concerns are always the effort the defense, and hopefully we compete and rebound and play smart. The ball just happened to go in tonight. It was like one of those night where it just falls. I thought we played hard and gave a good effort. I thought our crowd was excellent."

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.

* This season, Utah ranks 26th in the NCAA in scoring defense (59.7) as of Jan. 7.

* The Utes haven't allowed a team to score 80 points or better for 50 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 407-87. Utah got its 400th win in the history of the facility on Nov. 20 against Boise State.

* The Utes are 176-16 (.917) 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 156-11 (.934) at home. The Utes have won 113 of their last 119 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).

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