Completed Event: Men's Basketball versus No. 9-Seed Cincinnati (1st Round) on March 10, 2026 , Loss , 66, to, 73
Final Score
Men's Basketball
66
vs No. 9-Seed Cincinnati (1st Round)
73
The University of Utah Athletics
AP Preview: Utah vs. Indiana
3/12/2002 12:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 12, 2002
GAME: No. 12 Utah (21-8) vs. No. 5 Indiana (20-11).
REGIONAL: South, First Round.
TIME: Thursday, 10:30 p.m. EST.
SITE: ARCO Arena, Sacramento, Calif.
Indiana may own a piece of the Big Ten regular season championship, but that doesn't mean it is a lock to get out of the first round of the NCAA tournament.
The fifth-seeded Hoosiers will begin their quest for their first national championship in 15 years when they take on 12th-seeded Utah.
Despite making their 17th straight appearance in the tournament, the Hoosiers have lost their first-round game in each of the last two seasons, and have also dropped five first-round games in their last seven trips to the tournament.
Indiana lost to Kent State in the first round last year in Mike Davis' first season as coach after replacing the legendary Bobby Knight.
"I think there was a lot of pressure on us last year to do certain things and this year's team learned to deal with pressure," said Jared Jeffries, who was recently named Big Ten player of the year. "The best thing about this is having the chance to play for the national title. Right now 65 teams have a chance at the title."
Indiana shared the Big Ten regular season championship with Ohio State, Illinois and Wisconsin - the Hoosiers' first crown since the 1992-93 season. But they couldn't follow it up with their first conference tournament title, losing in Saturday's semifinals to Iowa, 62-60.
A.J. Moye finished with a team-high 14 points, Tom Coverdale added 11 and Jeffries chipped in 10.
The loss hurt the Hoosiers' chances of a higher seed and the possibility of playing closer to home. But that doesn't bother Davis as he tries to lead Indiana to its sixth national title, but first since 1987.
"We are pleased with the seeding and excited for the matchup," Davis said. "We are in for a good battle with Utah. (Rick) Majerus is a legendary coach and his team will come ready to play."
Utah is 8-0 in first-round games under Majerus, and made it to the tournament for six straight years from 1995 to 2000. The 1998 squad advanced to the championship game, losing to Kentucky.
Last year, Majerus took time off to care for his ailing mother and recover from his own health problems, and the Utes had to settle for a trip to the NIT.
One of the final at-large teams picked for the tournament, Utah finished second in the Mountain West Conference regular season race behind Wyoming and then fell to UNLV, 76-70 in the semifinals of the conference tournament. Nick Jacobson had 19 points for Utah, while Travis Spivey added 11 and eight rebounds.
PROBABLE STARTERS: Utah - F Chris Burgess (13.2 ppg, 7.2 rpg), F Jacobson (13.2 ppg, 2.0 rpg), F Britton Johnsen (12.9 ppg, 6.4 rpg), G Jeff Johnsen (10.7 ppg, 2.8 apg), G Spivey (6.9 ppg, 4.5 apg). Indiana - F Jeffries (15.2 ppg, 7.5 rpg), F Jarrad Odle (9.2 ppg, 5.3 rpg), F Jeff Newton (7.6 ppg, 5.0 rpg), G Dane Fife (8.9 ppg, 2.4 apg), G Coverdale (12.3 ppg, 4.8 apg).
HOW THEY GOT HERE: Utah - At-large bid, Mountain West Conference. Indiana - At-large bid, Big Ten.
ALL-TIME TOURNAMENT RECORD: Utah - 32-25, 22 years. Indiana - 52-25, 30 years.
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