Utah Takes On UNLV Tonight In Mountain West Semifinals

March 8, 2002

MWC Tournament - Semifinals

Utah Runnin' Utes (21-7, 10-4 MWC) vs. UNLV Runnin' Rebels (19-9, 9-5 MWC)

March 8 * 9:05 p.m. (PST) * Thomas & Mack Center (18,500) * Las Vegas, Nev.

The Game at a Glance

Utah Head Coach: Rick Majerus            UNLV Head Coach: Charlie SpoonhourAlma Mater: Marquette, 1970         Alma Mater: Univ. of the Ozarks, 1961Record at Utah: 283-80/13th Season  Record at UNLV: 19-9/1st SeasonOverall Record: 382-132/18th Season Overall Record: 338-180/17th Season
Television: ESPN. Bob Carpenter (play-by-play) and Jimmy Dykes (analyst).Radio: Utah Sports Network (KALL-910 AM in Salt Lake City and affiliate stations).Bill Marcroft (play-by-play), Mark Rydalch (analyst) and Brad Stone (host).Internet: www.theMWC.com.
Series Record: UNLV leads 11-10Utah's Record Home/Away/Neutral: 7-2/3-7/0-2Last Meeting: Utah lost to UNLV 72-64 on Feb. 11, 2002 in Las Vegas.

Quickly On Utah

The Runnin' Utes are 21-7 overall and finished second in the Mountain West Conference with a 10-4 record. Since starting out 3-3, the Utes have won 18 of the last 22 contests. Utah, seeded No. 2, opened the Mountain West Tournament with a 69-66 win over No. 7 Colorado State in the quarterfinals on Thursday night in Las Vegas, Nev. The Utes face No. 3 UNLV in the semifinals on Friday at 9:05 p.m. (PST). The game will be televised on ESPN.

Junior 6-9 forward Britton Johnsen leads the Runnin' Utes in scoring (13.1 ppg) and rebounding (6.5 rpg). Sophomore 6-4 guard Nick Jacobson is second on the team in scoring (13.0 ppg), shooting 45.3 percent (65-of-144) from three-point range. He ranked tied for 17th in the nation in three-point percentage with a mark of 45.1 percent as of March 5. Senior 6-1 guard Travis Spivey leads the way in assists (4.5 apg). Senior 6-4 guard/forward Jeff Johnsen is third in scoring (10.9 ppg), second in assists (2.9 apg) and first in steals (1.3 spg).

As of the March 5 NCAA rankings, Utah was 10th in the nation in scoring defense (60.1 ppg), ninth in three-point field goal percentage (41.0) and 29th in field goal percentage (47.4). Currently, the Utes are allowing 60.3 points per game, and shooting 40.5 percent from beyond the arc and 47.4 percent from the field.

The Utes In Conference Tournaments

Utah is competing in its 19th conference tournament-16 as a member of the Western Athletic Conference and its third in the MWC-posting a 22-15 (.595) record. The Utes won WAC Tournament titles in 1995, '97 and '99.

In the Mountain West Tournament, the Utes have lost in the semifinals the last two years. In 2001, No. 2 Utah fell to No. 6 BYU, 58-54. Last season, the No. 1 Utes were defeated by No. 4 New Mexico, 56-53.

Entering the tournament, the Utes .583 winning percentage ranked third among conference teams as members of the WAC (1984-99) and the MWC (2000-01). UNLV ranked ahead of Utah at .800 (8-2), while New Mexico was third at .600 (21-16) and BYU fourth at .548 (17-14).

Scouting UNLV

The Runnin' Rebels are 19-9 overall following their 120-117 double overtime win over New Mexico on Thursday night in the Mountain West Tournament quarterfinals. UNLV is the No. 3 seed after going 9-5 in the Mountain West in the regular season.

UNLV has won 11 of its last 13 and five in a row-four of those five wins were at the Thomas & Mack Center. Last weekend at home, the Rebels defeated Air Force (73-66) on Thursday and New Mexico (91-82) on Saturday. UNLV is 15-2 at the Thomas & Mack Center this season, including a 7-1 mark against Mountain West opponents.

Junior 6-9 forward Dalron Johnson was named first team all-Mountain West. He leads UNLV in scoring (16.8 ppg), rebounding (6.8 rpg), free throw percentage (84.6) and blocked shots (45). Junior 6-1 guard Marcus Banks, a transfer from Dixie State College, was a second team all-league selection. He is second on the team in scoring (16.0 ppg), and first in assists (2.9 apg) and steals (2.3 spg). Senior 6-5 guard/forward Lou Kelly earned honorable mention in the all-conference voting. He ranks third on the team in scoring (15.0 ppg) and is shooting 36.8 percent from three-point range. Senior 6-6 forward Chris Richardson is second for the Rebels in rebounds (5.9 rpg). In UNLV's win over New Mexico, Kelly had a game-high 35 points, five assists and four rebounds. He shot 11-of-21 from the field and 10-of-12 at the line. Banks had 26 points while Johnson had 16.

During the regular season, UNLV ranked first in the Mountain West in scoring (76.8 ppg), eighth in scoring defense (73.5 ppg), seventh in rebound margin (-2.7) and first in turnover margin (+3.78).

Comparing the Stats


            Utah    UNLVScoring         67.6    78.3Scoring Defense 60.3    75.0FG%         .474    .462FG% Defense .438    .4733-Pt. FG%   .405    .3503-Pt. FG% Def.  .307    .370FT%         .680    .709Rebound Margin  +1.0    -3.1Assists         14.7    14.8Turnovers   13.3    14.2Opp. Turnovers  13.7    18.1Steals      6.1 10.3

Head Coach Charlie Spoonhour

Charlie Spoonhour became the 12th head coach in UNLV history this year and has an 19-9 record. His career record is 338-180 in 17 seasons. Spoonhour jumps back into coaching after taking two years off. He most recently spent seven years as the head coach at Saint Louis (1992-99) and went 122-90. Spoonhour retired from Saint Louis on March 5, 1999, after heading into his final season ranked 26th among active NCAA Division I coaches (minimum 10 years) in winning percentage with a .662 mark. Before his stint with the Billikens, Spoonhour was the head coach for nine years at Southwest Missouri State (1983-92). In his career, he has led teams to eight NCAA Tournaments and two NIT appearances.

Utah-UNLV Series Notes

* Utah and UNLV meet for the 22nd time on Friday night. The series dates back to a 107-90 win by the Runnin' Rebels on Dec. 26, 1975.

* UNLV leads the all-time series 11-10. The Runnin' Utes had won four in a row to tie the series at 10-10 before losing 72-64 on Feb. 11 in Las Vegas. Utah took the first meeting this season, 86-63 on Jan. 12 in Salt Lake City. * In postseason play, UNLV has a 3-0 advantage all time and a 2-0 edge in the Rick Majerus era. The Rebels defeated the Utes 83-66 in the West Regional semifinals of the 1991 NCAA Tournament on March 21 in Seattle, Wash. UNLV also knocked off Utah 54-51 in the first round of the 1998 WAC Tournament on March 5 in Las Vegas.

* In conference play, Utah has a 6-3 advantage.

* In Las Vegas, the Utes are 3-7. Utah broke a two-game losing streak with an 85-77 win on Feb. 12, 2001.

* Utah's most decisive win over UNLV under Rick Majerus was 44 points (96-52) on Feb. 21, 2000 in Salt Lake City. It was also the Utes' biggest win over the Runnin' Rebels all-time.

* UNLV's most decisive win over Utah under Rick Majerus was 17 points (83-66) on March 21, 1991 in the regional semifinals of the NCAA Tournament in Seattle, Wash.

* Rick Majerus is 4-4 against UNLV all-time with all of those games taking place during his tenure at Utah.

* Charlie Spoonhour is 1-1 against Utah, facing the Utes for the first time this season.

The Last Time Around

Dalron Johnson scored a game high 17 points on Feb. 11 to lead UNLV, which rallied from a 12-point first-half deficit, past Utah 72-64 at the Thomas & Mack Center. Britton Johnsen led Utah with 16 points, while teammate Jeff Johnsen added 11 points. Cameron Koford also chipped in 10 points, eight rebounds and a career-high four blocked shots for the Utes.

UNLV was aided in its comeback by guard Marcus Banks, who injured his left ankle with 6:10 left in the first half, but returned with 10:12 left in the game, and finished with 12 points after scoring 10 in the second half. Louis Amundson also added 12 points and seven rebounds for the Rebels. UNLV converted 20-of-28 from the free throw line, while Utah made 5-of-5.

The Utes scored the first 11 points of the game and held a 37-25 lead with 3:01 left in the first half. Turnovers helped UNLV in its comeback, with Utah turning the ball over 22 times leading to 23 points for the Runnin' Rebels. UNLV lost possession only eight times.

UNLV took the lead for good, 53-51, with 7:42 left in the game and made 5-of-6 free throws at the end of the game to seal the win. Ute point guard Travis Spivey fouled out with 5:25 remaining.

Utah shot 66.7 percent in the first half and 52.8 percent for the game. The Utes were just 3-of-17 from three-point range. Both teams collected 32 rebounds, however, got 14 offensive rebounds which led to 16 second chance points.

About Last Night

Jeff Johnsen scored a career-high 23 points and Utah held off a late rally to beat Colorado State 69-66 in the opening round of the Mountain West Conference Tournament on Thursday night.

The Utes (21-7) led 61-52 with 4:58 remaining, but the Rams went on an 11-3 run capped by Andy Birley's three-pointer to pull within 64-63 with 1:11 left. Johnsen and Travis Spivey hit two free throws apiece, but Jon Rakiecki hit a trey for Colorado State with five seconds remaining to make it 68-66. Johnsen then sank one of two free throws for the final margin, and Birley missed a three-pointer from the top of the arc as time expired.

Matt Nelson scored a game-high 25 points and Brian Greene added 13 for lead Colorado State (12-18).

Jeff Johnsen shot 7-of-10 from the field, making one three-pointer, and knocked down 8-of-11 free throws. Britton Johnsen contributed 10 points and six rebounds in 26 minutes before fouling out for Utah. Trace Caton had nine points off the bench, hitting 3-of-4 from the floor and both three-point attempts in 30 minutes.

Utah made only 19-of-34 free throws, while Colorado State was 21-for-27 from the line. The Utes were outrebounded 37-25. Colorado State led most of the game until Utah took the lead for good at 40-37 on Martin Osimani's three-pointer with 14:06 remaining.

MWC Quarterfinals Game Notes

* In getting his career-high 23 points, Ute senior guard/forward Jeff Johnsen bettered his total of 21 points against Colorado State on Feb. 28. He also surpassed the 20-point plateau for the third time this season and fourth time in his career.

* Jeff Johnsen has scored in double figures in three consecutive games, getting 20 points twice. During that stretch, he has shot 18-of-31 (58.1) from the field and 6-of-13 (64.2) from three-point range.

* Utah attempted a season-high 34 free throws against Colorado State.

* Utah started the game 1-for-9 from three-point range before hitting the next 8-of-11. The Utes also shot above 40 percent from three-point range for the first time in four games.

* Utah was outrebounded for the first time in four MWC Tournament games by a margin of 37-25.

* Jeff Johnsen averaged 19.3 points and shot 67 percent (18-of-27) in three games against Colorado State this season.

* In his three previous MWC Tournament games prior to Thursday, Jeff Johnsen averaged 8.0 points and never made more than three field goals in a game.

* Ute junior forward Britton Johnsen fouled out of a game for the first time this season.

* Britton Johnsen scored in double figures for the eighth consecutive game. He also led the Utes in rebounding for the 13th time in 18 games since the injury to Chris Burgess against Texas on Dec. 29.

* With nine points, Trace Caton had his best scoring performance since getting 11 points against BYU in Salt Lake City on Jan. 28. Against Mountain West opponents this season, Caton has shot 24-of-49 (49.0) from the field and 14-of-27 (51.9) from three-point range.

* Entering the game with Colorado State, freshman guard Martin Osimani was 0-for-2 from three-point range. He went 2-for-3 against Colorado State, connecting on his last two attempts.

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