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
Utah Men's Basketball Notes - Game #18
1/23/2003 12:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 23, 2003
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Game #18
Utah Runnin' Utes (13-4, 1-1) vs. Brigham Young Cougars (13-4, 2-0)Jan. 25 * 1:07 p.m. (MST) * Marriott Center (22,700) * Provo, Utah
The Game at a Glance
Utah Head Coach: Rick Majerus BYU Head Coach: Steve Cleveland Alma Mater: Marquette, 1970 Alma Mater: UC Irvine, 1976 Record at Utah: 296-86/14th Season Record at BYU: 98-73/6th Season Career Record: 395-138/19th Season Career Record: 98-73/6th SeasonTelevision: ESPN Regional. Shown on KJZZ-TV (Channel 14, AT&T Cable 3) in Salt Lake City. Rich Waltz (play-by-play) and Irv Brown (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). On the Internet at www.UtahUtes.com and www.kall910.com.
Series Record: Tied 116-116 Utah's Record Home/Away/Neutral: 69-46/44-64/3-6 Last Meeting: BYU defeated Utah 63-61 on Feb. 23, 2002 in Provo, Utah.
Looking Ahead
Utah plays its first Mountain West Conference home games next weekend. The Runnin' Utes host Air Force on Saturday, Feb. 1 and New Mexico on Monday, Feb. 3. Both games will tipoff at 7:07 p.m. (MST) in the Jon M. Huntsman Center.
Quickly On Utah
The Runnin' Utes (13-4, 1-1 MWC) play their third consecutive road game to open the Mountain West Conference season against Brigham Young (13-4, 2-0 MWC) on Saturday at 1:07 p.m. (MST) at the Marriott Center in Provo, Utah. The game will be televised by ESPN Regional and broadcast on KALL-910 AM and the Utah Sports Network.
Following a 2-2 start to the season, Utah has won 11 of its last 13. The Utes had a season-best seven-game winning streak snapped with a 58-56 loss at San Diego State last Saturday, then rebounded with a 66-63 win at UNLV on Monday. Utah is 9-0 at home this season, 3-2 on the road and 1-2 on neutral courts. The Runnin' Utes rank eighth in the NCAA in scoring defense (58.1 ppg).
Three Utes are averaging double figures in scoring. Junior guard Nick Jacobson (6-4, 200) leads the team in scoring (12.5 ppg), and is shooting 42.2 percent from three-point range (43-for-102) and 87.5 percent from the free throw line. Junior center Tim Frost (6-10, 236) is second in both scoring (12.4 ppg) and rebounding (4.6 rpg). Senior forward Britton Johnsen (6-10, 210) is third in scoring (12.1 ppg) and first in rebounding (6.5 rpg). Freshman point guard Tim Drisdom (6-3, 203) leads the Utes in assists (3.6 apg).
Road Swing Rare Start To Conference Schedule
With its game at Brigham Young on Saturday, Utah will wrap-up a three-game road swing to tipoff its Mountain West Conference season. The Utes haven't opened their conference season with three consecutive road games since 1995. That season, Utah opened with a 64-57 loss at BYU on Jan. 3, a 79-71 win at Fresno State on Jan. 7 and a 78-66 win at Air Force on Jan. 9.
Utah will play its first conference home game against Air Force on Feb. 1. This is the first time Utah has opened its conference home schedule in February since the 1964-65 season, when Utah had its first WAC home game against BYU on Feb. 20. The Jack Gardner-coached Utes opened conference play with three road games, then played three nonconference games before going back on the road for two more conference games.
From the Training Room
* Senior forward Britton Johnsen missed two games after tearing a ligament in his right thumb at Utah State on Nov. 17. Johnsen made his return against Alabama on Dec. 30 and has been wearing a splint on his right hand. On Jan. 12, he began rehabilitation and was fitted with a smaller split that he will need to wear until the end of January. Johnsen sprained the thumb against UNLV on Jan. 20, but the ligament incurred no damage.
* Junior forward Tim Frost sprained his left foot late in the game against UNLV on Monday. He didn't practice on Wednesday but is expected to be ready for the BYU game on Saturday.
Scouting The Cougars
Brigham Young is 13-4 overall and 2-0 in the Mountain West Conference. The Cougars have won three in a row. After defeating Idaho State 77-58 to close out their nonconference season on Jan. 11, BYU opened conference play with an 85-77 win over UNLV at home on Jan. 16 and an 80-69 victory at San Diego State on Jan. 20. The Cougars are 8-0 at home this season and own the nation's longest homecourt winning steak of 44 games.
Senior guard Travis Hansen (6-6, 210) leads the team in scoring (15.5 ppg) and assists (2.7 apg), and is second in rebounding (4.6 rpg). Junior forward Mark Bigelow (6-7, 195) is second in scoring (13.2 ppg) and is shooting 47.4 percent from three-point range (36-of-76). Junior center Rafael Araujo (6-11, 265) who is from Sao Paulo, Brazil, and transferred from Arizona Western College, leads the team in rebounds (9.1 rpg). Araujo is also third for BYU in scoring (11.9 ppg), shooting 59.1 percent from the field.
BYU ranks fourth in the Mountain West in scoring (73.9 ppg), third in scoring defense (64.5 ppg), first in free throw percentage (.741), second in three-point percentage (.402) and first three-point percentage defense (.282).
Head Coach Steve Cleveland
Steve Cleveland is in his sixth season at BYU and has a 98-73 career record. Last season, Cleveland guided BYU to an 18-12 record and the second round of the NIT.
After two losing campaigns, he guided the Cougars to 20-win seasons in 1999-2000 (22-11) and 2000-01 (24-9). Those two seasons rank among the school's all-time top eight seasons in wins. In 2000-01 with a 24-9 overall record and a 10-4 mark in MWC play, Cleveland took BYU to its first NCAA Tournament since 1995, its first conference regular season title since 1993 and its first conference tournament championship since 1992. Cleveland took BYU to the NIT for the first time in 2000. Before taking over at BYU, Cleveland was the head coach at Fresno City College.
Utah-BYU Series Notes
* Utah and BYU meet for the 233rd time on Saturday afternoon. The Cougars are the Utes' oldest rivals in a series that dates back to a 32-9 win by BYU on Jan. 23, 1909 in Provo, Utah.
* The all-time series record is tied at 116-116 after the Runnin' Utes have won 14 of the last 17 meetings. The teams have split the last six confrontations.
* In conference regular season play, Utah has a 113-110 edge.
* In Provo, the Cougars lead 64-44. After losing five in a row to Utah in the Marriott Center, BYU has won the last two games. BYU won 69-61 on Jan. 29, 2001 and 63-61 on Feb. 23, 2002.
* Utah's most decisive win over BYU during the Rick Majerus era was 36 points (85-49) on Feb. 6, 1997 in Salt Lake City.
* BYU's most decisive win against Utah under Rick Majerus was 31 points (96-65) on March 10, 1994 in the WAC Tournament.
* Rick Majerus is 17-10 against BYU all-time with all of those games taking place during his tenure at Utah. He is 9-2 in Salt Lake City and 7-4 in Provo.
* Steve Cleveland is 3-9 against Utah.
Last Meeting
Four Utes scored in double figures, led by 15 points from Britton Johnsen, but it proved not to be enough as BYU rallied from 21 points down in the second half to beat Utah 63-61 at the Marriott Center last season on Feb. 23.
BYU trailed the entire game until Eric Nielsen took a pass from Matt Montague at the top of the key and hit a jump shot to put the Cougars ahead 62-61 with 24 seconds left. Utah had a chance to retake the lead, but Nick Jacobson's jumper bounced off the rim with 10 seconds left. BYU's Dan Howard, fouled on the rebound, hit one of two free throws. Utah's Travis Spivey drove the length of the court with a chance to tie the game, but his layup attempt hit the bottom of the rim as the buzzer sounded.
Travis Hansen scored 17 points to lead BYU and Nielsen added 14 for the Cougars. Along with Johnsen's double-double of 15 points and 13 rebounds, Jacobson and Spivey both added 12 points for Utah.
Utah opened its biggest lead, 47-26, just one minute into the second half. But BYU mounted a furious comeback, scoring 14 straight at one point and 24 of the next 29 points overall to cut the lead to 52-50 with 7:26 to play.
Utah outshot BYU 48.9 to 44.9 percent from the field. However, the Cougars made 6-of-14 threes to the Utes' 4-of-13 and had a 32 to 29 advantage on the glass.
Great Britton: Senior Forward Named Wooden Award Candidate
Senior forward Britton Johnsen (6-10, 210) was named to the Wooden Award Preseason All-America Team and is one of 50 players in the nation considered an early candidate for John R. Wooden Award, presented annually to college basketball's player of the year.
* Johnsen missed two games after he tore a ligament in his right thumb against Utah State on Dec. 17. He returned to the lineup against Alabama on Dec. 30 and has played in the last seven games.
* Johnsen had his best offensive output since returning from the injury on Jan. 18 against San Diego State. He had a game-high 16 points, shooting 5-of-11 from the field, 2-of-4 from three-point range and 4-of-6 at the line. Johnsen also led the Utes with seven rebounds and three steals in 31 minutes.
* In his second game back against Weber State on Jan. 3, Johnsen had his 10th career double-double and his third of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds. It was Johnsen's sixth double-double in the last 17 games he's played in dating back to last season.
* Johnsen has scored in double figures in 10 of the 15 games he's played in this season, leading Utah in scoring four times. Dating back to the 2000-01 season, Johnsen has scored in double figures in 48 of his last 70 contests.
* Johnsen has led Utah in rebounding in nine of the 15 games he's appeared in this season, averaging 6.5 boards per contest. He also led the Utes in rebounding 14 of the final 20 games last season, averaging 7.4 rebounds per game during that stretch.
Jackson and Koford Providing Relief
Sophomore guard Marc Jackson (6-1, 177) and senior center Cameron Koford (7-0, 227) have been putting up impressive numbers off the bench, particularly over the last five weeks.
* Jackson has set career highs in points in the last two games. He had 11 points in the Mountain West opener against San Diego State last Saturday, shooting 2-of-3 from the field, 1-of-2 from three-point range and 6-of-7 at the line. He also had a career-best six assists and two turnovers in 27 minutes.
The sophomore from Salt Lake City came up big again against UNLV on Monday. He had a career-best 21 points, shooting 6-of-7 from the field, 2-of-3 from three-point range and 7-of-9 at the free throw line in 25 minutes. He also had two assists, a steal and a career-high tying four rebounds.
* Koford had a season-high tying seven rebounds, four points, a blocked shot and a steal in 25 minutes against UNLV on Monday.
The Plain City, Utah, native scored in double figures in back-to-back games for the first time in his college career against Pepperdine (Dec. 20) and San Diego (Dec. 23). Against Pepperdine, Koford had a career-high six blocked shots, 10 points (3-4 FG, 4-6 FT) and a season-high seven rebounds in 21 minutes. In the San Diego game, he had a season-high 12 points (5-8 FG, 2-2 FT) and six rebounds in 20 minutes. He leads the Utes with 24 blocked shots on the season.
Game #17 Rewind
Marc Jackson scored a team-high 21 points as Utah rallied in the second half, then hung on in the final seconds to defeat UNLV 66-63 Monday night in Las Vegas. Tim Frost added 10 points for the Utes (13-4, 1-1 MWC), including one of two free throws with 1.8 seconds left after the Utes nearly relinquished a 63-55 lead with 59 seconds left.
Marcus Banks led UNLV (11-4, 0-2 MWC) with 22 points, while Jermaine Lewis, who missed a potential game-winning three-pointer with three seconds left, added 14 points.
With the Utes ahead by eight points with less than a minute to play, the Rebels quickly cut the lead to 64-62 with 18 seconds remaining. The Utes' Tim Drisdom then hit one of two free throws with 14 seconds left to put Utah ahead 65-62.
On the next possession, Banks, who scored 18 second-half points, was fouled with eight seconds remaining and hit his first free throw, but missed the second. After UNLV rebounded the miss, the Utes knocked the ball out of bounds, setting up Lewis' desperation attempt.
The Rebels jumped out to a 12-2 lead at the game's beginning and were ahead 23-14 before the Utes went on a 12-0 run to take a 26-23 lead. Jackson spurred the run by scoring nine points in an 86-second span, getting two free throws, a short jumper, a layup and a three-pointer. UNLV responded with a 7-0 run to lead 30-26 at the half.
The Rebels led by as much as five points, 32-27, early in the second half, but the Utes took the lead for good with 12:32 left when they went ahead 37-36.
Utah outrebounded UNLV 37-34, and shot 50 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from three-point range. The Utes also held the Runnin' Rebels to 37.5 percent shooting and a season-low 63 points. It was only the third time in 15 games this season UNLV failed to reach 70 points.
Inside the Numbers
* In eight of the 13 wins, Utah has held its opponent to under 40 percent shooting from the field. The Utes have outshot their opponents 47.9 to 38.4 percent in its wins. In its four losses, the Utes have been outshoot 44.5 to 42.9 percent.
* The Utes have outrebounded their opponents in 12 of the 13 wins. The exception was a 32-30 deficit in the win over Alabama. In their wins, the Utes have outrebounded the opponents by an average of 35.2 to 29.3. Utah had a season-best 48-32 advantage (+16) on the glass in its win over Pepperdine on Dec. 20. In three of the four losses, Utah has been outrebounded. Its average rebound deficit in losses is 35.0 to 30.3.
* The Utes have had the advantage at the free throw line in their 13 wins, making 234 trips to the line compared to 214 for the opponents and shooting 70.1 to 67.8 percent. In the four losses, the opposite has been the case with the opponents outshooting Utah at the free throw line 141 attempts to 60, and making 93 (65.0 percent) to 34 (56.7 percent).
* Utah's win over UNLV on Jan. 20 was it first when trailing at the half this season. The Utes improved to 1-3 when trailing at the half and 2-4 when trailing or tied after 20 minutes. Utah has yet to relinquish a lead with 5:00 remaining in the second half, going 13-0 when leading at that stage in the game.
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 10 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 eighth in the NCAA in scoring defense (58.1 ppg) as of Jan. 20. Since an 83-79 overtime loss to Arizona State on Nov. 27, the highest point total Utah has surrendered over the next 13 games is 63 points in a win (66-63) at UNLV on Jan. 20
* The Utes have held 13 teams under 60 points this season and three teams under 50 points. Alabama scored just 49 points against the Utes on Dec. 30.
* Eight opponents have shot under 40 percent from the field this season. No team has shot 50 percent from the field on Utah in 2002-03.
* Utah has not allowed an opponent to score 80 points in 80 consecutive games that have ended in regulation. The last team to score 80 points on the Utes in a 40-minute game was Wyoming (88-61) on Feb. 28, 2000 in Laramie, Wyo.
* An opponent reached the 80-point mark on Utah for the first time in 70 games in its 83-79 overtime loss to Arizona State on Nov. 27.
* Last season, Utah ranked 13th in the NCAA in scoring defense (61.3).
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