Utah Men's Basketball Notes - NIT Consolation Game

Nov. 27, 2003

Game #5

Preseason NIT - Consolation Game

Utah Runnin' Utes (3-1) vs. Connecticut Huskies (3-1)

Nov. 28 * 4:30 p.m. (EST) * Madison Square Garden * New York City

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The Game at a Glance

Utah Head Coach: Rick Majerus           Connecticut Head Coach: Jim CalhounAlma Mater: Marquette, 1970             Alma Mater: American International College, 1968Record at Utah: 311-91 (15th Season)    Record at UConn: 402-160 (18th Season)Overall Record: 410-143 (20th Season)   Overall Record: 650-297 (32nd Season)
Television: ESPN2. Dave O'Brien (play-by-play), Len Elmore (analyst) and Mark Jones (reporter).
Radio: Utah Sports Network (KALL-700 AM in Salt Lake City and affiliate stations).On the Internet at www.UtahUtes.com and www.kall700.com.Bill Marcroft (play-by-play), Mark Rydalch (analyst) and Brad Stone (host).
Series Record: Utah leads 2-1Utah's Record Home/Away/Neutral: 2-0/0-0/0-1Last Meeting: Connecticut won 73-63 on Dec. 4, 1982 in Tempe, Ariz.

After This

Utah returns to Salt Lake City for a three-game home stand, beginning with a match-up against Utah State on Wednesday, Dec. 3 at 7:07 p.m. (MST) in the Jon M. Huntsman Center.

Quickly On Utah

Utah (3-1) takes on Connecticut (3-1) in the Preseason NIT consolation game on Friday at 4:30 p.m. (EST) at Madison Square Garden in New York. The game will be televised by ESPN2 and broadcast on KALL-700 AM and the Utah Sports Network.

The Runnin' Utes opened Preseason NIT play by defeating Georgia State, 46-38, in the first round and Minnesota, 66-54, in the second round. Both games were played in Salt Lake City. Utah suffered its first loss of the season to Texas Tech, 65-54, on Wednesday night in the semifinals.

Sophomore forward Richard Chaney (6-4, 195) leads the Utes in scoring (13.8 ppg), shooting 4-of-7 from three-point range. Freshman forward Andrew Bogut (6-10, 233) leads the Utes in rebounding (13.0 rpg) and is second in scoring (11.8 ppg). The native of Melbourne, Australia, has two double-doubles this season. Senior guard Nick Jacobson (6-4, 206) is third in scoring (8.3 ppg). Freshman forward Justin Hawkins (6-4, 207) is second in rebounding (3.8 rpg). Sophomore guard Tim Drisdom (6-2, 212) leads the Utes in assists (3.5 apg).

Scouting Connecticut

The Huskies, ranked No. 1 in both the AP and ESPN/USA Today polls, lost their first game of the season Wednesday night to Georgia Tech, 77-61 in the semifinals of the Preseason NIT. In the first two rounds of the tournament, Connecticut got home wins over Yale (70-60) and Nevada (93-79). Last Saturday the Huskies defeated Sacred Heart 111-64 in a home game at the Hartford Civic Center,

Junior center Emeka Okafor (6-10, 252), the consensus National Preseason Player of the Year, leads the team in rebounding (12.5 rpg) and is second in scoring (16.5 ppg). Junior guard Ben Gordon (6-3, 200), a consensus preseason All-America pick, is the Huskies' leading scorer (22.5 ppg) and is shooting 61.1 percent from three-point range (11-of-18) and 71.4 percent from the line. Senior guard Taliek Brown (6-1, 195) leads the team in assists (5.5 apg).

The Huskies have outscored opponents 83.8 to 70.0 points per game and have a 43.2 to 36.8 advantage on the boards. UConn is shooting 49.4 percent from the field, 47.5 percent from three-point range and 56.2 percent from the free throw line.

Head Coach Jim Calhoun

Jim Calhoun is 650-297 in his 32nd season as a head coach and 402-160 in his 18th year at Connecticut. Calhoun was 248-137 in 14 years at Northeastern before taking over at UConn. With the Huskies, he has taken 11 teams to the NCAA Tournament, making the Sweet 16 nine times and winning the national title in 1999 with a 34-2 record. Calhoun has led UConn to eight Big East regular-season championships.

Utah vs. UConn Series

* The Utes and Huskies meet for the fourth time on Friday with Utah leading the series 2-1

* UConn took the last game, which is the only previous contest in the series played on a neutral court. The Huskies won 73-63 on Dec. 4, 1982 in Tempe, Ariz.

* Utah won the first two games of the series, which were played in Salt Lake City. The Utes prevailed 105-85 on Jan. 1, 1969 and 73-66 on Dec. 8, 1979.

* Rick Majerus has never faced Connecticut.

* Utah is 22-18 all-time against the Big East Conference teams, including a 12-7 mark on neutral courts.

Utah Against No. 1

Utah has played the No. 1-ranked team in the nation twice before under Rick Majerus, winning both games. The Utes defeated top ranked North Carolina 65-59 in the 1998 national semifinals at the Alamodome in San Antonio. Last season, Utah upended No. 1 Alabama 51-49 on Dec. 30 in Salt Lake City.

Last Time At The Garden

The last time the Utes played in Madison Square Garden, they were playing in the 1992 postseason NIT. Utah lost to Notre Dame 58-55 in the semifinals and defeated Florida 81-78 in the consolation game.

Utah had also played in Madison Square Garden seven other times in the NIT (1944, '47, '49, '57, '58, '70 and '74). Utah won the 1947 NIT championship, defeating Kentucky 49-45 on March 24. The Utes also made it to the NIT title game in 1974 with wins over Rutgers, Memphis State and Boston College before falling to Purdue 87-81.

Bogut Named MWC Player of the Week

Freshman forward Andrew Bogut (6-10, 233) was named the Mountain West Conference Player of the Week on Monday. Bogut led the Utes in both scoring and rebounding with double-doubles in their first two games. Through four games, he is averaging 11.8 points and 13.0 rebounds per game while shooting 67.7 percent from the field in 32.0 minutes per contest.

* Bogut and two-time All-American Keith Van Horn in 1993-94 are the only Ute freshmen to have double-doubles in their first two games. Bogut had 15 points, hitting 7-of-10 field goals and 1-of-4 free throws, and 16 rebounds against Georgia State. In the Minnesota game, he had 19 points, going 8-of-9 from the field, 1-of-1 from beyond the arc and 2-of-4 at the free throw line. Bogut also had 18 rebounds, which tied the 12th-best single-game mark in school history.

* Bogut had his third double-figure rebounding game against Texas Tech on Wednesday, getting 13. He also had nine points and a team-best five assists.

* The Melbourne native led Australia to the 2003 FIBA Junior World Championships in Greece in July, earning tournament MVP honors.

Chatter About Chaney

Sophomore wingman Richard Chaney (6-4, 195) is Utah's scoring leader through four games, averaging 13.8 points a game. He is shooting 64.9 percent from the field and 4-of-7 from three-point range in 30.0 minutes a game.

* Chaney had a career-best 21 points against Stony Brook on Sunday, hitting 3-of-4 three-pointers and 9-of-12 field goals. He also had five rebounds in 35 minutes. He made two critical three-pointers in the final 2:26 to help Utah come back from a 46-42 deficit with 4:33 left and get a 51-48 win. It was his first 20-point game and seventh double-figure scoring game of his career.

* Chaney had his second consecutive double-figure scoring game against Texas Tech, leading Utah with 17 points. He shot 8-of-11 from the field and hit is only three-point attempt.

Olsen Has Best Outing Against Texas Tech

Freshman guard Josh Olsen (6-0, 182) had his best performance of the season against Texas Tech. The Sandy, Utah, native had season-bests of 10 points, two assists (three turnovers) and 27 minutes played. He hit all four shots from the field, hit only three-point attempt and his only free throw.

Game #4 Rewind

Utah suffered its first loss of the season, falling 65-54 to Texas Tech in the semifinals of the Preseason NIT on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.

Andre Emmett scored 16 of his 23 points in the first half as Texas Tech (4-0) came from behind to take control of the game. Utah, grabbed the early lead behind seven points from Richard Chaney. Then Tech turned up the heat.

With Utah leading 13-6, Emmett and Devonne Giles fueled a 16-3 run that put the Red Raiders in front to stay. The stretch was interrupted only by a three-pointer by Nick Jacobson.

Texas Tech took advantage by using high-percentage shots. The Raiders never attempted a shot from beyond the three-point line until the game was well in hand. Texas Tech led 35-25 at the half and stayed comfortably in front the rest of the way behind Emmett with major help from Giles and freshman Jarrius Jackson, who had 13 points apiece. Chaney topped Utah (3-1) with 17 points, and freshman Andrew Bogut had 13 rebounds.

Utah was plagued by 18 turnovers that led to 19 points for Texas Tech. The Utes also shot just 3-of-14 (21.4 percent) from the free throw line.

Ute Items

* Turnovers have been a problem for the Utes so far this year with an average of 18.8 per game. Utah's 21 turnovers against Georgia State were a season-high. The Utes also had 20 turnovers against Minnesota, 16 against Stony Brook and 18 against Texas Tech.

* Utah had its worst effort this season from the free throw line against Texas Tech, shooting just 21.4 percent (3-of-14). Its previous low mark was 33.3 percent against Stony Brook on Sunday. In its last two games, Utah has made 5-of-20 free throws (25.0 percent) after shooting 72.2 percent in its first two games.

* With its win Sunday at Stony Brook, Utah was 3-0 to start the season for the first time since 1997-98. That year the Utes won 18 in a row, which is the best start in school history. That win streak was snapped with a 65-54 loss to Texas Tech on Wednesday.

* The Utes have been finishing off close games this season. In the opener against Georgia State, Utah was down 31-26 with 9:36 remaining before coming back to win 46-38. Against Minnesota, the Utes led by just 49-45 with 7:33 to play before pulling away for a 66-54 win. Stony Brook had a 44-39 lead on the Utes with 5:28 left before Utah went on a 12-4 run to close it out, winning 51-48.

* The Utes had made a three-pointer in 152 consecutive games before going 0-for-8 against Georgia State on Nov. 17. The last time Utah didn't make a three was during a 0-for-12 outing at Long Beach State on Dec. 5, 1998.

In The Polls

* Utah received 32 votes to rank No. 28 in the ESPN/USA Today poll.

* The Utes received 58 votes to rank 28th in Associated Press preseason poll.

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 11 times in scoring defense, nine times in rebound margin, eight times in field goal percentage defense and eight times in scoring margin.

* Utah held its first three opponents to under 40 percent shooting from the field, with Georgia State shooting 30.6 percent, Minnesota 33.3 percent and Stony Brook 39.0 percent. All three teams were also held under 55 points. Texas Tech shot 49.1 percent from the field in a 65-54 win over the Utes in the semifinals of the Preseason NIT.

* Utah has not allowed an opponent to score 80 points in 99 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) on Feb. 28, 2000 in Laramie, Wyo.

* Last season, Utah ranked 14th in the NCAA in scoring defense, giving up 60.3 points per game.

* The Utes held 18 teams under 60 points last season and five teams under 50 points.

* Fourteen opponents shot under 40 percent from the field in 2002-03. The only team to defeat Utah when shooting under 40 percent was New Mexico on March 1 when the Lobos shot 38.1 percent; however, the Lobos made 40-of-53 free throws. Only three teams shot 50 percent or better against the Utes. In this season's opener, Georgia State shot just 30.6 percent from the field.

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