Utah Men's Basketball Notes - Game #13 - University of Utah Athletics

Dec. 31, 2003

Game #13

Utah Runnin' Utes (9-3) vs. Weber State Wildcats (7-5)

Jan. 3 * 2:05 p.m. (MST) * Dee Events Center (12,000) * Ogden, Utah

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The Game At A Glance

Utah Head Coach: Rick Majerus           Weber State Head Coach: Joe CravensAlma Mater: Marquette, 1970             Alma Mater: Texas-Arlington, 1977Record at Utah: 317-93 (15th Season)    Record at Weber State: 84-49 (5th Season)Overall Record: 416-145 (20th Season)   Overall Record: 139-98 (9th Season)
Television: KJZZ-TV 14 in Salt Lake City. Steve Brown (play-by-play) and Thurl Bailey (analyst).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 19-12Utah Home/Away/Neutral: 13-3/6-9/0-0Last Meeting: Utah won 72-58 on Jan. 3, 2003 in Salt Lake City.

After This

Utah closes out its nonconference schedule with a pair of home games, beginning with Pepperdine on Monday, Jan. 5 at 10:00 p.m. (MST) on ESPN's "Big Monday" opening night. The Utes then face Whitworth on Wednesday, Jan. 7 at 7:05 p.m. (MST).

Quickly On Utah

Utah (9-3) plays its final nonconference road game against Weber State (7-5) on Saturday at 2:05 p.m. (MST) at the Dee Events Center in Ogden, Utah. The game will be televised on KJZZ-TV 14 in Salt lake City and broadcast on KALL-700 AM and the Utah Sports Network. The Utes are 2-1 on the road this season.

The Utes have won three in a row and six of their last seven games. After a six-day break for Christmas, Utah defeated Southern Utah 78-45 on Monday night at the Huntsman Center.

Senior guard Nick Jacobson (6-4, 206) leads the Utes in scoring (13.5 ppg), hitting 45.8 percent of his three-point attempts. Freshman forward Andrew Bogut (6-10, 233) is second on the team in scoring (12.0 ppg) and first in rebounding (10.5 rpg). The native of Melbourne, Australia, has had six double-doubles this season and is shooting 64.8 percent from the field. Sophomore forward Richard Chaney (6-4, 195) is third in scoring (11.9 ppg), shooting 54.7 percent from the field and 44.4 percent from three-point range. Sophomore guard Tim Drisdom (6-2, 212) leads the Utes in assists (3.8 apg). Senior forward Tim Frost (6-9, 244), who has had two double-doubles, is second in rebounding (4.5 rpg) and fourth in scoring (7.4 ppg).

From The Training Room

* Senior center Tim Frost has been nursing a sore back since the start of practice, and was forced to sit out the Southern Utah game after it flared up on him last weekend. Frost is questionable for the Weber State game on Saturday.

Scouting Weber State

The Wildcats are 7-5 overall and 4-1 at home this season. Weber State is coming off playing back-to-back games in the Oneida Bingo & Casino Classic hosted by Wisconsin-Green Bay on Monday and Tuesday. The Wildcats lost to Troy State 79-59 in the first round and defeated Savannah State 83-51 in the consolation game. Against instate competition, Weber State lost to Utah State at home on Nov. 25 (66-60), won at Southern Utah on Dec. 2 (82-68) and lost at BYU on Dec. 20 (86-65).

Senior forward Slobodan Ocokoljic (6-8, 235) leads the team in scoring (14.9 ppg), rebounds (6.9 rpg) and steals (14). He is shooting 46.2 percent from the field and 70.8 percent from the free throw line. Senior guard John Hamilton (6-3, 190) is second in scoring (12.8 ppg) and leads WSU in assists (2.9 apg). Hamilton is the team's best three-point shooter, hitting 42.0 percent (29-of-69). Junior center Lance Allred (6-10, 240) is third in scoring (12.2 ppg) and second in rebounding (4.6 rpg). Senior forward Nic Sparrow (6-4, 210) is the fourth Wildcat averaging double-figures in scoring (11.7 ppg).

Comparing the Stats

           Utah    Weber StateScoring         63.8    70.3Scoring Def.    52.3    66.3FG%         .486    .445FG% Defense .386    .4503-Pt. FG%   .395    .3753-Pt. FG% Def.  .228    .354FT%         .653    .684Rebound Margin  +6.1    +1.7Assists         13.8    14.0Turnovers   15.8    12.6Opp. Turnovers  12.9    14.4Steals          6.0 4.8Blocked Shots   3.2 0.8

Head Coach Joe Cravens

Joe Cravens is in his fifth season as Weber State's head coach with an 84-49 record, averaging 19 wins in his first four seasons. He has a 139-98 career mark in his ninth season. Last year, Cravens led the Wildcats to a 26-6 overall record, a 14-0 mark in the Big Sky Conference to win the regular-season league title, and a berth in the NCAA Tournament. Weber State lost to Wisconsin 81-74 in the first round. Cravens was named the 2002-03 Coach of the Year in the Big Sky Conference, NABC District 13 and USBWA District 8.

Cravens was an assistant to Rick Majerus at Utah for three seasons. During the 1989-90 season, Cravens filled in as acting head coach when Majerus had heart surgery and posted a 12-12 record. Cravens departed Utah after the 1991-92 season to become the head coach at Idaho, where he went 43-40 in four years.

Utah-Weber State Series Notes

* Utah and Weber State meet for the 32nd time on Saturday. Utah leads the all-time series 19-12, and has won seven of the last nine meetings. The teams have met every year since 1993.

* After Weber State took two in a row in 1999-2000 and 2000-01, the Utes have captured the last two meetings. Utah won last season, 72-58, on Jan. 3 in Salt Lake City.

* Weber State has a 9-6 edge in games played in Ogden, Utah. In the last game played in the Dee Events Center, Utah prevailed 70-59 on Dec. 15, 2001. The Wildcats last win over the Utes in Ogden, Utah, was 84-72 on Dec. 1, 1999.

* Rick Majerus has an 8-3 record against Weber State with all 11 games coming during his 15-year tenure at Utah.

* Utah is 112-47 (.704) all-time against the Big Sky Conference. Rick Majerus is 12-3 all-time against the Big Sky Conference, including an 11-3 record at Utah.

Last Meeting

Richard Chaney scored a season-high 17 points as Utah cruised to a 72-58 win over Weber State in Salt Lake City on Jan. 3, 2003. Chaney shot 7-of-9 from the field in just 17 minutes. Bryant Markson added 12 points, hitting 5-of-8 shots.

Slobodan Ocokoljic, a Serbian transfer from Ohio State, had 17 points and Jermaine Boyette added 14 points, all in the second half.

Britton Johnsen, who played his second game with a soft cast after right thumb surgery on Dec. 18, couldn't shoot confidently but still scored 12 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as Utah stayed perfect at home in six games.

The Utes shot 53 percent, due largely to the play of Utah's trio of freshmen, who made 15-of-21 from the field. In addition to Chaney and Markson, starting point guard Tim Drisdom made 3-of-4 shots.

Weber State played its sixth straight road game while the Utes hosted their second of five straight home contests. Utah outrebounded Weber State 33-25 and the Wildcats shot 43 percent shooting from the field, including just 30.4 percent in the first half.

The Old Oquirrh Bucket

Saturday's game continues Utah's bid to win the Old Oquirrh Bucket trophy for 2003-04. The Old Oquirrh Bucket, named after the Oquirrh Mountains to the west of Salt Lake City, is the symbol of in-state basketball supremacy in Utah. The trophy is awarded every year to the in-state college team (Utah, BYU, Southern Utah, Utah State and Weber State) which has the best win-loss record against in-state competition. (update) So far this season Utah is 2-0, BYU is 2-1, Utah State is 2-1, Weber State is 1-2 and Southern Utah is 0-3.

Utah has won the Old Oquirrh Bucket 12 times since its inception in 1974-75, including last season. The Utes also claimed the trophy six years in a row from 1994-95 through 1999-2000.

Jacobson Stroking "J"s

Senior guard Nick Jacobson (6-4, 206) has been a third team all-Mountain West selection the last two seasons. This season, he leads the team in scoring (13.5 ppg), hitting 45.8 percent (27-of-59) from beyond the arc and 77.3 percent from the free throw line.

* Jacobson has already climbed into 20th place in career scoring at Utah with 1,235 points. He is one of just 30 players in the 1,000-point club and currently ranks behind Alex Jensen (1,279 points).

* With his first three-pointer against Cal State Northridge on Dec. 19, Jacobson took over sole possession of the top mark for career threes made at Utah. He tied Keith Van Horn's mark of 206 three-point field goals against LSU-Jacobson took 103 games while Van Horn needed 122. Jacobson now has 215 career three-pointers. He is also second in three-pointers attempted (502) at Utah, closing in on Van Horn's top mark of 514. His career three point percentage of 42.2 entering this season ranked fourth all-time.

* Jacobson has tallied at least 20 points in each of the of the last three games to bring his season total of 20-point games to four. He had a season-high 22 points against Cal State Northridge, hitting 8-of-16 shots from the field. The senior guard then had 21 points in Utah's 20-point win at Colorado. Jacobson also equalled career-best marks with six rebounds and three steals against the Buffaloes. Against Southern Utah, Jacobson shot 8-of-12 from the field and 4-of-6 from three-point range to score 20 points.

Chatter About Chaney

Sophomore wingman Richard Chaney (6-4, 195) is Utah's third-best scorer, averaging 11.9 points a game and reaching the 20-point mark twice. He is shooting 54.7 percent from the field and 12-of-27 (44.4 percent) from three-point range.

* In the NCAA statistical rankings released on Dec. 16, Chaney was 34th in field goal percentage (62.5).

* Chaney has scored in double figures six times this season-including the last three games-after reaching that mark six times all of last season when he started two games and played in the other 31 off the bench. Most recently against Southern Utah, Chaney had a career-high 22 points. He made 8-of-12 field goals and 4-of-6 three-pointers in 26 minutes.

Take Note Of These Utes

* Sophomore point guard Tim Drisdom (6-2, 212) has had a 4.24 assists/turnover ratio the last three games. After getting a career-high tying eight assists (only two turnovers) against Colorado, Drisdom has six assists and just one turnover against Southern Utah. Drisdom also contributed a season-high nine points against the Buffaloes.

* Sophomore forward Bryant Markson (6-6, 189) had a season-high eight points against Southern Utah, going 2-for-5 from the field and 4-for-5 at the free throw line in 16 minutes. He also contributed two assists.

* Freshman forward Justin Hawkins (6-4, 207) tied a career-high with six rebounds against Southern Utah. He started the game in place of an injured Tim Frost and played 32 minutes.

* Sophomore center Chris Jackson (6-11, 247) made all three shots from the field to get six points and seven rebounds-missing his career high by two-against Southern Utah.

Game #12 Rewind

Richard Chaney scored a career-high 22 points and Nick Jacobson added 20 to lead Utah to a 78-45 victory over Southern Utah Monday night in Salt Lake City.

Utah (9-3) took a 13-11 lead on a three-pointer by Chaney with 15:12 left in the first half and stayed ahead the rest of the way. The Utes led 42-27 at the half.

The visiting Thunderbirds (4-6) were led by Tim Gainey, who had 14 points and was 7-for-8 from the free throw line. Robbie Warren added 10 points for SUU, which hit 12 of its 15 free throws.

Chaney and Jacobson each went 4-for-6 from three-point range, and the Utes were 11-of-19 beyond the arc.

The Utes had season-best percentages from both three-point land (57.9) and the field (62.2). Utah's hot shooting night helped them control the boards 31 to 19. The Utes also has a season-low 10 turnovers with 20 assists on 28 baskets.

Andrew Bogut scored 11 points and pulled down seven rebounds for the Utes. The Utah starters averaged 27 minutes of play and accounted for all but 20 points of the Utes' scoring.

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.

* In the NCAA statistical rankings released on Dec. 16, Utah led the nation in both scoring defense (46.9 ppg) and field goal percentage defense (33.9), and ranked 22nd in rebound margin (+4.6 rpg). Currently, opponents are averaging 52.3 points per game and shooting 38.6 percent against the Utes. Utah also has a +6.1 rebound margin.

* Utah has held eight of its 12 opponents to less than 40 percent shooting from the field. Only three teams have reached 60 points and three opponents have been held to under 40 points this season. Savannah State shot 18.2 percent against the Utes on Dec. 13, which is the lowest mark for a Utah opponent all-time. Only one team (UConn at 62.3 percent) has shot better than 50 percent from the field against the Utes this season.

* Utah has not allowed an opponent to score 80 points in 107 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.

From Beyond The Arc

Utah has connected on at least 40 percent of its three-point field goals in seven games this season, winning all of them. Conversely, when the Utes shoot under 40 percent from beyond the arc, they are 2-3.

* Utah has hit at least half of its three-point tries three times this season. The Utes shot a season-best 57.9 percent from three-point range against Southern Utah, hitting 11-of-19. Utah shot 50.0 percent from three-point land (7-of-14) against both Colorado and Stony Brook.

* The Utes had made a three-pointer in 152 consecutive games before going 0-for-8 against Georgia State in a 46-38 win on Nov. 17. The last time Utah didn't make a three before then was during an 0-for-12 outing at Long Beach State on Dec. 5, 1998. Since then, Utah has made a three-pointer in each of the last 11 games.

Ute Items

* Utah has made significant progress at the free throw line. After shooting just 26.8 percent (11-of-41) from the stripe against Stony Brook, Texas Tech and UConn (getting losses in the later two games), Utah has shot 74.4 percent (108-of-145) in the last seven games. The Utes shot a season-best 86.4 percent (19-of-22) from the line against Cal State Northridge.

* The Utes have finished off four close games in the final eight minutes for wins this season. Utah also trailed by 10 points in the first half and by two at the break before getting a 77-57 win at Colorado.

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. Most recently, Utah led Cal State Northridge 55-53 with 6:46 remaining before outscoring the Matadors 18-4 to close out the game.

* Turnovers have been a problem for the Utes, who are averaging 15.8 per game. Utah has had a positive assist/turnover ratio in just three of the 12 games this season. Utah averaged 18.0 turnovers during the first five games, including a season-high 21 against Georgia State in the opener. Since that opening stretch, Utah has improved slightly by averaging 14.1 turnovers over the last seven games. The Utes also had a season-low 10 turnovers with 20 assists (second-best total this season) against Southern Utah.

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Utah Men's Basketball Notes - Game #13

Game #13

Players Mentioned

Andrew Bogut

Richard Chaney

Tim Drisdom

Justin Hawkins

Chris Jackson

Bryant Markson

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Utah Men's Basketball Notes - Game #13

Game #13

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Players Mentioned

Andrew Bogut

Richard Chaney

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Justin Hawkins

Chris Jackson

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