Utah Men's Basketball Notes - Game #16 - University of Utah Athletics

Jan. 9, 2004

Game #16

Utah Runnin' Utes (12-3, 0-0) vs. UNLV Runnin' Rebels (9-3, 0-0)

Jan. 12 * 9:00 p.m. (PST) * Thomas & Mack Center (18,500) * Las Vegas, Nev.

Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader

The Game At A Glance

Utah Head Coach: Rick Majerus           UNLV Head Coach: Charlie SpoonhourAlma Mater: Marquette, 1970             Alma Mater: University of the Ozarks, 1961Record at Utah: 320-93 (15th Season)    Record at UNLV: 51-25 (3rd Season)Overall Record: 419-145 (20th Season)   Overall Record: 370-196 (19th Season)
Television: ESPN. Bob Carpetner (play-by-play) and Jimmy Dykes (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: UNLV leads 13-12Utah's Record Home/Away/Neutral: 8-2/4-9/0-2Last Meeting: UNLV won 64-41 on March 14, 2003 in the MWC Tournament semifinals.

After This

Utah returns the Huntsman Center to host a pair of Mountain West games. The Utes take on Wyoming on Saturday at 3:05 p.m. and Colorado State on Monday at 10:00 p.m. on ESPN's "Big Monday."

Quickly On Utah

Utah (12-3, 0-0 MWC) opens its Mountain Conference schedule against UNLV (9-3, 0-0 MWC) on Monday at 9:00 p.m. (PST) at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nev. The game will be televised as a part of ESPN's "Big Monday" and broadcast on KALL-700 AM and the Utah Sports Network. The Utes are 3-1 on opponents' homecourts this season.

The Utes have won six in a row and nine of their last 10 games. Utah closed out its nonconference slate with two wins at home, defeating Pepperdine (76-69) on Monday and Whitworth (71-49) on Wednesday.

Senior guard Nick Jacobson (6-4, 206) leads the Utes in scoring (14.3 ppg), hitting 47.5 percent of his three-point attempts. Sophomore forward Richard Chaney (6-4, 195) is second in scoring (12.9 ppg), shooting 53.1 percent from the field and 47.6 percent from three-point range. Freshman forward Andrew Bogut (6-10, 233) is third on the team in scoring (11.9 ppg), and first in both rebounding (10.0 rpg) and blocked shots (13). The native of Melbourne, Australia, has seven double-doubles this season and is shooting 65.5 percent from the field. Sophomore guard Tim Drisdom (6-2, 212) leads the Utes in assists (4.0 apg).

From The Training Room

* Senior center Tim Frost has been nursing a sore back since the start of fall practice and has been forced to sit out three of the last four games. Frost is listed as questionable for the UNLV game on Monday.

* Freshman forward Justin Hawkins bruised his knee during the Pepperdine game and sat out against Whitworth. He is questionable for the UNLV game on Monday.

* Sophomore forward Bryant Markson has an injured calf muscle. He is listed as probable for the UNLV game on Monday.

Scouting UNLV

The Runnin' Rebels are 9-3 overall and 7-2 at home this season. UNLV has won its last four games, getting home home wins over Auburn (82-69) on Dec. 20, Bradley (73-55) on Dec. 28, Montana (86-67) on Dec. 30 and Occidental (78-63) on Wednesday.

Junior forward Odartey Blankson (6-7, 220) ranks second in the Mountain West in scoring (17.5 ppg), third in rebounding (10.6 rpg), eighth in field goal percentage (54.5) and ninth in free throw percentage (75.0). Junior guard/forward Romel Beck (6-7, 185) is fifth in the league in scoring (15.2 ppg) and 13th in field goal percentage (52.3). Senior forward J.K. Edwards (6-8, 250), who has played in only six games this season, is third on the team in scoring (11.5 ppg). Sophomore forward Louis Amundson (6-9, 215) is seventh in the conference rebounding (6.1 rpg) and sixth in blocked shots (14). Junior guard Jerel Blassingame (5-10, 170) is second in the MWC in assists (6.0 apg).

UNLV ranks fourth in the Mountain West in scoring (74.5 ppg), sixth in scoring defense (66.9 ppg) and seventh in rebound margin (-2.8).

Comparing the Stats

           Utah    UNLVScoring         65.5    74.5Scoring Defense 53.7    66.9FG%         .492    .489FG% Defense .386    .4233-Pt. FG%   .418    .3243-Pt. FG% Def.  .269    .294FT%         .673    .683Rebound Margin  +7.1    -2.8Assists         14.1    15.3Turnovers   15.1    15.5Opp. Turnovers  12.1    16.4Steals          5.5 7.2Blocked Shots   3.1 3.6

Head Coach Charlie Spoonhour

Charlie Spoonhour is 51-25 in his third season at UNLV. His career record is 370-196 in 19 seasons. In his first season with the Runnin' Rebels in 2001-02, Spoonhour was named the District 8 Coach of the Year after leading UNLV to a 21-11 mark and the second round of the NIT. Spoonhour guided UNLV to a 21-11 mark once again in '02-03, getting them a third-place finish in the MWC (8-6) and taking them to the first round of the NIT.

Spoonhour jumped back into coaching at UNLV after taking two years off. He had most recently spent seven years as the head coach at Saint Louis (1992-99) and went 122-90. 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 five NIT appearances.

Utah-UNLV Series Notes

* Utah and UNLV meet for the 26th time on Monday. UNLV leads the series 13-12; however, Utah has taken six of the last nine games.

* The Runnin' Utes swept the home-and-home series last season, winning 66-63 on Jan. 20 in Las Vegas and 86-80 in overtime on Feb. 17 in Salt Lake City. UNLV then broke the Utah's two-game winning streak in the series with a 64-41 win in the MWC Tournament semifinals on March 14, 2003.

* In conference regular-season play, Utah has an 8-3 advantage, winning six of the last seven.

* UNLV has a 9-4 advantage in games played in Las Vegas. Utah's only win in its last four games at the Thomas & Mack Center was on Jan. 20, 2003 (66-63).

* Rick Majerus is 6-6 against UNLV all-time with all of those games taking place during his tenure at Utah.

* Charlie Spoonhour is 3-3 against Utah, facing the Utes for the first time during the in 2001-02 season.

Last Meeting

Dalron Johnson scored 21 points, and Marcus Banks had 14 as UNLV defeated Utah 64-41 in the Mountain West Conference Tournament semifinals.

Tim Frost scored 10 points on 4-of-15 shooting for Utah. Nick Jacobson had 11 points.

It was the Utes' worst loss of the season and UNLV's biggest win in the schools' rivalry.

The fourth-seeded Rebels (21-9) blew open the game with a blistering 35-6 run over 11 and a half minutes of the second half.

Utah took an eight-point lead on Jacobson's three-pointer early in the second half-but the Utes waited 10:04 for their next field goal.

After Utah scored nine of the first 10 points of the second half, UNLV scored 17 straight points, turning a 31-23 deficit into a nine-point lead on J.K. Edwards' three-point play. Johnson and James Peters also had three-point plays during the rally, which was caused by a relentless fast break.

Edwards had seven points and seven rebounds. Peters added nine points and seven rebounds for the Rebels, who shot 53 percent.

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 Utes in scoring (14.3 ppg), hitting 47.5 percent (38-of-80) from beyond the arc and 80.6 percent from the free throw line.

* In the NCAA statistical rankings released Jan. 5, Jacobson was 18th in three-point field goal percentage (46.5).

* Jacobson has already climbed into 19th place in career scoring at Utah with 1,288 points. He is one of just 30 players in the 1,000-point club and currently ranks behind Ken Gardner (1,291 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 against LSU-Jacobson took 103 games while Van Horn needed 122. Jacobson now has 226 career three-pointers. He is also first in three-pointers attempted (523) at Utah, passing Van Horn's former top mark of 514 against Pepperdine on Jan. 5. His career three point percentage of 43.9 entering Monday's game ranks second all-time.

* Jacobson has scored in double-figures in 58 of the last 78 games dating back to the 2001-02 season, including 27 of the 33 games in 2002-03 and 10 of 15 games this year.

Boasting Of Bogut

Freshman forward Andrew Bogut (6-10, 233) is third on the team in scoring (11.9 ppg) and first in rebounding (10.0 rpg) while shooting 65.5 percent from the field. Bogut has 11 double-figure scoring games and eight double-figure rebound games. He has scored in double-figures seven of the last eight games, missing only in the first scoreless game of his college career against Pepperdine on Jan. 5.

* Bogut is one of only four players in the Mountain West Conference averaging a double-double.

* In the NCAA statistical rankings released on Jan. 5, Bogut was 24th in rebounds per game (9.8).

* Bogut has seven double-doubles this season, most recently getting one against Whitworth with 18 points and 15 rebounds.

Chatter About Chaney

Sophomore wingman Richard Chaney (6-4, 195) is Utah's second-best scorer, averaging 12.9 points a game and reaching the 20-point mark three times. He is shooting 53.1 percent from the field and 20-of-42 (47.6 percent) from three-point range.

* Chaney has scored in double figures eight times this season-including five of the last six games. Against Pepperdine on Jan. 5, Chaney had a career-high 27 points. He made 10-of-16 field goals and 5-of-7 three-pointers in 31 minutes. Chaney also set a career-best mark for threes made against Pepperdine. He tied a career-best mark with seven rebounds against Weber State on Jan. 3.

* The Los Angeles native has three 20-point games in his career, all this season. Chaney had 21 against Stony Brook and 22 against Southern Utah.

Take Note Of These Utes

* Freshman forward Jonas Langvad (6-9, 215) started the first game of his career against Whitworth on Wednesday. He season highs of seven points, four rebounds and three assists in 34 minutes.

* Sophomore point guard Tim Drisdom (6-2, 212) had seven assists and a season-high 10 points against Pepperdine.

* Freshman forward Justin Hawkins (6-4, 207) tied a career-high with 10 rebounds against Pepperdine. He started the game and played 26 minutes.

* 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. u Team Notes

Game #15 Rewind

Andrew Bogut scored 18 points and pulled down 15 rebounds and Richard Chaney scored 14 to lead Utah past Division III Whitworth 71-49 Wednesday night at the Huntsman Center.

The Utes (12-3) shot 50 percent from the field to close out their nonconference schedule with their sixth win in a row.

The Utes played for the second straight time without center Tim Frost, who is out indefinitely with a bad back and has missed three of the last four games. Bogut moved to center and got his seventh double-double of the season, two nights after being shut out for the first time in his college career.

Whitworth (7-2) hadn't lost since the season opener and scared Utah in a six-point loss two years before in the Huntsman Center, but on Wednesday was no match for the bigger Utes after a quick start. The Pirates were just 18-for-54 (33.3 percent) from the field and leading scorer Bryan Depew finished with just 18 points, five fewer than his average. Depew, a 58 percent shooter, was just 6-for-24.

The Pirates made their first four three-pointers and led 16-13 before Josh Olsen tied it with a three. Bryant Markson followed with a two-handed dunk and Chris Jackson made a layup as the Utes used a 9-0 run to pull away.

Chaney made two three-pointers later in the half as he scored eight straight for Utah, which led 38-30 at halftime after hitting 15-of-26 field goals, including 4-for-8 from beyond the arc.

Utah opened the second half with another 8-0 run, then minutes later Chaney increased the lead to 60-40 with a steal and two-handed dunk. The Utes coasted the rest of the way to improve to 9-0 at home.

From Beyond The Arc

Utah has connected on at least 40 percent of its three-point field goals in 10 games this season-including the last five-winning all of them. Conversely, when the Utes shoot under 40 percent from beyond the arc, they are 2-3. In the last five games, Utah is shooting 50.0 percent (47-for-94) from beyond the arc.

* In the NCAA statistical rankings released on Jan. 5, Utah ranked ninth in three-point field goal percentage (41.6). Currently, the U. is shooting 41.8 percent.

* The Utes have hit at least half of their three-point tries four 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 51.9 percent from beyond the arc against Pepperdine with a season-high 27 attempts, and made 50.0 percent (7-of-14) against both Colorado and Stony Brook.

* Utah made nine three-pointers in the first 20 minutes against Pepperdine, one off the school record for a half. The Utes also had 14 three-pointers in the game, which tied the second-best mark in school history achieved six other times. Utes Own Nation's Best Conference Championship Run

Capturing a share of the Mountain West Conference regular-season championship in 2002-03, Utah won its 10th regular-season conference title during the last 13 seasons, which is the most of any team in the nation over that period of time.

Cincinnati (Great Midwest/Conference USA), Kansas (Big 8/Big 12), Kentucky (SEC) and Murray State (Ohio Valley) are one off the pace, winning nine regular-season league titles in the last 13 years. In addition, the Utes' eight titles in the last nine years are tied with Valparaiso (Mid-Continent) for the best mark over that time frame.

Highlighting their conference championships during Rick Majerus' tenure, which began in 1989-90, the Utes won the WAC regular-season championship outright in 1991 and shared it in 1993 before winning five consecutive outright WAC titles from 1995-99 (the last three being divisional titles).

Utah has won a piece of the regular season title three times in the four-year history of the Mountain West Conference, including the first two years to continue a string of seven straight titles. The Utes went 10-4 in conference play in 1999-2000 to share the inaugural Mountain West Conference championship with UNLV. Utah also went 10-4 in 2000-01 to split the title with Brigham Young and Wyoming. In 2001-02, the Utes finished one game behind Wyoming at 10-4 in the MWC.

Utah went 11-3 in the Mountain West Conference last season to post its best record in four years as a league member. It was also the Utes' best conference record since going 14-0 in its final season in the Western Athletic Conference in 1999.

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 Jan. 5, Utah ranked second nation in scoring defense (52.4 ppg), 10th in field goal percentage defense (37.1) and 17th in rebound margin (+7.9 rpg). Currently, opponents are averaging 53.7 points per game and shooting 38.6 percent against the Utes. Utah also has a +7.1 rebound margin, outrebounding 13 of 15 opponents this season.

* Utah has held 10 of its 15 opponents to less than 40 percent shooting from the field. Only five teams have reached 60 points and seven opponents have been held to under 50 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 110 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.

Upcoming Events

Recent Results

Utah Men's Basketball Notes - Game #16

Game #16

Players Mentioned

Andrew Bogut

Richard Chaney

Tim Drisdom

Justin Hawkins

Chris Jackson

Jonas Langvad

Bryant Markson

Completed Event: Men's Basketball versus No. 9-Seed Cincinnati (1st Round) on March 10, 2026 , Loss , 66, to, 73

Completed Event: Men's Basketball at Baylor on March 7, 2026 , Loss , 75, to, 101

Completed Event: Men's Basketball versus Colorado on March 3, 2026 , Loss , 78, to, 92

Completed Event: Men's Basketball at Arizona State on February 28, 2026 , Loss , 60, to, 73

Completed Event: Men's Basketball versus #4/5 Iowa State on February 24, 2026 , Loss , 59, to, 75

Completed Event: Men's Basketball versus UCF on February 21, 2026 , Loss , 71, to, 73

Completed Event: Men's Basketball at West Virginia on February 18, 2026 , Win , 61, to, 56

Completed Event: Men's Basketball at Cincinnati on February 15, 2026 , Loss , 65, to, 69

Completed Event: Men's Basketball versus #3/3 Houston on February 10, 2026 , Loss , 52, to, 66

The University of Utah Athletics

Utah Men's Basketball Notes - Game #16

Game #16

Related News

Players Mentioned

Andrew Bogut

Richard Chaney

Tim Drisdom

Justin Hawkins

Chris Jackson

Jonas Langvad

Bryant Markson

Related Videos