Utah Men's Basketball Notes - Game #6 - University of Utah Athletics

Dec. 2, 2004

Game #6

Utah Runnin' Utes (4-1) vs. Utah State Aggies (4-1)
Dec. 4 ? 4:07 p.m. (MST) ? Jon M. Huntsman Center (15,000) ? Salt Lake City

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The Game at a Glance

Utah Head Coach: Ray Giacoletti         Utah State Head Coach: Stew MorrillAlma Mater: Minot State, 1985        Alma Mater: Gonzaga, 1974Record at Utah: 4-1 (1st Season)     Record at Utah State: 147-47 (7th Season)Overall Record: 121-84 (8th Season)  Overall Record: 365-185 (19th Season)
Television: KJZZ-TV 14 in Salt Lake City.Steve Brown (play-by-play) and Craig Hislop (analyst).
Radio: Utah Sports Network(Hot Ticket 700/KALL-AM in Salt Lake City and affiliate stations).On the Internet at www.UtahUtes.com and www.HotTicket700.com.Matt Thomas (play-by-play), Mark Rydalch (analyst) and Bill Riley (host).
Series Record: Utah leads 127-89Utah's Record Home/Away/Neutral: 77-33/50-56/0-0Last Meeting: Utah won 56-45 on Dec. 3, 2003 in Salt Lake City

After This
The Runnin' Utes host Montana-Western on Wednesday, Dec. 8 at 7:05 p.m. (MST) in Salt Lake City. Utah then heads to Tucson, Ariz., to take on No. 21 Arizona on Saturday, Dec. 11 at 11:05 a.m. (MST) in a game that will be televised nationally by Fox Sports Net.

Quickly On Utah
Utah (4-1) plays its second game this week against an in-state rival, taking on Utah State (4-1) on Saturday at 4:07 p.m. (MST) at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum in Logan, Utah. The game will be televised by KJZZ-TV 14 in Salt Lake City and broadcast on Hot Ticket 700 (KALL-AM) and the Utah Sports Network. It will be the Utes first game on an opponent's home court this season.

The Utes defeated Southern Utah 65-45 on Tuesday night in the Huntsman Center. While playing in the Great Alaska Shootout last Thursday through Saturday in Anchorage, Utah fell to No. 22 Washington (78-71) in the quarterfinals, then bounced back to defeat High Point (78-69) in the consolation semifinals and Furman (62-50) in the fourth-place game.

Sophomore center/forward Andrew Bogut (7-0, 240) leads the Utes in scoring (17.8 ppg), rebounding (10.8 rpg), blocked shots (12) and field goal percentage (61.8). Sophomore forward Justin Hawkins (6-5, 220) is second on the team in both scoring (12.8 ppg) and rebounding (5.0 rpg). Senior guard Marc Jackson (6-1, 175) is third in scoring (12.4 ppg), hitting a team-best 56.3 percent of his three-point attempts (9-of-16) and 88.5 percent of his free throws (23-of-26). Junior guard Tim Drisdom (6-3, 210) leads the Utes in assists (5.0 apg) while scoring 4.4 points per game and shooting 91.7 percent (11-of-12) at the free throw line.

From The Training Room
Junior forward Bryant Markson hyperextended his right knee during the Southern Utah game and is questionable for the Utah State game on Saturday.

Scouting The Aggies
The Aggies are 4-1 overall and 2-0 at home this season. Utah State won two of three games at the BP Top of the World Classic in Fairbanks, Alaska, Nov. 18-21. In that tournament, the Aggies defeated Georgia Southern in the first round (71-61), lost to Central Florida in the semifinals (55-52) and defeated Northwestern in the third-place game (64-57). Utah State then returned home to defeat UC Davis (81-55) last Saturday and BYU (71-57) on Wednesday night.

Last season, Utah State posted its fifth straight 20-win season with a 25-4 record, won its third regular season Big West championship in the last five years, and advanced to postseason play for the fifth straight year. Three starters return in junior forward Nate Harris (6-7, 225), senior forward Spencer Nelson (6-8, 225) and senior forward Jason Williams (6-7, 198). Along with being named the league's Sixth Man of the Year, Harris also earned first-team all-Big West honors last season. Nelson earned second-team all-Big West honors.

Harris leads the Aggies in scoring (12.8 ppg) and is second in rebounding (5.2 rpg). He is also shooting 61.1 percent from the field and 83.3 percent at the free throw line. Freshman guard Jaycee Carroll (6-2, 175) is second in scoring (12.4 ppg), connecting on 6-of-16 three-pointers (.375). Nelson is the third Aggie averaging double figures in points (12.2 ppg), and leads the team in rebounds (9.0 rpg) and assists (4.2 apg).

Comparing the Stats

             Utah   Utah StateScoring          69.6   67.8Scoring Defense  61.0   57.0FG%          .513   .523FG% Defense  .431   .4293-Pt. FG%    .380   .2733-Pt. FG% Def.   .333   .321FT%          .746   .736Rebound Margin   +9.4   +4.8Assists          15.0   13.2Turnovers    16.4   11.8Opp. Turnovers   12.2   12.8Steals           5.2    4.0Blocked Shots    3.8    2.2

Head Coach Stew Morrill
Stew Morrill is in his seventh season at the helm of the Utah State basketball program with a 147-47 record. Morrill is 365-185 in 19 years as a head coach.

Morrill directed the Aggies to the NCAA Tournament for the third time in four years in 2003. He led the Aggies to their first NCAA Tournament win in 31 years in 2001 as USU defeated Ohio State 77-68 in the first round.

Prior to coming to Utah State, Morrill was the head coach at Colorado State for seven seasons, recording a 121-86 record (1991-98). Prior to his stint at CSU, Morrill spent five seasons as the head coach at Montana (1987-91), where he went 97-52. He has been involved in postseason action seven times.

First year Ute assistant coach Randy Rahe was an assistant coach for 13 years under Morrill at Colorado State (1991-98) and Utah State (1998-2004).

Utah vs. Utah State Series Notes
? Utah and Utah State meet for the 217th time on Saturday afternoon. The Aggies are the Utes' second-oldest rival behind BYU (237 meetings). Utah leads the all-time series 127-89.

? The Utes won 56-45 last season on Dec. 3 in Salt Lake City. Before then, the Aggies had won three in a row over Utah and had taken four of the last five games dating back to the 1998-99 season. Before then, the Utes had won five in a row dating back to 1993-94.

? Utah State has a 56-50 advantage in games played in Logan, Utah. When the teams last met at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum on Dec. 17, 2002, the Aggies beat the Utes 59-54 for its third consecutive home win in the series. Utah's last win in Logan was 60-41 on Nov. 26, 1996.

? Ray Giacoletti has never faced Utah State.

? Stew Morrill is 9-11 against Utah all-time, including a 4-2 record while at Utah State.

? Utah has a 170-94 (.644) all-time record against the Big West Conference, including a 55-57 (.491) mark in road games.

Last Meeting
Andrew Bogut had 12 points and 16 rebounds and Utah ended a three-game losing streak against Utah State, beating the Aggies 56-45 last season on Dec. 3 in Salt Lake City.

Nick Jacobson also scored 12 and Richard Chaney added 10 points for the Utes. Utah led from the time Tim Frost made a layup to put Utah up 2-0. Spencer Nelson, with 11 points, was the only player for the Aggies to score in double figures. Utah State was just 7-for-24 from the field in the first half and a late push at the end of the second half wasn't nearly enough to catch the Utes.

Bogut got his third collegiate double-double in six games. Utah scored just 21 in the second half, but spent much of the closing minutes passing the ball around and trying to kill the clock with a large lead.

Utah State wasn't able to sustain much of a stretch until midway through the second half, when Mike Ahmad started an 8-0 run that got the Aggies to 48-32 with a three-point play and a layup. Utah State continued to cut the lead gradually as the half wound down and Nelson trimmed the lead to 55-43 on two free throws with about two minutes remaining.

Utah State didn't get a field goal until a dunk by Nelson with 14:37 left in the first half cut Utah's lead to 13-3. Utah came back with a 9-1 run later in the half. Chaney scored eight straight points by himself, capping it with a three-pointer just as the shot clock was expiring.

Utah outshot Utah State 62 percent to 29 percent in the first half and led 35-16 at halftime. It was the Aggies' lowest point total after 20 minutes since scoring 14 against Northern Arizona November 1999.

The Old Oquirrh Bucket
Saturday's game continues the competition for the Old Oquirrh Bucket in 2004-05. Named after the Oquirrh Mountains to the west of Salt Lake City, the Old Oquirrh Bucket 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.

So far this season Utah is 1-0, Utah State is 1-0, Weber State is 0-0, BYU is 0-1 and Southern Utah is 0-1. Utah has won the Old Oquirrh Bucket 13 times since its inception in 1974-75, including the last two seasons. The Utes also claimed the trophy six years in a row from 1994-95 through 1999-2000.

Boasting Of Bogut
Sophomore forward Andrew Bogut (7-0, 240) has been named the 2004 John R. Wooden Preseason All-America Team and a preseason candidate for the Naismith Award. Last season, Bogut was honored as the Mountain West Conference Freshman of the Year, second team all-MWC and second team All-District 13 by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC). He also made the CollegeInsider.com all-freshman team.

? Bogut has had double-doubles in four of the five games this season--including the first three--to bring his career total to 18. He has scored in double figures in all five games. Bogut leads the Utes in scoring (17.8 ppg), rebounds (10.8 rpg), field goal percentage (61.8) and blocked shots (12). He is also second in assists (2.8 apg) and shooting 70.0 percent from the free throw line.

? Against Southern Utah, he had his 21st career double-figure rebounds game, his 27th double-figure scoring game and his 18th career double-double.

? Bogut had three blocked shots against Southern Utah. It was the ninth time in his Ute career that Bogut had at least three blocked shots in a game.

Take Note Of These Utes
? Junior guard/forward Richard Chaney has shaken off a slow start to the season by scoring in double figures the last two games. After getting 10 points (4-5 FG) against Furman last Saturday, Chaney had a season-high 19 points and six rebounds in 31 minutes against Southern Utah on Tuesday. Chaney shot 5-for-8 from the field, 3-for-5 from three-point range and 6-for-6 at the free throw line against the T-Birds.

? Junior forward Bryant Markson scored in double figures the last two games of the Great Alaska Shootout. Markson, from Monrovia, Calif., had a career-high 13 points against High Point, making 5-of-10 from the field and 1-of-2 three-pointers. He had 12 points against Furman, going 4-for-9 from the field and 3-for-4 at the free throw line. Markson also had a career-best eight rebounds against Furman.

? Sophomore forward Justin Hawkins is off to an excellent start this season, scoring in double figures in the first four games. He had six points and five boards against Southern Utah on Tuesday night. The Anaheim, Calif., native is second on the team in scoring (12.8 ppg) and third in assists (2.6 apg). Hawkins set a career-high with 18 points against Washington. He made 7-of-15 from the field against the Huskies to set career-best marks in makes and attempts. Hawkins had a career-best five assists against High Point.

Getting Defensive
One of the trademarks of Utah basketball in recent years has been a stifling half-court defense. Since the 1989-90 season, Utah has finished in the top 30 in the nation 12 times in scoring defense, 10 times in rebound margin, eight times in field goal percentage defense and eight times in scoring margin.

? Utah has not allowed an opponent to score 80 points in 133 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.

? The Utes have outrebounded the opposition in four of the five games this season, and had a push in the other game (vs. Stony Brook in the season opener). After outboarding Southern Utah 39-19 on Tuesday, the Utes have a +9.4 rebound margin per game this season. That continues a trend from last season when the Utes outrebounded 30 of 33 opponents.

? Utah has also allowed just one opponent to shoot better than 50 percent from the field this season (Washington at 53.4 percent in a loss).

? In the final 2003-04 NCAA statistical rankings, Utah ranked fifth in scoring defense (57.4 ppg) and fifth in rebound margin (+7.4 rpg).

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Utah Men's Basketball Notes - Game #6

Game #6

Players Mentioned

Andrew Bogut

Richard Chaney

Tim Drisdom

Justin Hawkins

Marc Jackson

Bryant Markson

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Utah Men's Basketball Notes - Game #6

Game #6

Players Mentioned

Andrew Bogut

Richard Chaney

Tim Drisdom

Justin Hawkins

Marc Jackson

Bryant Markson

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