Utah Men's Basketball Notes - Game #22 - University of Utah Athletics

Feb. 4, 2004

Game #22

Utah Runnin' Utes (16-5, 4-2) vs. San Diego State Aztecs (12-9, 3-3)

Feb. 7 * 3:07 p.m. (MST) * Jon M. Huntsman Center (15,000) * Salt Lake City

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The Game At A Glance

Acting Utah Head Coach: Kerry Rupp    San Diego St. Head Coach: Steve FisherAlma Mater: Southern Utah, 1977         Alma Mater: Illinois State, 1967Record at Utah: 1-0 (1st Season)    Record at SDSU: 68-72 (5th Season)Overall Record: 1-0 (1st Season)    Overall Record: 252-154 (13th Season)
Television: KJZZ-TV 14 in Salt Lake City. ESPN Full Court (pay-per-view).Steve Brown (play-by-play) and Mark Eaton (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 43-9Utah's Record Home/Away/Neutral: 25-1/16-7/2-1Last Meeting: Utah won 76-62 on Feb. 15, 2003 in Salt Lake City

After This

The Utes play the last of three straight home games against UNLV on Monday at 7:07 p.m. (MST). Next weekend, Utah hits the road for games at Colorado State on Saturday, Feb. 14 at 7:07 p.m. (MST) and at Wyoming on Monday, Feb. 16 at 7:07 p.m. (MST).

Quickly On Utah

Utah (16-5, 4-2 MWC) continues a three-game homestand against San Diego State (12-9, 3-3 MWC) on Saturday at 3:07 p.m. (MST) in the Jon M. Huntsman Center. The game will be televised by KJZZ-TV 14 in Salt Lake City and broadcast on KALL-700 AM and the Utah Sports Network. The Utes are 12-0 at home this season and have won 13 in a row at home, tying for the 10th-longest streak in the nation.

After dropping two games on the road to New Mexico (70-54) and Air Force (62-49), Utah returned home last Saturday to defeat instate rival Brigham Young (64-56). The Utes have won 13 of their last 16 games.

Senior guard Nick Jacobson (6-4, 206) leads the Utes in scoring (15.6 ppg), hitting 47.0 percent of his three-point attempts. Freshman forward Andrew Bogut (6-10, 233) is second on the team in scoring (12.0 ppg), and is first in both rebounding (10.0 rpg) and blocked shots (21). The native of Melbourne, Australia, has 10 double-doubles this season and is shooting 63.4 percent from the field. Sophomore forward Richard Chaney (6-4, 195) is third in scoring (10.8 ppg), shooting 51.7 percent from the field and 45.5 percent from three-point range. Sophomore guard Tim Drisdom (6-2, 212) leads the Utes in assists (3.4 apg).

Scouting San Diego State

The Aztecs are 12-9 overall and tied for third place in the Mountain West Conference with a 3-3 record. San Diego State is 2-5 on opponents' homecourts this season.

Last weekend the Aztecs split a pair of games at home, falling to Air Force (57-43) on Saturday and defeating New Mexico (72-68) on Monday. San Diego State is 0-2 in MWC road games so far, falling to Colorado State (92-89 in 2OT) on Jan. 24 and Wyoming (79-71) on Jan. 26.

Senior forward/center Aerick Sanders (6-9, 203) is one of five players in the Mountain West averaging a double-double, ranking third in the league in scoring (16.4 ppg) and second in rebounds (10.4 rpg). Sanders is also second in field goal percentage (59.4) and fourth in blocked shots (1.57 bpg). Freshman guard Brandon Heath (6-4, 172) is fourth in the MWC in scoring (16.3 ppg), third in steals (1.71) and fifth in three-pointers made per game (1.86) while shooting 31.7 percent. Junior guard Wesley Stokes (6-0, 168) is 11th in the league in scoring (13.0 ppg), first in assists (6.33 apg) and first in steals (1.86 spg). Freshman forward Marcus Slaughter (6-9, 208) is sixth in the conference in rebounds (6.1 rpg). In the NCAA rankings, Sanders is 20th field goal percentage (59.4) and eighth in rebounds per game (10.4), while Stokes is 13th in assists per game (6.3).

San Diego State ranks second in the Mountain West in scoring offense (74.0 ppg), seventh in scoring defense (71.3 ppg), fourth in rebound margin (+2.2 rpg) and first in steals (8.67 spg).

Comparing the Stats

           Utah    San Diego St.Scoring         64.2    74.0Scoring Defense 55.2    71.3FG%         .487    .430FG% Defense .403    .4483-Pt. FG%   .406    .3243-Pt. FG% Def.  .284    .367FT%         .694    .700Rebound Margin  +7.3    +2.2Assists         13.0    14.8Turnovers   14.7    13.5Opp. Turnovers  11.3    16.6Steals          4.8 8.7Blocked Shots   3.0 2.9

Aztec Head Coach Steve Fisher

Steve Fisher is 68-72 in his fifth season at San Diego State and has a 252-154 career mark in 13 seasons. Last season the Aztecs went 16-14, placed fifth in the MWC at 6-8 and advanced to the second round of the NIT. In 2001-02, Fisher led SDSU to the Mountain West Conference Tournament title and its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1984-85. With a 21-12 record, SDSU also posted its highest single-season win total since '84-85.

In his previous college head coaching job, Fisher led Michigan to a 184-82 record (.691), three NCAA Final Fours and eight trips to the NCAA Tournament from 1989-97. He was named the 1992 National Coach of the Year by Basketball Times after leading Michigan's "Fab Five" as freshmen to a 25-9 record and the NCAA title game. As the interim head coach in 1989, he led the Wolverines to a 6-0 record and the NCAA title.

Utah-San Diego State Series Notes

* Utah and San Diego State meet for the 53rd time on Saturday afternoon. The series dates back to a 98-89 Utah win on Dec. 13, 1975 in Salt Lake City. That was the only game played between the two teams before they became members of the WAC and later the Mountain West Conference.

* The Utes lead the all-time series 43-9 and have won 24 of the last 26. The Aztecs snapped Utah's 14-game winning streak in the series with a 58-56 win on Jan. 18, 2003 at Cox Arena. Before then, the Aztecs' last win over Utah was 76-73 on Jan. 22, 1994 in San Diego.

* In regular-season conference play, the Utes have a 38-8 advantage.

* In Salt Lake City, Utah is 25-1 against SDSU. The Aztecs' only win against the Utes in Salt Lake City was 74-72 on Feb. 25, 1982. Utah has won 20 consecutive home games over San Diego State since then.

* Steve Fisher is 3-7 against Utah, including a 1-7 mark while at SDSU.

Last Meeting

Britton Johnsen scored 21 and Marc Jackson added 17 as Utah defeated San Diego State 76-62 in Salt Lake City last season on Feb. 15. Utah ran its winning streak to seven games to remain atop the Mountain West Conference standings.

Johnsen's 21 points were his most since injuring his right thumb in December at Utah State.

At that stage in the season, the Utes had won 14 of their last 15 games and were undefeated at home in 12 games. Utah also regained its mastery over San Diego State, avenging its only conference loss to that point (58-56 in the opener) and improving to 25-1 at home against the Aztecs.

Tony Bland scored 16 points, Mike Mackell added 13 and Deandre Moore had 10 as San Diego State lost its fifth game of the last six. Bland and Mackell combined to shoot just 13 of 39 against Utah's rugged defense.

Nick Jacobson scored 13 points and Tim Frost had 11 as Utah set an MWC record with the seven consecutive conference wins.

Jackson, who was hampered with a right ankle injury early in the season, tweaked the ankle after helping stake Utah to a 57-38 second half lead with back-to-back three-pointers. Jackson's worth to his team was readily apparent as the Aztecs immediately scored nine straight points, five by Moore, in his absence.

Jackson returned but the Aztecs whittled the lead to eight points before the 6-1 guard beat the shot clock with a driving layup and then passed to Johnsen for a dunk to seal the victory.

The Aztecs outrebounded the Utes, 39-33, but shot just 35 percent in the second half compared to Utah's 60 percent mark (26-of-52). The Utes also hit 9-of-21 three-pointers (.429).

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 (15.6 ppg), hitting 47.0 percent (54-of-115) from beyond the arc and 82.0 percent from the free throw line.

* In the NCAA statistical rankings released Feb. 3, Jacobson was eighth in three-point field goal percentage (47.0).

* He has scored in double figures in all six Mountain West Conference games, averaging 18.8 points per game to rank third in the league.

* Jacobson has scored at least 20 points in seven of the last 12 games. He has also been in double figures 11 of the last 12 contests, shooting 48.4 percent from the field and 47.4 percent (36-for-76) from three-point range to average 19.1 points per game during that stretch. He had a career-high 28 points against Weber State on Jan. 3, hitting 8-of-12 field goals, 5-of-7 threes and 7-of-7 free throws in 39 minutes. He has had eight 20-point games this season.

* Jacobson has already climbed into 17th place in career scoring at Utah with 1,401 points. He is one of just 30 players in the 1,000-point club and currently ranks behind Merv Jackson (1,458 points).

* A prolific shooter from long range, Jacobson ranks first at Utah in both career three-pointers made (242) and attempted (558), passing Keith Van Horn for the top spot in both categories this season. His career three point percentage of 43.4 ranks second all-time.

* Jacobson has scored in double-figures in 67 of the last 84 games dating back to the 2001-02 season, including 27 of the 33 games in 2002-03 and 16 of 21 games this year.

Boasting Of Bogut

Freshman forward Andrew Bogut (6-10, 233) is second on the team in scoring (12.0 ppg) and is first in both rebounding (10.0 rpg) and blocked shots (21). He is shooting 63.4 percent from the field.

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

* Bogut has 10 double-doubles this season-including three in conference play-and was tied for ninth in the nation in that category as of Monday. Bogut has already broken the Mountain West freshman record of eight double-doubles set by Tom Bellairs of Air Force in 1999-2000. His most recent double dip came with a career-high 21 points and 12 rebounds in 34 minutes against BYU last Saturday. He also had two blocked shots.

* Bogut has posted two of the top 16 single-game rebounding marks in school history this season. Most recently, he had 17 rebounds at New Mexico on Jan. 24, tying the 14th-best mark. Bogut also had 18 rebounds against Minnesota on Nov. 19, tying the 12th-best mark.

* Against Wyoming on Jan. 17, Bogut had a career-best five blocked shots.

* Bogut has 14 double-figure scoring games and 11 double-figure rebound games. He has scored in double-figures 10 of the last 14 games.

* In the NCAA statistical rankings released on Feb. 3, Bogut was 12th in rebounds per game (10.0).

* Ranking second on the team with 42 assists (2.0 apg), Bogut led the Utes with five assists against both Texas Tech and Utah State to set personal season highs.

Game #21 Rewind

Andrew Bogut scored 17 of his 21 points in the second half last Saturday to lead Utah back from a 17-point deficit and beat Brigham Young 64-56 in the Utes' first game without head coach Rick Majerus. Nick Jacobson also scored 21 for the Utes (16-5, 4-2 MWC), hitting 5-of-8 three-pointers.

Jacobson, one of just two Utah seniors, dribbled out the clock and heaved the ball toward BYU's basket after the buzzer in celebration of Utah's 10th straight home win over the rival Cougars (12-7, 2-4 MWC).

The Utes, playing under acting head coach Kerry Rupp, were erratic in the first half, then settled down in the second to outscore the Cougars 45-22. Utah held BYU to 3-of-8 shooting in the final 20 minutes.

Mark Bigelow led the Cougars with 22 points. Garner Meads added 10 points for BYU, which has not won at Utah since a 64-62 victory Jan. 8, 1994. The Cougars were heading toward snapping the 10-year skid with a 34-19 halftime lead, but Utah started hitting shots and outhustling the Cougars on the boards in a thrilling comeback.

After falling behind 36-19 early in the second half on a layup by Mike Hall, the Utes used an 8-0 run to get back into it and revive the home crowd. Bogut hit a three-pointer, Richard Chaney tipped in a rebound and Tim Drisdom converted a three-point play to get Utah back within single digits.

Bogut took over from there, scoring eight straight for Utah to get the Utes to 40-34 with 14:31 remaining. He also had 12 rebounds. Jacobson's three-pointer after an offensive rebound made it 44-39, and the Utes kept cutting into the lead.

Bogut went 1-for-2 from the line after drawing Rafael Araujo's fourth foul with 8:59 remaining to trim it to 46-42, then put back an offensive rebound to make it a two-point game. Meads missed a free throw for BYU before Jacobson hit a long three-pointer with 7:16 remaining to give Utah its first lead at 52-50. Jacobson then added another trey and Drisdom followed with one from beyond the arc as the Utes pulled away for good.

Last Time Under An Acting Head Coach

Dick Hunsaker was Utah's acting head coach for all but the first game of the 2000-01 season. After Rick Majerus guided the Utes to an opening night win over Idaho State, Hunsaker, now the second-year head coach at Utah Valley State, directed the Utes the rest of the way. Utah finished the season 19-12, tied for the Mountain West Conference regular-season championship with a 10-4 record, and played in the first round of the NIT.

Getting Defensive

One of the trademarks of a Utah team during the Rick Majerus era has been 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 Feb. 3, Utah ranked second in the nation in scoring defense (55.2 ppg), 46th in field goal percentage defense (40.3) and ninth in rebound margin (+7.3 rpg).

* The Utes have outrebounded 19 of 21 opponents this season.

* Utah has held 11 of its 21 opponents to less than 40 percent shooting from the field and 10 teams to under 30 percent from three-point range. Only eight teams have reached 60 points and nine 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 three teams have shot better than 50 percent from the field against the Utes this season: UConn (62.3), New Mexico on Jan. 24 (53.5) and Air Force (55.3).

* Utah has not allowed an opponent to score 80 points in 116 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 14 games this season-including nine of the last 11-winning all of but one of them (Air Force on Jan. 26). Conversely, when the Utes shoot under 40 percent from beyond the arc, they are 3-4. Over the last 11 games, Utah has shot 44.0 percent (81-for-184) from beyond the arc.

* In the NCAA statistical rankings released on Feb. 3, Utah ranked ninth in three-point field goal percentage (40.6).

* The Utes have hit at least half of their three-point tries five times this season: Southern Utah (57.9) with a season-best percentage, UNLV on Jan. 12 (53.8), Pepperdine (51.9) with a season-high 27 attempts, Colorado (50.0) and Stony Brook (50.0).

Ute Items

* Utah ranked 16th in the NCAA in field goal percentage (48.7) as of Feb. 3. Utah has shot 50.1 percent from the field over the last 12 games and 44.0 percent from three-point range over the last 11 games.

* The Utes are 13-0 when scoring at least 60 points this season and 13-0 when holding their opponents to under 60 points.

* 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 75.3 percent (210-of-279) in the last 16 games. The Utes shot a season-best 97.1 percent (11-of-12) in games with over 10 attempts from the line against Whitworth and hit 7-of-7 against Air Force on Jan. 26. Utah is currently shooting 69.4 percent at the line this season.

* Turnovers have been a problem for the Utes, who are averaging 14.7 per game. Utah has had a positive assist/turnover ratio in just six of the 21 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 13.6 turnovers over the last 16 games. The Utes had a season-low nine turnovers against both New Mexico on Jan. 24 and Wyoming on Jan. 17. Utah has also had a positive assist/turnover ratio in four of the last 10 games.

Strong At The Finish

The Utes have outscored 16 of their 21 opponents in the second half and finished off eight close games in the final eight minutes for wins this season. In Mountain West Conference play, Utah has outscored five of its six opponents in the second 20 minutes for an average margin of +8.3 points.

* Utah's best second-half effort was against BYU last Saturday. The Utes trailed the Cougars by 15 points for its third-largest deficit at the break this season, then outscored their instate rivals 45-22 in the second half. Continuing a trend of strong finishes in the final eight minutes, Utah trailed BYU 46-44 with 8:31 remining then continued its comeback from a 17-point second-half deficit to win 64-56.

Utes Tough At Home In The Huntsman Center

Utah is 207-18 (.920) in the Huntsman Center during the Rick Majerus era and has never lost back-to-back home games.

* Utah has won 13 in a row (including a 12-0 record this season) at home, which is tied for the 10th-longest homecourt winning streak in the nation. The Utes have also captured 29 of the last 30 at home with their only loss coming to Colorado State on March 6, 2003, ended a 16-game home winning streak.

* The Utes have won 145 of their last 153 games in the Jon M. Huntsman Center, dating back to the 1993-94 season.

* In conference home games over the last 10 years, Utah is 68-3 (.958), which is the best record in the nation over that time span.

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