It's Time To Dance! Runnin' Utes Heading To NCAAs

March 16, 2004

NCAA Tournament First & Second Rounds

March 19 & 21 * Bradley Center (18,717) * Milwaukee, Wis.

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Just The Facts
Utah (24-8), the No. 11 seed in the St. Louis Region, received the Mountain West Conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Runnin' Utes open NCAA Tournament play against No. 6 seeded Boston College (23-9) on Friday at 11:30 a.m. (CST) at the Bradley Center (18,717) in Milwaukee, Wis. Should Utah win that game, it will face the winner of No. 3 Georgia Tech (23-9) and No. 14 Northern Iowa (21-9) in the second round on Sunday at either 1:15 p.m. or 3:45 p.m. (CST).

On Television
CBS Sports has exclusive rights to the NCAA Tournament. Announcers for the first and second round games in Milwaukee are Tim Brando (play-by-play), Mike Gminski (analyst) and Heather Cox (reporter). Games not shown on local CBS affiliates can be seen on pay-per-view offered by DIRECTV.

On Radio
All of the Utes' games in the NCAA Tournament will be broadcast on the Utah Sports Network (KALL-700 AM in Salt Lake City and affiliate stations). The games will also be broadcast live on the Internet at www.UtahUtes.com and www.kall700.com. Bill Marcroft (play-by-play), Mark Rydalch (analyst) and Brad Stone (host) call the action.

Utah Probable Starters

No. Pos. Name           Ht.  Wt.  Cl.   Hometown            Statistics13  F    Richard Chaney    6-4  195  So.   Los Angeles, Calif. 9.6 ppg, 4.2 rpg4   F    Andrew Bogut    6-10 233  Fr.   Melbourne, Australia    12.3 ppg, 9.9 rpg54  C    Tim Frost  6-9  244  Sr.   Klamath Falls, Ore. 9.1 ppg, 4.6 rpg11  G    Tim Drisdom  6-2  212  So.   Artesia, Calif.         5.9 ppg, 3.7 apg15  G    Nick Jacobson  6-4  206  Sr.   Fargo, N.D.         16.8 ppg, 2.1 rpg
Interim Head Coach: Kerry Rupp (Southern Utah, 1977)Record at Utah: 9-3 (1st Season)    Overall Record: 9-3 (1st Season)

Quickly On Utah
The Runnin' Utes enter the NCAA Tournament with a 24-8 record after winning the Mountain West Conference Tournament. Utah finished third in the Mountain West Conference during the regular season with a 9-5 record. Utah has won nine of its last 12 games, including four in a row. The Utes are 3-2 on neutral courts this season.

Last weekend at the Mountain West Conference Tournament in Denver, Colo., Utah defeated San Diego State (75-69), Brigham Young (54-51) and UNLV (73-70) to capture the championship.

In the NCAA statistical rankings released on March 9, Utah was sixth in the NCAA in scoring defense (56.7 ppg), fourth in rebound margin (+7.7 rpg), 46th in scoring margin (+8.1 ppg), 34th in field goal percentage defense (40.3 ppg), 20th in field goal percentage (48.0 ppg) and 20th in three-point percentage (39.0). Currently, the Utes are allowing their opponents to score 57.3 points per game and shoot 41.1 percent from the field. Utah is presently shooting 47.4 percent from the field and 39.5 percent from three-point range, outrebounding its opponents by 7.6 boards per game, and outscoring its opponents by 7.8 points per game.

Senior guard Nick Jacobson (6-4, 206) leads the Utes in scoring (16.8 ppg), hitting 45.3 percent of his three-point attempts. Freshman forward Andrew Bogut (6-10, 233) is second on the team in scoring (12.3 ppg), and is first in both rebounding (9.9 rpg) and blocked shots (44). The native of Melbourne, Australia, has 14 double-doubles this season and is shooting 57.7 percent from the field. Sophomore forward Richard Chaney (6-4, 195) is third in scoring (9.6 ppg), shooting 49.4 percent from the field and 41.5 percent from three-point range. Senior forward Tim Frost is fourth in scoring (9.1 ppg) and second in rebounding average (4.6 rpg). Sophomore guard Tim Drisdom (6-2, 212) leads the Utes in assists (3.7 apg).

NCAA Tournament First & Second Rounds at Milwaukee, Wis.

First Round - Friday (March 19)St. Louis RegionGame 1 - No. 6 Boston College (23-9) vs. No. 11 Utah (24-8)      11:30 a.m.Game 2 - No. 3 Georgia Tech (23-9) vs. No. 14 Northern Iowa (21-9)      30 minutes after
East Rutherford RegionGame 3 - No. 6 Wisconsin (24-6) vs. No. 11 Richmond (20-12)      6:30 p.m.Game 4 - No. 3 Pittsburgh (29-4) vs. No. 14 Central Florida (25-5)      30 minutes after
Second Round - Sunday (March 21)Game 5 - Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner      1:15 p.m/3:45 p.m.Game 6 - Game 3 Winner vs. Game 4 Winner      1:15 p.m/3:45 p.m.
(All Times Central Standard Time)

Scouting Boston College
The Eagles, seeded sixth in the St. Louis Region, are 23-9 overall and tied for fifth in the Big East Conference in the regular season with a 10-6 record. Boston College had won seven in a row before falling to Pittsburgh in the Big East Conference Tournament semifinals (62-53) last Saturday. Also in Big East Tournament play, BC defeated Georgetown (68-57) in the first round and Syracuse (57-54) in the quarterfinals.

Sophomore forward Craig Smith (6-7, 265), a first team all-Big East Selection, is BC's leading scorer (17.3 ppg) and rebounder (8.4 rpg). He has a team-best 30 blocked shots and 47 steals. Freshman forward Jared Dudley (6-7, 210), a unanimous pick to the Big East all-rookie team, is second on the team in scoring (12.2 ppg), rebounding (6.7 rpg) and assists (2.8 apg). Senior forward Uka Agbai (6-8, 262) is the third Eagle averaging double figures in scoring (10.8 ppg). Sophomore guard Louis Hinnant (6-4, 190) leads BC in assists (3.3 apg) and three-point field goal percentage (46.4) while averaging 5.1 points per game.

Boston College won 20 games for the third time in the last four seasons. The Eagles have won 90 games overall in the last four seasons, which is the best total over a four-year period in school history. The previous top mark was 89 wins from 1979-80 through 1982-83.

Comparing the Stats

           Utah    Boston Coll.Scoring         65.1    68.8Scoring Defense 57.3    63.8FG%         .474    .454FG% Defense .411    .4043-Pt. FG%   .395    .3193-Pt. FG% Def.  .312    .324FT%         .718    .679Rebound Margin  +7.6    +3.1Assists         12.9    15.9Turnovers   14.2    13.4Opp. Turnovers  10.8    14.0Steals          4.5 7.0Blocked Shots   3.5 3.0

Eagles Head Coach
Al Skinner is 259-220 in his 16th season as a head coach and 121-94 in his seventh season at Boston College. He has led the Eagles to postseason tournaments in each of the last three years, going to the NCAAs in 2001 and 2002, and the NIT in 2003. He is a 1974 graduate of UMass and is a member of its athletics hall of fame.

Common Opponents
* Stony Brook: Utah (W, 51-48 on the road on Nov. 23). Boston College (W, 82-64 at home on Dec. 23.).

* Connecticut: Utah (L, 76-44 on a neutral court on Nov. 28). Boston College (L, 63-58 at home on Jan. 31).

Utah-Boston College Series Notes
* Utah leads the all-time series with Boston College 2-0, playing both games on a neutral court.

* In the first meeting, the Utes won 90-88 on Dec. 29, 1966 in the Sugar Bowl Tournament in New Orleans. The teams last met on March 23, 1974 in the NIT Final Four semifinals with the Utes prevailing, 117-93.

* Utah is 24-21 all-time against the Big East Conference, including a 12-9 record on neutral courts. The Big East team Utah has faced the most is St. John's, going 6-8.

NCAA Tournament Notes

Utah's NCAA Tournament History
Utah is making its 25th appearance in the NCAA Tournament all-time. The U. is the in the NCAAs for the third consecutive year. Utah made a school record six consecutive appearances 1995-2000 before not making the field in 2001. The Utes are 33-27 (.550) in NCAA Tournament play with four NCAA Final Four appearances (1944, 1961, 1966, 1998) and one NCAA championship (1944).

Including this year, Utah ranks tied for 11th all-time in NCAA Tournament appearances (25). Utah also ranks 10th in NCAA Tournament games played (60). Only 14 teams have more Final Four appearances than Utah.

Utah's Recent NCAA Tournament History
Utah is appearing in its 11th NCAA Tournament since 1990 and its ninth in the last 10 years. The Utes missed the tournament in 2001 while Rick Majerus took a personal leave of absence. Interim head coach Kerry Rupp becomes the sixth coach in school history to lead the Utes to the NCAA Tournament.

Majerus led the Utes to a 17-10 record (.630) in the NCAA Tournament. Utah made it to at least the second round of the tournament all but once under Majerus, winning eight consecutive first round games before losing to No. 5 Indiana-the eventual national runner-up-as a No. 12 seed in 2002. The Utes made it to the Sweet 16 four times, the Elite Eight twice and the Final Four in 1998 during the Majerus era, which began in 1989-90 and ended on Jan. 28, 2004 when he resigned due to health reasons.

Since 1990, Utah has been a No. 2 seed twice (1997, 1999) a No. 3 seed once (1998), a No. 4 seed three times (1991, 1995, 1996), a No. 8 seed twice (1993, 2000), a No. 9 seed once (2003), a No. 11 seed once (2004), and a No. 12 seed once (2002).

Recapping Utah's Last NCAA Appearance
Utah's last trip to the NCAA Tournament was in 2003, when it played in a Midwest Region bracket March 21 and 23 in Nashville, Tenn. The ninth-seeded Utes defeated eighth-seeded Oregon 60-58 in the first round and lost to No. 1 seeded Kentucky 74-54 in the second round.

Utes Capture MWC Tournament Title For Automatic NCAA Bid
Senior guard Nick Jacobson hit a three-pointer from the NBA three-point arc with 1.8 seconds left, giving Utah a 73-70 win over UNLV in the Mountain West Tournament championship Saturday night and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Utah got past sixth-seeded San Diego State 75-69 in the quarterfinals on Thursday and defeated in-state rival Brigham Young, the No. 2 seed, 54-51 in the semifinals on Friday. It was the Utes' first conference tournament title since winning the WAC Tournament in their final year in the league in 1999. Utah had been eliminated in the MWC Tournament in the semifinals each of the past four years.

Jacobson, who averaged 21.7 points and shot 53.1 percent (17-for-32) from three-point range in the three games, was named the MWC Tournament MVP. He led the Utes in scoring all three games in the tournament. Sophomore forward Richard Chaney also made the all-tournament team. Chaney averaged 12.7 points and 5.0 rebounds in the three games and shot 48.3 percent from the field.

In the championship game, Jacobson finished with 22 points and Chaney had 18 for Utah, the No. 3 seed. Andrew Bogut had his 14th double-double of the season with 17 points and an MWC championship game record 14 rebounds. Utah prevailed despite being outshot 50 percent to 37 percent.

Jacobson scored 19 points, including seven points in the last 4:27, to help the Utes get past BYU in the semifinals. Tim Frost added 10 points for Utah, which built a 10-point lead early in the second half and hung on at the finish to snap BYU's nine-game winning streak.

In the quarterfinals, Jacobson hit seven three-pointers and had 24 points to help Utah hold off San Diego State.

After the teams traded leads most of the second half, Utah went up 68-67 on a three-point play by Justin Hawkins with 1:47 left. Utah hit 7-of-8 free throws in the final 1:10 to get the win. Jacobson was 7-of-11 from three-point range range, tied the school single-game record for threes made.

Utes Joined By Two Other Mountain West Teams In NCAA Field
The Mountain West Conference will send three institutions to the 2004 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. Regular-season champion Air Force earned an at-large bid, while conference tournament winner Utah garnered the automatic bid. Both the Falcons and Utes will be No. 11 seeds. BYU also received an at-large bid and will be a No. 12-seed, marking the third straight year the MWC has sent three teams to the NCAA Tournament.

No. 11-seed Air Force (22-6, 12-2 MWC) travels to the Pepsi Center in Denver for a first round game vs. No. 6-seed North Carolina (18-10, 8-8 ACC) Thursday. The winner will face either No. 3 Texas or No. 14 Princeton in the second round. The Falcons won the Mountain West regular season crown and will be making their first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 1962.

No. 12-seed BYU (21-8, 10-4 MWC) also plays in Denver against No. 5-seed Syracuse (21-7, 11-5 Big East) on Thursday. The BYU/Syracuse winner will play either No. 4 Maryland or No. 13 UTEP in the second round. The Cougars are 11-23 in 20 NCAA Tournament appearances. This is BYU's second straight trip to the NCAA Tournament. The Cougars were also a No. 12 seed last year and fell to fifth-seed Connecticut (58-53) in Spokane, Wash.

Ute Player Notes

Jacobson Stroking "J"s
Senior guard Nick Jacobson (6-4, 206) has received numerous postseason honors this season. Jacobson has been named USBWA All-District VIII, first team all-Mountain West Conference and first team All-District 13 by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC). He leads the Utes in scoring (16.8 ppg), hitting 45.3 percent from beyond the arc and 83.7 percent from the free throw line. He has had thirteen 20-point games this season.

* Jacobson was named the MVP of the Mountain West Conference Tournament, leading the Utes in scoring in all three games on the way to the title. Jacobson averaged 21.7 points and 4.7 rebounds in 36.0 minutes per game in the tournament. He shot 45.8 percent from the field and 53.1 percent from three-point range (17-for-32).

* In the NCAA statistical rankings released March 9, Jacobson was 19th in three-point field goal percentage (44.0) and 49th in free throw percentage (83.9).

* He scored in double figures in 16 of the 17 games in Mountain West Conference regular-season and tournament play-including the last seven. In conference regular-season games, Jacobson averaged 18.4 points per game to rank second in the league. He also ranked first in three-pointers made per game (3.00), ninth in three-point percentage (41.2) and second in free throw percentage (85.5).

* Jacobson has scored at least 20 points in 12 of the last 23 games. His last 20-point game came with 22 points (7-16 FG, 6-10 3-FG, 2-2 FT) in 38 minutes against UNLV in the MWC Tournament title game. Two days earlier, he had 24 points (8-14 FG, 7-11 3-FG, 1-1 FT) in 33 minutes against San Diego State in the quarterfinals.

* Jacobson had career-high tying 28 points (11-17 FG, 6-11 3-FG) in 33 minutes against New Mexico on Feb. 23. He established his career-high of 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.

* Jacobson has already climbed into 11th place in career scoring at Utah with 1,610 points, ranking behind Andre Miller (1,618 points). He is one of just 30 players in the 1,000-point club.

* A prolific shooter from long range, Jacobson ranks first at Utah in both career three-pointers made (285) and attempted (660), passing Keith Van Horn for the top spot in both categories this season. His career three-point percentage of 43.2 is third all-time.

* On the single season charts, Jacobson's 2003-04 numbers rank first in both three-pointers made (97) and attempted (214).

Frost Bouncing Back From Back Injury In Final Season
Senior center Tim Frost (6-9, 244) had earned all-Mountain West Conference honorable mention this season. Frost established himself as a strong interior presence in his first season with the Utes, earning second team all-Mountain West honors in 2002-03. However, Frost has been dealing with a sore back since the start of fall training, missing the first month of practice and the first game of the regular season. He has missed four games in all due to the injury, but has started the last 17 games.

* Currently, Frost is fourth on the team in scoring average (9.1 ppg) and second in rebounding average (4.6 rpg).

* Frost has scored in double figures in seven of the last 10 games-including five in a row before getting eight points in the MWC Tournament final. He has scored at least 10 points in 13 games. He had a season-high tying 19 points (8-10 FG, 1-1 3-FG, 2-4 FT) and eight rebounds in 31 minutes against San Diego State on March 6.

* In the last 10 games, Frost has scored in double figures six times, averaging 11.9 points while shooting 54.8 percent from the field and 50.0 percent (7-of-14) from three-point range. He has also averaged 5.4 rebounds per game in 30.1 minutes.

* He had a season-high 19 points (7-11 FG, 4-6 3-FG, 1-2 FT) for the first time in 29 minutes against Wyoming on Feb. 16.

* In Mountain West Conference games, Frost averaged 10.3 points and 4.6 rebounds per game in 28.6 minutes.

Chatter About Chaney
Sophomore wingman Richard Chaney (6-4, 195) is Utah's third-best scorer, averaging 9.6 points a game and reaching the 20-point mark three times. He is shooting 49.4 percent from the field and 41.5 percent (34-for-82) from three-point range.

* Chaney has scored in double figures 13 times this season, bringing his career total to 19.

* Chaney was named to the Mountain West Conference all-tournament team, playing some of his best basketball of the season over the three days. Chaney averaged 12.7 points and 5.0 rebounds in 30.7 minutes per game. He shot 48.3 percent from the field, 44.4 percent (4-for-9) from three-point range and 6-for-6 at the free throw line. Chaney also had four assists, four blocked shots and three steals.

* After scoring in double figures just once in the previous seven games, he had two double-figure scoring games in the MWC Tournament. Chaney had 14 points (5-12 FG, 4-4 FT), eight rebounds and three assists against San Diego State in the quarterfinals. Against UNLV in the title game, Chaney had 18 points (6-11 FG, 4-6 3-FG, 2-2 FT) and five rebounds.

Utah Team Notes

Utes Reach 20-Wins Mark Once Again
Utah has hit the 20-wins mark for the 12th time in the last 15 years, spanning the Rick Majerus era. Two of the three years the Utes failed to get 20 wins, Majerus did not coach the entire season. The last time Majerus missed games was in 2000-01 when Utah finished 19-12.

Utah's 20-win seasons at Utah since the beginning of the 90s: 1990-91 (30-4), 1991-92 (24-11), 1992-93 (24-7), 1994-95 (28-6), 1995-96 (27-7), 1996-97 (29-4), 1997-98 (30-4), 1998-99 (28-5), 1999-2000 (23-9), 2001-02 (21-9), 2002-03 (25-8), 2003-04 (24-8).

Ute Items
* Utah has shot 50 percent or better from the field in 12 games this season, going 11-1. Utah ranked 20th in the NCAA in field goal percentage (48.0) as of March 9. Currently, the Utes are still shooting 47.4 percent from the field.

* Utah has shot at least 40 percent from the field in 21 of the past 23 games. The Utes broke a string of shooting at least 40 percent from the field in 21 of 22 games-including nine consecutive games-against UNLV in the MWC Tournament championship game. Utah shot 37.1 percent against the Runnin' Rebels, its lowest shooting percentage in a win this season.

* The Utes are 20-1 when scoring at least 60 points this season with their only loss coming to Wyoming (74-65) on Feb. 16. Utah is 17-1 when holding its opponents to under 60 points with its only loss coming to Air Force (59-57) on Feb. 21.

* Utah's third-place conference finish is its lowest since tying for fifth in 1994. Since then, Utah has won at least a share of eight regular-season conference titles and had one second place finish (2002).

* Utah has lost just once when leading at the half and with 5:00 remaining this season. That set-back came against Air Force on Feb. 21.

* Utah has been held below 20 points in the first half five times this season: 13 points (UConn on Nov. 28), 18 points (New Mexico on Jan. 24), 19 points (LSU on Dec. 16, BYU on Jan. 31, BYU on Mar. 1).

* 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 75.6 percent (341-of-451) in the last 24 games. The Utes shot a season-best 97.1 percent (11-of-12) in games with over 10 attempts from the line against Whitworth. Utah also shot 90.5 percent (19-of-21) from the line against UNLV on Feb. 9 for its second-best effort in 2003-04. Utah is currently shooting 71.8 percent at the line this season.

Getting Defensive
One of the trademarks of a Utah team during the last 15 years has been a stifling half-court defense. Since 1989-90, Utah has finished 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 March 9, Utah ranked sixth in the nation in scoring defense (56.7 ppg), 34th in field goal percentage defense (40.3) and fourth in rebound margin (+7.7 rpg). Currently, the Utes are allowing their opponents to score 57.3 points per game and shoot 41.1 percent from the field, while Utah is outrebounding its foes by 7.6 boards per game.

* The Utes have outrebounded 29 of 32 opponents this season and are 24-5 when they have the advantage on the boards. Utah has outrebounded 22 of its last 23 opponents. The only exception was Wyoming, which posted a 37-33 advantage on the Utes on Feb. 16. The Utes have since outrebounded their last eight opponents.

* Utah has held 15 of its 32 opponents to lower than 40 percent shooting from the field and 13 teams to under 30 percent from three-point range. Savannah State shot 18.2 percent against the Utes on Dec. 13, which is the lowest mark for a Utah opponent all-time.

* Only 14 of 32 teams have reached 60 points against the Utes and 10 opponents have been held to under 50 points this season.

* Only five times has Utah allowed a team to shoot 50 percent or better from the field this season: UConn (62.3), New Mexico on Jan. 24 (53.5), Air Force (55.3) on Jan. 26, Air Force (54.3) on Feb. 21 and UNLV (50.0) on March 13. UNLV was the only team Utah defeated.

* Utah has not allowed an opponent to score 80 points in 127 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.

Strong At The Finish
The Utes have outscored 24 of their 32 opponents in the second half and are 11-2 in games decided by 10 points or less in 2003-04 (only losses to Wyoming on Feb. 16 and Air Force on Feb. 21). In Mountain West Conference regular season and tournament play, Utah outscored 13 of its 17 opponents in the second half. Utah has finished off 12 close games in the final eight minutes for wins this season. Here's a look at some of the Utes' finishes since the start of league play.

* Utah battled back from a 41-33 halftime deficit to take a 64-57 lead with 6:58 remaining against UNLV in the MWC Tournament title game. The Rebels came back to get within one point with 5:04 left but never led. Utah won 73-70.

* Tied 43-all with 6:25 remaining against BYU in the MWC Tournament semifinals, Utah closed the game on an 11-8 run to win 54-51.

* Trailing San Diego State 65-62 with 4:00 left in the MWC Tournament quarterfinals, the Utes outscored the Aztecs 13-4 to close out the game and made 9-of-11 free throws.

* Leading 59-50 with 4:42 to play in its final regular-season game at San Diego State, Utah score six unanswered points over the next three minutes and won 66-53.

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