Dec. 5, 2005

Game #6

Utah Runnin' Utes (4-1) vs. Colorado Buffaloes (4-1)
Dec. 7 ? 7:07 p.m. (MST)
Coors Events Center (11,064) ? Boulder, Colo.

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Game Data

Television: KJZZ-TV 14 in Salt Lake City.ESPN Full Court (pay-per-view)Steve Brown (play-by-play) and Pace Mannion (analyst).
Radio: Utah Sports Network(Hot Ticket 700/KALL-AM in Salt Lake City and affiliate stations).On the Internet at www.UtahUtes.com. Get Utah All-Access HereMatt Thomas (play-by-play), Mark Rydalch (analyst) and Bill Riley (host).
Utah Head Coach: Ray Giacoletti      Colorado Head Coach: Ricardo PattonAlma Mater: Minot State, 1985        Alma Mater: Belmont, 1980Record at Utah: 33-7 (2nd Season)    Record at Colorado: 163-131 (10th Season)Overall Record: 150-90 (9th Season)  Overall Record: 163-131 (10th Season)
Series Record: Colorado leads 18-15Utah's Record Home/Away/Neutral: 10-6/4-12/1-0Current Streak: Utah has won 2 in a row.Last Meeting: Utah won 80-48 on Dec. 30, 2004 in Salt Lake City.
Utah Probable StartersNo. Pos. Name              Ht.  Wt. Cl.  Statistics20  F    Bryant Markson      6-7  198 Sr.  17.2 ppg, 5.6 rpg21  F    Shaun Green    6-8  208 Fr.  7.6 ppg, 3.6 rpg30  C    Chris Jackson    6-11 245 Sr.  8.4 ppg, 4.2 rpg1   G    Johnnie Bryant      6-0  190 So.  15.4 ppg, 4.0 rpg11  G    Tim Drisdom    6-3  215 Sr.  3.6 ppg, 3.0 apg
Colorado Probable StartersNo. Pos. Name              Ht.  Wt. Cl.  Statistics4   F    Andy Osborn       6-9  225 Sr.  9.8 ppg, 5.0 rpg15  F    Chris Copeland    6-8  235 Sr.  15.4 ppg, 5.6 rpg5   G    Jayson Obazuaye   6-2  205 Sr.  7.8 ppg, 5.8 rpg21  G    Marcus Hall       6-1  180 Jr.  7.0 ppg, 4.8 apg23  G    Richard Roby      6-6  195 So.  18.4 ppg, 5.6 rpg

After This
The Runnin' Utes return home to host Southern Utah on Saturday, Dec. 10 at 7:05 p.m. (MST) in the Jon M. Huntsman Center.

Quickly On Utah
The Runnin' Utes (4-1) play the second of back-to-back road games against Colorado (4-1) on Wednesday at 7:07 p.m. (MST) at the Coors Events Center in Boulder, Colo. 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.

Last week, Utah defeated Utah State 67-66 on Wednesday night in Salt Lake City, then fell to Rice 96-94 in triple overtime on Saturday afternoon in Houston, Texas.

Last year, the Runnin' Utes went 29-6 overall, won the Mountain West Conference regular season championship with a 13-1 record, and advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.

Two starters and four other lettermen return from the 2004-05 season. The Utes' returning starters are senior guard Tim Drisdom (6-3, 215) and senior forward Bryant Markson (6-7, 198). Markson, a preseason all-Mountain West Conference pick, leads the Utes in scoring (17.2 ppg) and assists (3.2 apg), and is second in rebounds (5.6 rpg). He is also shooting 71.4 percent at the free throw line. Drisdom is averaging 3.6 points and is second on the team in assists (3.0 apg).

Sophomore guard Johnnie Bryant (6-0, 190), a junior college transfer, is averaging 15.4 points and 4.0 rebounds per game in his first season. Bryant is also shooting 48.0 percent (12-of-25) from three-point range and 84.6 percent from the free throw line. Freshman center Luke Nevill (7-1, 250) leads the Utes in rebounding (6.4 rpg) and is third in scoring (11.2 ppg).

Take Note
? Utah is playing one redshirt freshman and four other newcomers. Through five games, 54.3 percent of the Utes' points and 47.6 percent of their rebounds have come from the first-year players.

? Before its loss to Rice on Saturday, Utah was off to a 4-0 start for the first time since the 1997-98 season. The Utes won their first 18 games that year. Utah also won its first four games in 1996-97 before losing to Arizona (69-61) on Dec. 7 in the Wooden Classic.

? Ray Giacoletti registered his 150th career win last Wednesday night against Utah State. He is 150-90 (.625) in his ninth season as a head coach.

? The Utes won their first two games against Texas State and Rhode Island by 15.5 points per game. Utah's last three games have been decided by an average of 2.6 points per game. The Weber State (W, 67-62) and Rice (L, 96-94) games went to overtime and triple overtime, respectively, while the Utah State (W, 67-66) game was decided when both teams missed shots on their final possession.

Scouting The Buffaloes
Colorado is 4-1 overall and 2-0 at home this season. After losing at Colorado State (83-82) on Nov. 21, the Buffs have won three in a row. They defeated Saint Mary's (73-54) at the Pepsi Center in Denver on Nov. 26, won at Penn (78-60) on Nov. 29 and took care of Cal Poly (93-75) at home last Saturday.

The Buffaloes return all five starters and 13 lettermen from last year's team that went 14-16 overall and finished 11th in the Big 12 with a 4-12 record.

Sophomore guard Richard Roby (6-6, 195) leads CU in scoring (18.4 ppg), rebounds (5.6 rpg) and steals (2.0 spg), and is second in assists (3.4 apg). Roby has connected on 61.9 percent of his three-pointers (13-for-21) and is shooting 82.6 percent of his free throws. Senior forward Chris Copeland (6-8, 235) is second in scoring (15.4 ppg) and shares the lead with Roby in rebounding (5.6 rpg). Copeland is a 40 percent three-point shooter (6-for-15). Junior guard Marcus Hall (6-1, 180) leads Colorado in assists (4.8 apg) and is averaging 7.0 points per game.

Comparing The Numbers


         Utah    ColoradoRecord          4-1 4-1Streak          Lost 1  Won 3Scoring         73.6    79.8Scoring Defense 66.6    65.2FG%         .478    .469FG% Defense .449    .4263-Pt. FG%   .365    .3473-Pt. FG% Def.  .354    .367FT%         .676    .634Rebound Margin  +8.8    +9.8Assists         14.4    17.0Turnovers   15.8    14.2Opp. Turnovers  13.6    19.0Steals          6.6 11.2Blocked Shots   1.6 3.8

Head Coach Ricardo Patton
Ricardo Patton is in his 10th season as the head coach at Colorado with a 163-131 record. Coming to CU as an assistant coach in 1993, Patton moved up the Colorado coaching ranks, first to interim head coach and then to head coach. Patton was named interim head coach in January of 1996, when he replaced Joe Harrington. He was promoted to head coach less than two months later on March 5 just before the Big Eight conference tournament.

In Patton's first full season as head coach (1996-97), he led the Buffaloes to their first NCAA Tournament berth since 1969. The team finished second in the conference and racked up the most victories in program history with 22. Patton was named the West Region Coach of the Year by Basketball Times.

In 2002-03, Colorado returned to the NCAA Tournament and reached the 20-wins plateau. It marked only the third time in the history of CU basketball that the Buffaloes achieved a 20-win season--two of them under Patton.

Utah vs. Colorado Series Notes
? Utah and Colorado meet for the 34th time on Wednesday night. Colorado leads the all-time series 18-14; however, the Utes have won two in a row.

? The Utes and Buffaloes played every year from 1983-88, but did not meet again until the 2003-04 season. Utah won 77-57 on Dec. 23, 2003 in Boulder, Colo., then took last year's meeting 80-48 on Dec. 30 in the Salt Lake City.

? The Buffaloes have a 12-4 advantage over Utah in games played in Boulder. CU had defeated the Utes four consecutive times there before Utah's win in December of 2003.

? Colorado's last win over Utah was on Dec. 6, 1988 in Boulder by a 68-65 margin.

? Utah has won six of the last nine games in the series, but neither team has won more than two in a row during that stretch.

? Ray Giacoletti is 1-0 against Colorado.

? Ricardo Patton is 0-2 against Utah.

? Utah is 36-34 all-time against Big 12 Conference teams, including a 7-19 mark (.269) on the road. Colorado is the Big 12 team the Utes have faced the most.

Last Meeting
Ute center/forward Andrew Bogut scored 25 and grabbed 15 rebounds as the Utes defeated the Colorado Buffaloes 80-48 last season on Dec. 30 in the Jon M. Huntsman Center.

It was Utah's fifth win in a row on the season. The loss ended a five-game winning streak for the Buffaloes, who haven't won in Salt Lake City since 1946.

The Utes could do little wrong in the first half as they cruised to a 48-21 halftime lead, led by Bogut's 20 points and eight rebounds.

The Buffaloes only managed 31 percent shooting from the field in the first half. The Utes, meanwhile, hit 14-of-14 foul shots while Colorado never reached the line.

Utah stretched its lead in the second half, at one point going up by as many as 36.

Guard Tim Drisdom added 16 points, including hitting 4-of-5 from the three-point line. Bryant Markson had 14 and Jonas Langvad added 11. The Utes outrebounded the Buffaloes 43-26 with a season-best effort. Utah also had a significant advantage at the free throw line, making 24-of-28 while CU went just 6-for-12.

Forward Chris Copeland led the Buffaloes with 15 points. Colorado shot just 4-for-22 from three-point range (18.2 percent) and was outshot from the field 47.2 to 35.2 percent.

Markson Makes His Mark
Senior forward Bryant Markson (6-7, 198) is a pre-season all-Mountain West Conference pick. Markson leads the Utes in scoring (17.2 ppg) and rebounds (5.6 rpg). Markson has reached double figures in scoring in 11 of the last 12 games dating back to last season, including all five games this year.

? Against Rice on Saturday, Markson had his 31st career double-figure scoring game. Markson led the Utes with 19 points (6-17 FG, 7-10 FT), tying his season-high mark. He also tied his career high with eight rebounds and set a personal-best mark with five assists in 48 minutes.

Take Notice Of Nevill
Redshirt freshman center Luke Nevill (7-1, 250) is averaging 11.2 points (third-best on the team) and 6.4 rebounds (best on the team) per game. He has scored in double figures three times this season and has one double-double.

? Nevill had season highs in points (19), rebounds (13) and minutes played (29) in Utah's triple overtime loss to Rice on Saturday. Eight of Nevill's rebounds were on the offensive end, giving him his first double-double. After playing just 19 minutes and tallying six points and five rebounds in regulation, Nevill came up big in the overtime periods before fouling out in the third. Nevill had a dunk to tie the score at the end of regulation at 69-all. He also tipped in a rebound on a missed jumper with no time on the clock at the end of the second overtime.

? The native of Perth, Australia, lived in Marietta, Ga., and attended Kell High School as an exchange student in 2003-04. Nevill averaged 17.6 points, 8.9 rebounds, 3.7 blocked shots and 2.5 assists per game at Kell. He earned honorable mention all-state and second team all-region honors.

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Utah Men's Basketball Notes - Game #6

Game #6

Players Mentioned

Andrew Bogut

Johnnie Bryant

Tim Drisdom

Tim Drisdom

Shaun Green

Chris Jackson

Jonas Langvad

Bryant Markson

Bryant Markson

Luke Nevill

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The University of Utah Athletics

Utah Men's Basketball Notes - Game #6

Game #6

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Andrew Bogut

Johnnie Bryant

Tim Drisdom

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Shaun Green

Chris Jackson

Jonas Langvad

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