Utah Men's Basketball Notes - Game #7

12/9/2005 12:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Dec. 9, 2005

Game #7

Utah Runnin' Utes (4-2) vs. Southern Utah Thunderbirds (1-6)
Dec. 10 ? 7:05 p.m. (MST)
Jon M. Huntsman Center (15,000) ? Salt Lake City

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Game Data


Television: None
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      Southern Utah Head Coach: Bill EvansAlma Mater: Minot State, 1985        Alma Mater: Southern Utah, 1972Record at Utah: 33-8 (2nd Season)    Record at SUU: 184-195 (14th Season)Overall Record: 150-91 (9th Season)  Overall Record: 184-195 (14th Season)
Series Record: Utah leads 7-1Utah's Record Home/Away/Neutral: 7-1/0-0/0-0Current Streak: Utah has won 4 in a row.Last Meeting: Utah won 65-45 on Nov. 30, 2004 in Salt Lake City.
Utah Probable StartersNo. Pos. Name             Ht.   Wt.  Cl.  Statistics20  F    Bryant Markson      6-7   198  Sr.  16.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg21  F    Shaun Green    6-8   208  Fr.  6.8 ppg, 3.8 rpg30  C    Chris Jackson    6-11  245  Sr.  9.0 ppg, 4.7 rpg1   G    Johnnie Bryant      6-0   190  So.  13.7 ppg, 4.3 rpg2   G    Lawrence Borha      6-3   205  Fr.  4.2 ppg, 2.0 rpg
Southern Utah Probable StartersNo. Pos. Name             Ht.   Wt.  Cl.  Statistics40  F    Nate Janes   6-7   210  Sr.  8.3 ppg, 2.7 rpg3   F    Henry Uhegwu     6-3   190  Jr.  8.4 ppg, 3.1 rpg41  C    Esteban Bonzano  6-10  230  Sr.  5.1 ppg, 2.0 rpg5   G    Steve Barnes     5-10  160  Jr.  7.7 ppg, 4.3 apg22  G    Justin Allen     6-0   170  Jr.  9.6 ppg, 3.1 rpg

After This
The Runnin' Utes take a week off for semester exams before hosting Arizona on Saturday, Dec. 17 at 2:05 p.m. (MST) in the Huntsman Center. The game will be televised nationally by ESPN. Utah then hosts Adams State on Monday, Dec. 19 at 7:05 p.m. (MST).

Quickly On Utah
The Runnin' Utes (4-2) open a three-game homestand against Southern Utah (1-6) on Saturday at 7:05 p.m. (MST) in the Jon M. Huntsman Center. The game will be broadcast on Hot Ticket 700 (KALL-AM) and the Utah Sports Network.

Utah is coming off back-to-back losses on its recent two-game road swing. The Utes fell to Rice 96-94 in triple overtime last Saturday afternoon in Houston, Texas, and lost to Colorado 76-52 on Wednesday night in Boulder, Colo.

Senior forward Bryant Markson (6-7, 198), a preseason all-Mountain West Conference pick, leads the Utes in scoring (16.5 ppg) and assists (3.0 apg), and is second in rebounds (5.5 rpg). He is also shooting 75.0 percent at the free throw line. Sophomore guard Johnnie Bryant (6-0, 190), a junior college transfer in his first season with the Utes, is second on the team in scoring (13.7 ppg) and is averaging 4.0 rebounds per game. Bryant is also shooting 46.4 percent (13-of-28) 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 (6.0 rpg) and is third in scoring (10.5 ppg). Senior guard Tim Drisdom (6-3, 215) is second on the team in assists (2.5 apg).

Take Note
? Utah has dropped back-to-back games for the first time since the 2003-04 season when it fell to Wyoming (74-65) on Feb. 16 in Laramie, Wyo., and Air Force (59-57) on Feb. 21 in Salt Lake City. The Utes haven't lost three games in a row since the 2000-01 season when they lost road games to Wyoming (78-77 OT) on Jan. 20, Colorado State (73-65) on Jan. 22 and BYU (69-61) on Jan. 29.

? Utah's 24-point loss to Colorado (76-52) on Wednesday night is its worst since falling to Utah State by 26 points (71-45) last season on Dec. 4 in Logan, Utah.

? The Utes have a -3.0 turnover margin, averaging 16.0 turnovers per game compared to 13.0 for their opponents.

? Utah is playing one redshirt freshman and four other newcomers. Through six games, 53.3 percent of the Utes' points 49.1 percent of their rebounds and 55.5 percent of their minutes played have come from the first-year players.

? The Utes are 4-0 when holding their opponents to 69 points or less this season and 0-2 when allowing 70 points or more.

Scouting The Thunderbirds
Southern Utah is 1-6 overall and 0-4 on the road this season. In its recent games, the T-Birds have lost at BYU 86-61 on Nov. 26, defeated Weber State at home 68-47 on Nov. 29 and fell at Idaho 75-60 last Saturday.

Senior center/forward Lubor Olsovsky, who played in SUU's last game after missing five in a row with a sprained right ankle, leads the T-Birds in scoring average (11.0 ppg). Senior guard/forward Rand Janes (6-3, 195) is second in scoring (9.7 ppg), hitting 39.4 percent (13-for-33) of his three-point attempts. Senior forward Nate Janes (6-7, 210) leads SUU in rebounding (3.7 rpg), is shooting 80 percent from the free throw line (16-for-20) and averaging 8.3 points per game. Junior guard Steve Barnes (5-10, 160) leads the team in assists (4.23 apg) and is averaging 7.7 points per game.

Head Coach Bill Evans
Bill Evans took over the reins of the SUU program late in the 1991-92 season. In his 14th full season, he has led the T-Birds to three league titles and a 184-195 overall record. In 2000-01, Evans led the Thunderbirds to their first ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament, a share of the Mid-Continent Conference title in the regular season and the league's postseason championship. He was named the Mid-Continent Coach of the Year, NABC District 13 Coach of the Year and USBWA District 8 Coach of the Year in 2000-01. Evans is the winningest coach in SUU history.

Utah vs. SUU Series Notes
? Utah leads the all-time series with Southern Utah 7-1. All eight games were played in the Huntsman Center. The Utes won the first three games in the series and have also taken the last four.

? Last season, the Utes defeated the T-Birds 65-45 on Nov. 30 in the Huntsman Center.

? Utah's only loss in the series was 77-70 on Dec. 22, 2000 in Salt Lake City.

? Ray Giacoletti is 1-0 against Southern Utah.

? Bill Evans is 1-7 against Utah.

? Utah is 11-1 (.917) all-time against the Mid-Continent Conference, including a 10-1 record (.909) in home games. In addition to playing Southern Utah, the Utes are 1-0 versus Centenary and 3-0 against Chicago State.

Last Meeting
Richard Chaney scored 19 points and Utah went on a 10-0 run early in the second half on the way to a 65-45 victory over Southern Utah in the Huntsman Center last season on Nov. 30

The teams combined for 18 first-half turnovers, and the Utes ended the half with a 28-19 lead.

With Utah leading 37-25 with 16 minutes left in the game, Utah center Andrew Bogut scored on an offensive rebound. After Southern Utah missed a jump shot, point guard Marc Jackson hit one of his two three-point shots of the game. Chaney added a trey on the Utes' next possession and Bogut finished the run with a layup to give Utah a 47-25 lead.

Bogut had 15 points and 14 rebounds in 22 minutes. Tim Gainey led the Thunderbirds with eight points. Utah had a 39-19 advantage on the boards, outshot SUU 57.8 to 36.0 percent from the field and made 5-of-13 three-pointers.

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 (16.5 ppg) and steals, and is second in rebounds (5.5 rpg). Markson has reached double figures in scoring in 12 of the last 13 games dating back to last season, including all six games this year.

? Markson had his 32nd career double-figure scoring game against Colorado on Wednesday night with 13 points (4-10 FG, 5-5 FT) in 32 minutes. He also had five rebounds.

? Against Rice last Saturday, 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.

? Markson established his season-high with 19 points (8-14 FG, 3-5 FT) against Texas State in the season opener.

Jackson Producing
Senior center Chris Jackson (6-11, 245) has started all six of Utah's games this season. Jackson is fourth on the team in scoring (9.0 ppg) and third in rebounding (4.7 rpg) in 19.3 minutes per game.

? Jackson has scored in double figures in each of the last three games, giving him four career double-figure scoring games.

? The Los Alamos, N.M., native had a career-high 12 points (6-9 FG, 0-4 FT) and seven rebounds in 19 minutes against Colorado on Wednesday night.

? Jackson had 10 points against both Utah State and Rice. He had a season-high six rebounds in 22 minutes against Weber State on Nov. 26.

Getting Defensive
One of the trademarks of Utah basketball has been a stifling half-court defense. Since the 1989-90 season, Utah has finished in the top 30 in the nation 13 times in scoring defense, 11 times in rebound margin, eight times in field goal percentage defense and nine times in scoring margin.

? Through six games this season, Ute opponents have averaged 68.2 points per game while shooting 44.2 percent from the field and 34.5 percent from three-point range.

? Taking out the points Utah's opponents scored in the four overtime periods this season, the Utes had allowed just 59.8 points per game in regulation before the Colorado game on Wednesday. The Buffaloes scored 76 points against the Utes and made a dozen three-pointers.

? The Runnin' Utes have not allowed an opponent to score 80 points in 168 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.

? Before Rice scored 96 points in triple overtime last Saturday, Utah had not given up 90 points to an opponent since Kentucky prevailed 101-70 in the NCAA regional semifinals on March 21, 1996.

? Utah State (52.1 percent) and Rice (50.0 percent) are the only two teams to make at least half of their shots against the Utes this season. Utah has held its other four opponents to below 42 percent shooting from the field.

? Utah has outrebounded its opponents in four of the six games this season. Utah is 32-5 when it has matched or surpassed the effort of its opponents on the glass in two seasons under Ray Giacoletti.

? Utah's best rebounding game this season was a 60-34 effort Rice on Dec. 3. The Utes had 28 offensive boards against the Owls to break the school single-game record and tie the Mountain West Conference mark

? On the negative side of the rebounding numbers, Utah has allowed three of its six opponents to record double-figure offensive rebounds, including a season-high 18 by Colorado on Dec. 7.

Tough At Home In The Huntsman Center
Utah is 229-19 (.923) in the Huntsman Center over the past 17 seasons and has never lost back-to-back home games. The Utes were 16-0 at home in 2004-05 to record one of seven undefeated seasons in the 36-year history of the Huntsman Center. The Utes have won all three home games so far this season.

? The Runnin' Utes are riding a 20-game home winning streak that ranks as the sixth-longest in NCAA Division I.

? Utah has captured 51 of its last 53 games at home. Its two losses during that stretch were to Colorado State on March 6, 2003, ending a 16-game home winning streak, and a 59-57 loss to Air Force on Feb. 21, 2004 terminating a string of 15 consecutive home wins.

? Dating back to the 1993-94 season, the Utes have won 168 of their last 179 games in the Jon M. Huntsman Center.