Utah Men's Basketball Notes - Game #27 - University of Utah Athletics

Feb. 20, 2005

Game #27

Utah Runnin' Utes (23-3, 11-0 MWC) vs. New Mexico Lobos (19-6, 6-4 MWC)
Feb. 21 ? 7:07 p.m. (MST) ? The Pit/Bob King Court (18,018) ? Albuquerque, N.M.

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The Game At A Glance

Utah Head Coach: Ray Giacoletti      New Mexico Head Coach: Ritchie McKayAlma Mater: Minot State, 1985        Alma Mater: Seattle Pacific, 1987Record at Utah: 23-3 (1st Season)    Record at New Mexico: 43-38 (3rd Season)Overall Record: 140-86 (8th Season)  Overall Record: 126-127 (9th Season)
Rankings: Utah is No. 14 in the Associated Press polland tied for No. 13 in the ESPN/USA Today poll.
Television: KJZZ-TV 14 in Salt Lake City. ESPN Full Court (pay-per-view).Steve Brown (play-by-play) and Thurl Bailey (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 74-39Utah's Record Home/Away/Neutral: 49-5/23-33/2-1Current Streak: Utah has won 2Last Meeting: Utah won 69-58 on Jan. 22, 2005 in Salt Lake City.

After This
The Runnin' Utes return to Salt Lake City for a pair of home games to close out the regular season. Utah hosts BYU on Saturday, Feb. 26 at 1:04 p.m. (MST) and San Diego State on Saturday, March 5 at 1:04 p.m. (MST). Both games will be shown on ESPN+Plus as the Mountain West "Game of the Week."

Quickly On Utah
The Runnin' Utes (23-3, 11-0 MWC), wrap-up their final road trip of the regular season against New Mexico (19-6, 6-4 MWC) on Monday at 7:07 p.m. (MST) at The Pit/Bob King Court (18,018) in Albuquerque,N.M. The game will be televised by KJZZ-TV 14 in Salt Lake City and also available and ESPN Full Court (pay-per-view). It will be broadcast on Hot Ticket 700 (KALL-AM) and the Utah Sports Network. Utah is 9-3 away from home this season and 7-2 on opponents home courts.

Utah clinched the Mountain West Conference regular season championship outright by defeating Air Force 65-56 on Saturday in Colorado Springs, Colo. The Utes swept a pair of home games last weekend by defeating Colorado State 64-50 on Saturday night and Wyoming 71-62 on Monday night.

Utah is ranked in the Top 25 for the fourth consecutive week, moving up one spot to No. 14 in the Associated Press poll and two spots to a tie for No. 13 in the ESPN/USA Today poll. Utah has won 18 games in a row, which ranks as the second-best winning streak in the nation. During its recent winning streak, Utah has won by an average of 16.5 points per game.

Sophomore center/forward Andrew Bogut (7-0, 245) leads the Utes in scoring (20.6 ppg), rebounding (11.8 rpg) and blocked shots (49), and is shooting 65.1 percent from the field. Bogut has 17 double-doubles this season to lead the nation in that category as of Feb. 16. Senior guard Marc Jackson (6-1, 175) is second in scoring (10.8 ppg), hitting 50.0 percent of his three-point attempts (48-of-96) and 85.4 percent of his free throws. Jackson is first on the team in assists (3.38 apg). Junior forward Bryant Markson (6-6, 190) is third on the team in scoring (10.7 ppg) and second in rebounding (4.0 rpg). Junior forward/guard Richard Chaney, who missed seven games earlier this season with a broken left hand, is fourth on the team in scoring average (9.5 ppg). Junior guard Tim Drisdom (6-3, 203) is second on the team in assists (3.31 apg) and has a 2.15 assists to turnover ratio.

As of Feb. 15, the Utes ranked second in the NCAA in field goal percentage (52.6), third in rebound margin (+10.8) and sixth in scoring defense (56.6 ppg). Andrew Bogut was ranked first in rebounding (11.9 rpg), third in field goal percentage (64.7) and 15th in scoring (20.5 ppg). Marc Jackson ranked 49th in free throw percentage (84.4).

Utes Clinch Mountain West Conference Championship Outright
With its 65-56 win at Air Force on Saturday, Utah clinched the 2005 Mountain West Conference regular season championship outright. The Utes, with an 11-0 record in the conference play, lead second-place Air Force by four and a half games with three games remaining.

It is the fourth regular season title Utah has won in the six-year history of the Mountain West Conference; however, it is the first title the Runnin' Utes have won outright. The last time Utah won a regular season league championship outright was when it won its division title in its last year in the WAC in 1998-99 with a 14-0 record. The last 15 years, Utah has won 11 regular season conference titles to lead the nation (see chart on page 8.)

Runnin' Utes Achieve Highest National Ranking Since 2000-01
The Runnin' Utes, ranked in the Top 25 for the fourth consecutive week, climbed one spot to 14th in the Associated Press poll and were up two spots to a tie for 13th in the ESPN/USA Today poll released on Feb. 14. It is the highest Utah has been ranked since coming in at No. 13 in the AP poll on Nov. 21, 2000. That season, Utah was No. 13 in the preseason poll, climbed to 12th on Nov. 14, then fell to 13th the following week. The Utes were ranked five consecutive weeks that year, falling out after coming in at No. 22 on Dec. 5.

Before this season, Utah was ranked last in 2002-03. The U. was ranked No. 23 on Feb. 18 and No. 22 on Feb. 25. The Utes were ranked by AP for 12 weeks during the 1999-2000 season, but never got higher than its No. 15 ranking in the preseason poll. During the 1998-99 season, Utah was ranked 11 weeks and peaked at No. 6 on March 9.

Utah Riding Second Best Winning Streak In The Nation
With its win over Air Force on Saturday afternoon, Utah extended its winning streak to 18 games, which ranks as the second best current streak in NCAA Division I behind Illinois' run of 27 consecutive wins.

The Utes' 18-game winning streak ranks tied for the second-longest in school history, equalling an 18-game run from Dec. 15, 1997 through Jan. 29, 1998. It is also Utah's longest winning streak since the 1998-99 season when the Utes won a school record 23 consecutive games in a row.

During its recent winning streak, Utah has won by an average of 16.5 points per game. Only three of the games have been decided by fewer than 10 points. The Runnin' Utes won by four (57-53) at UNLV on Feb. 7, and by nine over Wyoming (71-62) at home on Feb. 14 and at Air Force (65-56) on Saturday. Utah has won six times by 20 points or more.

From The Training Room
Junior guard Tim Drisdom has been bothered by a strained right quadriceps since the BYU game on Jan. 31 and has recently re-aggravated the injury. Drisdom was limited to nine minutes against Air Force on Saturday and is doubtful for the New Mexico game on Monday.

Scouting The Lobos
New Mexico is 19-6 overall and tied for second place in the Mountain West Conference with a 6-4 record. The Lobos have won five of their last six games. New Mexico had a three-game winning streak terminated with an 81-71 loss at Wyoming on Feb. 7, then returned home to defeat Air Force (63-52) on Feb. 14 and BYU (91-72) on Saturday evening. New Mexico is 16-1 at home this season with its only loss coming to Wake Forest (81-64) on Dec. 22.

Senior forward Danny Granger (6-8, 225), the preseason MWC Player of the Year, ranks second in the Mountain West is scoring (18.4 ppg), third in rebounding (9.0 rpg), 10th in field goal percentage (53.1), first in steals (2.27 spg), fourth in three-point percentage (47.2) and second in blocked shots (2.14). Senior guard Troy DeVries (6-4, 195) is 14th in the league in scoring (11.4 ppg), ninth in assists (2.84 apg), third in three-point percentage (47.7) and first in three-pointers per game (2.92). Junior forward David Chiotti (6-9, 245) is 18th in the MWC in scoring (10.3 ppg), 11th in rebounding (5.2 rpg) and eighth in field goal percentage (55.8).

The Lobos rank first in the MWC in scoring (77.2 ppg), third in scoring defense (65.2 ppg), third in rebound margin (+4.0 rpg), second in field goal percentage (49.8), first in assists (15.68 apg) and first in three-point field goal percentage (39.5).

Comparing The Stats

            Utah    New MexicoScoring         69.8    77.2Scoring Defense 56.5    65.2FG%         .528    .499FG% Defense .420    .4253-Pt. FG%   .389    .3953-Pt. FG% Def.  .352    .321FT%         .735    .674Rebound Margin  +10.7   +4.0Assists         14.9    15.7Turnovers   14.3    14.4Opp. Turnovers  12.4    14.9Steals          6.3 7.6Blocked Shots   2.9 3.6

Head Coach Ritchie McKay
Ritchie McKay is 43-38 in his third season at New Mexico and has a 126-127 record in his ninth year as a head coach. In his first year with the Lobos in 2002-03, the team went 10-18 and placed seventh in the MWC with a 4-10 mark. Last year, UNM went 14-14 and tied for fifth at 5-9 in league play.

McKay, who was the head coach at Colorado State for two seasons (1998-2000), returned to the Mountain West Conference following a two-year stint at Oregon State (2000-02) where he went 22-37. At CSU, McKay went 19-11 in 1998-99, taking the Rams to the third round of the NIT. His team went 18-12 in 1999-2000 when he was named Coach of the Year by College Hoops Insider magazine. McKay began his head coaching career at Portland State, going 24-29 in two seasons from 1996-98.

Utah-New Mexico Series Notes

? The Utes and Lobos meet for the 114th time on Monday night. The series dates back to a 59-47 win by Utah on Jan. 3, 1952 in Albuquerque, N.M., in a Skyline Conference match-up.

? Utah leads the all-time series 74-39, winning 12 of the last 16 games. The home team has won each of the last six games.

? Utah took the first meeting this season, winning 69-58 on Jan. 22 in Salt Lake City, for its second straight win in the series.

? The Utes and Lobos split the 2003-04 season series. New Mexico won 70-54 on Jan. 24 in Albuquerque. Utah prevailed 73-43 on Feb. 23 in Salt Lake City.

? In Albuquerque, the Lobos lead 33-23 and have won two in a row over the Utes. Utah's last win in The Pit was 81-51 on Jan. 21, 2002. The Utes hit 12-of-18 three-pointers that night to set the school's fourth-best single-game mark for three-point percentage (66.7).

? In conference play, the Utes have a 71-36 advantage. Utah leads 8-3 in Mountain West games.

? Ray Giacoletti is 1-0 against New Mexico.

? Ritchie McKay is 3-4 against Utah, including a 2-3 record while at New Mexico. He went 1-1 against Utah during his tenure at Colorado State, splitting the season series in 1999-2000. The Utes and Rams did not meet in 1998-99.

Last Meeting
Andrew Bogut scored 24 points and grabbed a career-high 20 rebounds to lead Utah to a 69-58 victory over New Mexico on Jan. 22 in Salt Lake City. The victory was the Utes' 16th straight home win over the Lobos since 1989.

Bryant Markson added 14 points for the Utes, who held the Lobos far below their league-leading scoring average of 81.8 points per game. The Lobos shot just 37.3 percent from the field, compared to 62.8 percent for Utah. New Mexico led the nation in field goal percentage (52.5 percent) entering the game.

The story of the day was Bogut, who had just the fourth 20-20 double-double in Utah history. It was also the sixth 20-point, 20-rebound performance in the country this season. Bogut shot 11-for-14 from the field and also had three blocked shots.

New Mexico played without its leading scorer, senior forward Danny Granger, who missed his second straight game following knee surgery

Bogut scored 18 of Utah's first 19 points, and the Utes trailed only once--for 34 seconds a quarter of the way through the first half.

The Lobos cut a 14-point lead to eight on a pair of free throws by Kris Collins with 5:29 left, but the Utes never let them get any closer.

Troy DeVries led New Mexico with 19 points, including five three-pointers. Mark Walters had 10 points. Utah's Justin Hawkins had 11 points, making 5-of-6 shots from the field, to go with three assists and two rebounds.

Boasting Of Bogut, Utah's Wooden and Naismith Awards Candidate
Sophomore forward Andrew Bogut (7-0, 245) has been named a candidate for the John R. Wooden and Naismith national player of the year awards. In an effort to promote Bogut for All-America and national player of the year honors, the University of Utah has launched an official Andrew Bogut website at www.utahutes.com/andrewbogut.

? Bogut has been named NABC first team All-District 13 this season. Bogut leads the Utes in scoring (20.6 ppg), rebounds (11.8 rpg) and blocked shots (49). He is also third in assists (2.50 apg), and is shooting 65.1 percent from the field and 72.4 percent from the free throw line. He has led the Utes in scoring 19 times, rebounding 24 times and assists six times this season.

? In the NCAA statistical rankings released on Feb. 15, Bogut was first in rebounds per game (11.9), third in field goal percentage (64.7) and 15th in points per game (20.5).

? Bogut has had double-doubles in 17 of the 26 games this season and ranked first in the nation in that category as of Feb. 16. He barely missed a double-double with 23 points and nine rebounds against Air Force on Saturday.

? Bogut has scored in double figures in all 26 games this season, bringing his double-figure scoring streak to 28 consecutive games dating back to last season.

? He has sixteen 20-point games this season, bringing his career total to 19. Bogut has scored at least 20 points in 15 of the last 19 games.

? Bogut had his second straight 30-point game and the second of his career against Wyoming on Feb. 14. He scored 31 points (11-16 FG, 9-11 FT) and had 13 rebounds to record his 17th double-double of the season. He also had four assists, a blocked shot and a steal in 40 minutes.

? Bogut had a career-high 33 points and 16 rebounds against Colorado State on Feb. 12. Bogut also set personal-best marks for free throws made (17) and attempted (19), and tied his career high with five blocked shots. Bogut shot 8-for-14 from the floor, and also contributed three assists and two steals in 39 minutes.

? Bogut is moving up the single-season and career charts at Utah. His 49 blocked shots rank second to Mitch Smith's 55 in 1988-89. Bogut has already bettered his total of 44 blocked shots last season, which now rank third in a season at the U. With 93 career blocked shots, Bogut ranks fifth at Utah, closing in on Josh Grant's fourth-place mark of 109 set from 1988-93. If Bogut can maintain his 65.1 field goal percentage this season, he would set the school single-season record by breaking the mark of 61.7 set by Antoine Davison in 1991-92. Bogut's career field goal percentage of 61.6 (379-for-615) would also set the career mark at Utah, surpassing Althoff (60.8 percent).

? In 11 Mountain West Conference games, Bogut has averaged 21.1 points (ranking 1st in the MWC) while shooting 72.9 percent from the field (1st) and 72.9 percent from the free throw line (14th). He has also averaged 12.2 rebounds (1st), 2.64 assists (11th) and 2.09 blocked shots (2nd). He is the only player in the league averaging a double-double.

Jackson Back In Action, Earns All-District Honors
Senior guard Marc Jackson (6-1, 175) has rejoined the team for his senior year after electing to take off the 2003-04 season. Jackson has already been named NABC second team All-District 13. He is the Utes' best three-point shooter, hitting 50.0 percent and making 48-of-96 from beyond the arc. Jackson is second on the team in scoring (10.8 ppg), first assists (3.38 apg) and second in free throw percentage (85.4). He is also shooting 47.5 percent from the field.

? Jackson has scored in double figures 17 times this season, including the last two games. Jackson scored 12 points (2-6 FG, 2-3 3FG, 6-6 FT) while playing 40 minutes against Air Force on Saturday. He also had 12 points (3-9 FG, 2-7 3FG, 4-4 FT) against Wyoming last Monday night.

? In the NCAA statistical rankings released on Feb. 15, Jackson was 49th in free throw percentage (84.4).

? On the Utah single-season and career charts, Jackson is on pace to set the top marks for three-point percentage. Shooting 50.0 percent this season and 45.9 percent (78-for-170) during his career, Jackson could break the top single-season mark of 46.0 percent by Alex Jensen (1999-2000) and best career mark of 45.3 percent by Drew Hansen (1994-98).

? In Mountain West Conference play, Jackson ranks fourth in assists (4.18 apg) and fifth in assists/turnover ratio (1.64).

Notes On Utah's Undefeated Start To MWC Schedule
? Utah is the first team in the six-year history of the Mountain West Conference to go 7-0 through the first half of the league schedule. The previous best record at the half-way mark of MWC play was 6-1, archived seven times. The Utes did it three times (2000, 2002, 2003) and went on to win at least a share of the regular season championship in 2000 and 2003.

? The best all-time record in Mountain West Conference play is Air Force's 12-2 mark in 2004. Utah's best record in MWC games is 11-3 in 2003, which Utah is assured of at least tying this season.

? Utah has outscored its MWC opponents by an average of 14.5 points per game and outrebounded the opponents by 11.8 boards per contest--which are on pace for league records (no MWC team has ever held a +10 advantage in either category at season's end).

? The U.'s largest deficit in conference play was 11 points (19-8) with 8:52 to play in the first half at Air Force on Feb. 19. Utah came back to win the game 65-56.

? The Utes are allowing just 52.9 points per game in league games and are on pace to break the league scoring defense mark set last year by Air Force (54.4 ppg allowed).

? Utah's 18-game winning streak is the best in Mountain West Conference history. The previous best streak was 13 games, set by Utah (2001-02) and Air Force (2003-04).

? The Utes have won a league record 15 straight games against MWC opponents, including its win in the final regular-season game and three wins in the MWC Tournament in 2004.

? With a 6-0 record on the road in conference play, Utah has already assured itself of bettering the best road record in MWC history of 5-2, achieved four times (Wyoming in 2002, Utah and BYU in 2003, and Air Force in 2004). Utah is also the first team in MWC history to win its first four conference road games.

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.

? In the NCAA statistical rankings released on Feb. 15, Utah ranked third in rebound margin (+10.8 rpg), sixth in scoring defense (56.6 ppg) and third in fewest personal fouls per game (14.2).

? The U. has held each of its last 15 opponents to 60 points or less. During the last 15 games, teams have averaged 52.3 points per game against the Utes while shooting 39.9 percent from the field and 34.0 percent from three-point range. Utah has also held a 34.6 to 21.9 advantage on the boards.

? The Utes have outrebounded the opposition in 23 of the 26 games this season--including the last 17--and had a push in one other game (vs. Stony Brook in the season opener), going 23-1 in those contests.

? Utah has allowed just three opponents to shoot better than 50 percent from the field this season: Washington (53.4 in a loss), Utah State (65.0 in a loss) and Cal Poly (54.5 in a win).

? Utah has not allowed an opponent to score 80 points in 154 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.

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