Completed Event: Men's Basketball versus No. 9-Seed Cincinnati (1st Round) on March 10, 2026 , Loss , 66, to, 73
Final Score
Men's Basketball
66
vs No. 9-Seed Cincinnati (1st Round)
73
The University of Utah Athletics
Utah Men's Basketball Notes - MWC Tournament
3/7/2005 12:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 7, 2005
Mountain West Conference Tournament
March 10-12 ? Pepsi Center (19,099) ? Denver, Colo. Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
Just The Facts
Utah (25-4, 13-1 MWC) competes in the 2005 Mountain West Conference Tournament, Thursday through Saturday at the Pepsi Center (19,099) in Denver, Colo.
The Utes won the Mountain West Conference regular season title outright and earned the No. 1 seed in the tournament. Utah opens tournament play against No. 8 Colorado State (11-16, 3-11 MWC) in the quarterfinals on Thursday at 12:04 p.m. (MST). Should Utah win, it will advance to face the winner of No. 4 UNLV (15-12, 7-7 MWC) vs. No. 5 Wyoming (15-12, 7-7 MWC) in the semifinal round on Friday at 7:04 p.m. (MST). The championship game takes place on Saturday at 8:00 p.m. (MST). The Mountain West Conference Tournament champion earns an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
On Television
ESPN+Plus will televise Utah's quarterfinal game against Colorado State on Thursday at 12:04 p.m. (MST). All ESPN+Plus games are shown in Salt Lake City on KJZZ-TV 14. Rich Waltz (play-by-play) and Irv Brown (analyst) are the broadcasters.
Should Utah advance, its semifinal game on Friday at 7:04 p.m. (MST) would also be shown by ESPN+Plus. ESPN will televise the championship game on Saturday at 8:00 p.m. (MST) with Dave Pasch (play-by-play) and Jimmy Dykes (analyst) calling the action.
All of Utah's games in the Mountain West Tournament will be televised live on the ESPN International Pacific Rim network in Australia, New Zealand, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Palau, and the Marshall Islands.
On Radio
All of the Utes' games in the Mountain West Conference Tournament will be broadcast on the Utah Sports Network (Hot Ticket 700/KALL-AM in Salt Lake City and affiliate stations). Matt Thomas (play-by-play), Mark Rydalch (analyst) and Bill Riley (host) call the action.
The entire Mountain West Conference Tournament will be broadcast live on the Internet at www.TheMWC.com.
Utah's Conference Tournament History
The Utes have completed in 21 previous conference tournaments--16 as a member of the Western Athletic Conference and the last five in the Mountain West Conference--posting a 26-17 (.605) record. In the Mountain West Tournament, the Utes claimed the title as the No. 3 seed in 2004 after losing in the semifinals each of the previous four years. The Utes won WAC Tournament titles in 1995, `97 and `99.
The Utes' .605 combined winning percentage in WAC (1984-99) and MWC (2000-04) tournaments ranks second among the conference teams. UNLV at .740 (14-5) is first, while New Mexico at .560 (24-19) and BYU at .530 (19-17) rank third and fourth, respectively.
Quickly On Utah
The Runnin' Utes (25-4, 13-1 MWC) are the Mountain West Conference regular-season champions, winning the league race by three games. This is Utah's fourth MWC title in the league's six year history and its first outright.
Utah has won 20 of its last 21 games after starting the season 5-3. The Utes had an 18-game winning streak snapped with a 65-54 loss at New Mexico on Feb. 21. The Utes bounced back with a pair of home wins over BYU (69-60) on Feb. 26 and San Diego State (72-60) last Saturday. Utah is ranked in the Top 25 for the seventh consecutive week, coming in at No. 16 in the Associated Press poll and No. 15 in the ESPN/USA Today poll.
Sophomore center/forward Andrew Bogut (7-0, 245) leads the Utes in scoring (20.6 ppg), rebounding (12.0 rpg) and blocked shots (55), and is shooting 63.7 percent from the field. Bogut has 20 double-doubles this season to lead the nation in that category. Senior guard Marc Jackson (6-1, 175) is second in scoring (10.7 ppg), hitting 47.7 percent of his three-point attempts (53-of-111) and 84.9 percent of his free throws. Jackson is first on the team in assists (3.83 apg). Junior forward Bryant Markson (6-6, 190) is third on the team in scoring (10.1 ppg) and second in rebounding (3.9 rpg). Junior forward/guard Richard Chaney is fourth on the team in scoring average (9.2 ppg). Junior guard Tim Drisdom (6-3, 203) is second on the team in assists (3.21 apg) and has a 2.14 assists to turnover ratio.
As of March 1, the Utes ranked second in the NCAA in field goal percentage (52.2), third in rebound margin (+10.0), seventh in scoring defense (57.0 ppg), 16th in scoring margin and (+12.2 ppg) and 41st in free throw percentage (73.2). Andrew Bogut was ranked third in rebounding (11.9 rpg), third in field goal percentage (63.8) and 15th in scoring (20.6 ppg). Richard Chaney and Marc Jackson ranked 21st (86.4) and 35th (85.7), respectively, in free throw percentage.
Giacoletti, Bogut, Jackson And Markson Earn All-MWC Honors
Utah's Andrew Bogut has been named the 2004-05 Mountain West Conference Player of the Year, while Ute head coach Ray Giacoletti has been honored as the Coach of the Year. Marc Jackson and Bryant Markson also represented Utah on the all-conference team, with Jackson earning first team honors and Markson making the third team. Justin Hawkins received honorable mention.
Bogut was named the Mountain West Conference Player of the Year after earning Freshman of the Year and second team all-league honors last season. The sophomore center from Melbourne, Australia, is the only player in the conference averaging a double-double. In conference games he ranked first in scoring (20.9 ppg), first in rebounds (12.5 rpg), first in field goal percentage (64.0), second in blocked shots (2.07), 13th in assists (2.50) and 15th in free throw percentage (73.3).
Jackson, a senior guard from Salt Lake City, received all-Mountain West recognition for the second time after making the second team as a sophomore in 2002-03. During the 14 league games, Jackson ranked second in assists (4.93 apg), first in assist/turnover ratio (1.77), second in free throw percentage (82.5), seventh in three-point percentage (38.9), 10th in three-pointers per game (1.50) and 13th in steals (1.14 spg).
Markson, a junior forward from Monrovia, Calif., earned all-conference honors for the first time. Markson ranked 14th in the MWC in scoring (11.4 ppg), 15th in rebounding (3.9 rpg), sixth in field goal percentage (53.9) and fifth in free throw percentage (81.3) during the league season.
Hawkins, a sophomore forward from Anaheim, Calif., scored in double figures five times on conference play, averaging 8.3 points per game. He ranked 17th in the MWC in rebounding (3.9 rpg) over 14 conference games.
Giacoletti, Bogut and Jackson Earn USBWA District 8 Honors
The U.S. Basketball Writers Association announced its District 8 honors on Monday. Ray Giacoletti was named the District 8 Coach of Year and sophomore center Andrew Bogut was recognized as the District 8 Player of the Year. Senior guard Marc Jackson joined Bogut on the all-district team.
Also making the USBWA All-District 8 team were Lance Allred (Weber State), Odartey Blankson (UNLV), Nick Fazekas (Nevada), Danny Granger (New Mexico), Matt Nelson (Colorado State), Spencer Nelson (Utah State), Yemi Nicolson (Denver), Ronnie Price (UVSC), Jay Straight (Wyoming), and Nick Welch (Air Force).
Runnin' Utes In The Polls
Utah is ranked in the Top 25 for the seventh consecutive week, moving up one spot to 15th in the Associated Press poll and staying at 15th in the ESPN/USA Today poll. The Utes peaked in the rankings for this season on Feb. 21, coming in at No. 12 in ESPN/USA Today and No. 13 in AP. It was the highest Utah had been ranked in the AP poll since the 2000-01 season. That year, 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, 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.
Tenth 25-Win Season For U.
With its win over San Diego State last Saturday, Utah secured the 10th 25-win season in school history. Seven of Utah's 25-win seasons have come since 1990 with the previous one in 2002-03 (25-8).
Utah has also hit the 20-wins mark for the fourth consecutive season and the 13th time in the last 16 years. The 2004-05 Utes took the fewest games needed (23) to reach 20 wins since taking just 21 games during the 1997-98 season.
Since 1989-90, Utah has averaged 24 wins per year. A rundown of the Utes' 20-win seasons 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 (24-9), 2004-05 (25-4).
From The Training Room
? Junior guard Tim Drisdom has been suffering from a pulled right quadriceps muscle since the Jan. 31 game at BYU. Drisdom returned to practice on March 1, but did not start and played only 13 minutes against San Diego State last Saturday.
? Junior forward Bryant Markson went out of the New Mexico game on Feb. 21 with a knee sprain. Markson was cleared to practice Feb. 25 and played in the BYU game the following day. He did not start against San Diego State last Saturday but played 32 minutes.
Scouting Colorado State
The Rams, the Mountain West Tournament's No. 8 seed, are 11-16 overall and tied for seventh place in the conference with a 3-11 record. Colorado State lost eight in a row before splitting its last four games. In a string of three consecutive home games, the Rams defeated San Diego State (93-88 OT) on Feb. 19, lost to UNLV (81-79) on Feb. 21 and defeated Wyoming (96-94 OT) on Feb. 26. Colorado State then closed out the regular season with a 72-61 loss at New Mexico last Saturday. The Rams have not played a neutral site game this season and are 0-12 on the road.
Senior center Matt Nelson (7-1, 265) ranks seventh in the MWC in scoring (15.9 ppg), eighth in rebounding (6.0 rpg), second in field goal percentage (61.8) and 10th in free throw percentage (78.8). Senior forward Matt Williams (6-6, 215) ranks 12th in the conference in scoring (11.9 ppg), 13th in rebounds (4.5 rpg), fifth in field goal percentage (56.1) and fourth in free throw percentage (84.0). Freshman forward Jason Smith (7-0, 225) is 18th in the league in scoring (10.5 ppg), ninth in rebounding (5.8 rpg), sixth in field goal percentage (55.1) and seventh in blocked shots (1.28 bpg). Junior guard Micheal Morris (6-3, 210) is the fifth-best scorer on the team (8.1 ppg) and is 12th in the MWC in assists (3.11 apg). Nelson was named second team all-Mountain West Conference and Smith was named the MWC Freshman of the Year.
The Rams rank fourth in the Mountain West in scoring offense (71.0 ppg), fifth in scoring defense (69.7 ppg), fourth in rebound margin (+2.4 rpg), third in field goal percentage (47.3) and first in field goal percentage defense (40.4).
Comparing The Stats
Utah CSUScoring 69.3 71.0Scoring Defense 57.1 69.7FG% .525 .473FG% Defense .426 .4043-Pt. FG% .377 .3493-Pt. FG% Def. .361 .315FT% .730 .730Rebound Margin +10.4 +2.4Assists 15.0 15.1Turnovers 14.2 16.3Opp. Turnovers 12.3 12.1Steals 6.2 5.7Blocked Shots 2.9 5.2
Rams Head Coach Dale Layer
Dale Layer has a 70-57 record in his fifth season at Colorado State and a 237-164 career record in his 14th year as a head coach. He previously served as an assistant coach for two seasons at CSU (1998-2000) and was the head coach for nine seasons at Queens College (1989-98) in Charlotte, N.C.
In 2002-03, Layer led CSU to its first NCAA Tournament since 1989-90. Colorado State went 19-14 overall and placed sixth in the MWC with a 5-9 mark. The Rams also captured their first-ever conference tournament championship to receive the MWC's automatic bid to the NCAAs. Last season, CSU went 13-16 overall and tied for seventh in the MWC with a 4-10 record.
Utah vs. Colorado State Series Notes
? Utah and Colorado State meet for the 134th time on Thursday afternoon. The series dates back to a 41-25 win by Utah on Jan. 2, 1937. The two teams have met every year since 1969-70 with the exception of the 1998-99 season.
? The Runnin' Utes lead the all-time series 94-39 and have won nine of the last 10, including four in a row, over the Rams. Colorado State's last win over Utah was 66-65 on March 6, 2003 in the Huntsman Center.
? Utah took both meetings during the regular season, winning 75-52 on Jan. 17 in Fort Collins, Colo., and 64-50 on Feb. 12 in Salt Lake City.
? In postseason tournaments, Utah and Colorado State have split four games. The last time they met in tournament play was on March 7, 2002 in the Mountain West quarterfinals in Las Vegas. The Utes won 69-66. It was their only previous meeting in the MWC Tournament.
? Utah has a 5-1 advantage over CSU on neutral courts.
? In conference regular-season play, Utah has an 86-34 advantage. Since the formation of the Mountain West Conference in 1999-2000, Utah leads 9-3.
? Ray Giacoletti is 2-0 against Colorado State.
? Dale Layer is 2-9 against Utah during his tenure at CSU. In addition to beating the Utes in Salt Lake City during the 2002-03 season, his other win was 73-65 on Jan. 22, 2001 at Moby Arena.
Utes On Nation's Best Conference Championships Run
Utah continues to lay claim to a share of the nation's best conference championships run since 1990-91. The Utes have won 11 regular-season conference titles over the last 15 seasons. Kentucky has already clinched the regular season title in the SEC to stay even with Utah for the top mark.
Since joining the MWC, Utah won the title the first two years to continue a string of seven straight regular season league championships. The Utes went 10-4 in conference play in 1999-2000 to share the inaugural Mountain West Conference championship with UNLV. Utah also went 10-4 in 2000-01 to split the title with Brigham Young and Wyoming. Utah went 11-3 to share the Mountain West Conference title with BYU in 2002-03. This season, Utah posted its best record in conference play in six years with a 13-1 record. The Utes have finished with one loss in conference play three times since 1990 and went undefeated (14-0) in their last year in the WAC in 1999. This season marked just the seventh time since 1955 Utah had one loss or less in conference play.
Runnin' Utes Run Away With Mountain West Championship
Utah clinched the 2005 Mountain West Conference regular season championship outright with a 65-56 win at Air Force on Feb. 19. 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. Utah won Mountain West regular season titles in 2000, `01 and `03, and claimed MWC Tournament title in 2004.
? Utah's 13-1 record is the best in the six-year history of the Mountain West Conference. The previous best record was 12-2 by Air Force in 2004. The Utes' previous best record in MWC games was 11-3 in 2003.
? The Utes were 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.
? Utah established the best road record in MWC history with a 6-1 mark. The previous best mark was 5-2 achieved four times (Wyoming in 2002, Utah and BYU in 2003, and Air Force in 2004). Utah was also the first team in MWC history to win its first four conference road games.
? The U. outscored its MWC opponents by an average of 12.1 points per game and outrebounded its opponents by 11.1 boards per contest to set league records. No other MWC team had ever held a +10 advantage in either category at season's end.
? The Utes allowed just 54.8 points per game in league contests, which is the second best scoring defense mark in league history. Air Force holds the top mark of 54.4 points per game allowed in 2004.
? The largest deficit Utah had to come back from to win was 11 points against both Air Force on Feb. 19 and BYU on Feb. 26. The Utes trailed the Falcons 19-8 with 8:52 to play in the first half before winning 65-56. The Cougars led the U. 20-9 with 8:18 remaining in the first half before Utah won 69-60.
? Utah's 18-game winning streak before its loss at New Mexico on Feb. 21 was the best in Mountain West Conference history. The previous best streak was 13 games, set by Utah (2001-02) and Air Force (2003-04).
? Before the loss at New Mexico, the Utes had 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.
Utah With Best Conference Record In MWC's Short History
The Runnin' Utes have the most wins in league games in the six-year history of the Mountain West Conference. Utah is 63-21 (.750) in MWC games, including 39-3 at home. The Utes' are the only team to have a winning record in MWC road games at 24-18. In overall conference records BYU (48-36) and Wyoming (48-36) are tied for second. UNLV (48-36) rounds out the top four.
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 March 1, Utah ranked third in rebound margin (+10.0 rpg), seventh in scoring defense (57.0 ppg) and second in fewest personal fouls per game (14.2).
? The U. has held 17 of its last 18 opponents to 60 points or less. The only team to score more than 60 was New Mexico in a 65-54 loss at The Pit on Feb. 21. During the last 18 games, teams have averaged 53.9 points per game against the Utes while shooting 41.2 percent from the field and 35.5 percent from three-point range. Utah has also held a 34.3 to 22.3 advantage on the boards.
? The Utes have outrebounded the opposition in 26 of the 29 games this season--including the last 20--and had a push in one other game (vs. Stony Brook in the season opener), going 25-2 in those contests.
? Utah has allowed just four opponents to shoot at least 50 percent from the field this season: Washington (53.4 in a loss), Utah State (65.0 in a loss), Cal Poly (54.5 in a win), and BYU on Feb. 26 (50.0 in a win).
? Utah has not allowed an opponent to score 80 points in 157 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.
Players Mentioned
F/C
/ Men's Basketball
G/F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballCrimson Corner with Bill Riley - Former Runnin’ Ute Branden Carlson
Tuesday, May 19
Crimson Corner with Bill Riley - College football analyst Yogi Roth
Wednesday, May 06
Utah Basketball Media Availability | 3.2.26
Monday, March 02
Crimson Corner with Bill Riley - Utah Basketball General Manager Wes Wilcox
Wednesday, February 25