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 2004-05 Season Review
5/13/2005 12:00 AM | Men's Basketball
May 13, 2005
Year one of the Ray Giacoletti era at Utah couldn't have been sweeter. The Runnin' Utes put together one of the best seasons in school history in 2004-05, winning the Mountain West Conference championship and advancing to the NCAA Sweet 16. Utah also finished with a 29-6 record to tie for the third-most wins in school history.
The Utes finished the season ranked in the Top 25 for the first time in the last six years, coming in at No. 14 in the final ESPN/USA Today poll and 18th in the Associates Press poll. After entering the national polls on Jan. 24, Utah remained ranked the final nine weeks of the season, peaking at No. 12 in the coaches poll on Feb. 21 for its highest ranking since the 2000-01 season.
Early Season Challenges
Utah faced two ranked teams on the road in its first eight games. After getting an opening night win over Stony Brook on Nov. 19, the Utes headed north for the Great Alaska Shootout. In the first round of the tournament, Utah drew 22nd-ranked Washington--a team that would go on to earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Utah battled back from an early double-digit deficit to tie the game at 66-all with 2:50 left in the second half. But the Utes didn't have enough left to complete the comeback, falling 78-71.
The next marquee game on the Utes' schedule was at No. 15 Arizona on Dec. 11. After a disheartening loss one week earlier on the road to instate rival Utah State, the Utes bounced back with one of their best efforts to that point in the season.
Utah led by as many as nine points in the first half and retained a five-point lead with less than six minutes remaining. The Utes also gave an outstanding defensive effort, holding Arizona to 42 percent shooting from the field. Senior guard Marc Jackson led the defensive charge, holding Arizona All-American Salim Stoudamire to just one shot in a scoreless performance. However, a late charge gave the Wildcats a 67-62 win and dropped Utah's record to 5-3.
Streaking To An MWC Title
Following their loss to Arizona, the Utes wouldn't taste the bitterness of defeat again for over two months. Reeling off 18 consecutive wins--the second longest winning streak in school history--Utah steamrolled through the rest of its nonconference schedule and the first 11 Mountain West Conference games. During its 18-game streak, the Runnin' Utes won by an average of 16.5 points per game. Only three games were decided by fewer than 10 points, and six of the wins came by 20 points or more.
As part of that winning streak, the Runnin' Utes posted two impressive nonconference wins in Salt Lake City. Utah blew-out Colorado 80-48 on Dec. 30 and cruised past LSU, an eventual NCAA Tournament participant, 69-55 on Jan. 3.
The Runnin' Utes opened Mountain West Conference play with a 70-52 win over UNLV in the Huntsman Center on Jan. 10. Utah then picked-up a pair of critical road wins against Wyoming and Colorado State, sweeping the Rocky Mountain front range trip for just the second time in the last 30 years.
Andrew Bogut had one of just eight 20 point-20 rebound games in the nation in 2004-05 to lead the Utes to a 69-58 win over New Mexico on Jan. 22. Utah cracked the Top 25 two days later, and proved their ranking worthy by shooting 80 percent from the field in their game that night against Air Force. Utah's performance tied the sixth-best single-game mark in NCAA history.
As January gave way to February, Utah hit the road for three consecutive games, getting wins at BYU, San Diego State and UNLV. Then, led by back-to-back 30-point games by Bogut, Utah defeated Colorado State and Wyoming in Salt Lake City.
The Utes clinched the Mountain West title with a 65-56 win at Air Force on Feb. 19. The Utes came back from a six-point halftime deficit to break the Falcons' 24-game home court winning steak. The championship was Utah's fourth in the Mountain West Conference's six-year history, but it's first outright.
The Runnin' Utes suffered their only conference loss at New Mexico on Feb. 21, ending their winning streak at 18 games. Utah returned home to get wins over BYU and San Diego State to close out the regular season. The Utes went 16-0 at home in 2004-05, recording the seventh undefeated season in the Jon M. Huntsman Center's 36-year history.
Utah finished 13-1 in Mountain West Conference play, the best of any champion in league annals. The U. also outscored its league opponents by an average of 12.1 points per game and had a +11.1 rebound margin, setting conference records in both categories.
The Madness of March
The Runnin' Utes were hopeful of following up their regular season title with a championship trophy at the Mountain West Conference Tournament in Denver. Utah defeated Colorado State 62-49 in the quarterfinals and UNLV 73-67 in the semifinals to set-up a confrontation with New Mexico in the title game. After a tight battle, the Lobos came away with a 60-56 victory.
Giacoletti became the school's first rookie head coach to lead Utah to the NCAA Tournament. The Utes earned the No. 6 seed in the Austin Regional and was sent to Tucson, Ariz., for first and second round games.
Utah defeated 11th-seeded UTEP 60-54 in the first round and upset third-seeded Oklahoma, which won a share of the Big 12 Conference regular-season title, 67-58 in the second round.
The Runnin' Utes jumped on the Sooners quickly, opening the game with 16-4 run. With Bogut receiving plenty of attention from OU's defense, the 7-footer utilized his superb passing skills. Bogut registered a career-high seven assists. Justin Hawkins had 20 points and 14 rebounds, while Bryant Markson had 16 points. Jackson had one of his best shooting performances of the season, knocking down 4-of-5 three-pointers and scoring 17 points.
Utah moved on to its first NCAA Sweet 16 since 1998, facing Kentucky, the No. 2 seed in the region and the SEC regular-season champion. Within five points at the break, Utah was worn down by Kentucky's depth in the second half, falling 62-52.
Bogut Best In The Nation
Sophomore center Andrew Bogut became Utah's first ever consensus National Player of the Year and the 11th Ute to earn All-America honors. The native of Melbourne, Australia, made a clean sweep of all the major national player of the year awards, including the Wooden Award, the Naismith Trophy, the Associated Press National Player of the Year Award, the U.S. Basketball Writers' Oscar Robertson Trophy, the Chevrolet/CBS Player of the Year Award, and the NABC Player of the Year Award. He was also recognized by ESPN.com, Basketball Times and Sports Illustraded.com.
All-Mountain West Honors
After its record-setting regular-season, Utah had three players make the all-conference team. Ray Giacoletti was also named the Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year.
Andrew Bogut was honored as the Mountain West Conference Player of the Year. The only player in the conference to average a double-double, Bogut led the league in scoring (20.4 ppg), rebounding (12.2 rpg) and field goal percentage (62.0). The native of Mebourne, Australia, also ranked third in blocked shots (1.86) and 13th in assists (2.34 apg).
Senior guard Marc Jackson was named first team all-Mountain West. The Salt Lake City native ranked 15th in the league in scoring (10.7 ppg), second in three-point percentage (45.5), tied for first in free throw percentage (85.7), fifth in assists (3.66 apg) and third in assist/turnover ratio (1.42).
Bryant Markson earned third team all-conference recognition. The junior forward ranked 18th in the MWC in scoring (10.4 ppg), 19th in rebounding (3.9 rpg) and ninth in field goal percentage (53.7).
NCAA Statistical Rankings
Utah finished in the NCAA's top 20 in four statistical categories, ranking second in field goal percentage (51.7), third in rebound margin (+10.8 rpg), seventh in scoring defense (57.1 ppg) and 17th in scoring margin (+11.3 ppg). The Utes also ranked 78th in free throw percentage (72.3) and 88th in assists (14.88 apg). Individually, Andrew Bogut led the nation with 26 double-doubles, and ranked second in rebounding (12.2 rpg), eighth in field goal percentage (62.0) and 19th in scoring (20.4 ppg). Marc Jackson ranked 29th in free throw percentage (85.7).
Closing Out Careers
Both Andrew Bogut and Marc Jackson left their names on the Utah career statistical charts. Bogut wrapped-up his two-year career ranked 27th in scoring (1,126 points), ninth in scoring average (16.6 ppg), 10th in rebounds (753), seventh in rebounding average (11.1 rpg), second in field goal percentage (60.3), tied for fourth in blocked shots (109) and third in minutes per game (32.7). Jackson finished his three years at Utah ranked first in three-point field goal percentage (43.8) and third in free throw percentage (84.4).
Players Mentioned
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