Utah Announces 2005-06 Men's Basketball Schedule

July 1, 2005

SALT LAKE CITY - A home game with NCAA regional finalist Arizona, an early December road game with Colorado and the addition of TCU to the Mountain West Conference headline the 2005-06 Utah men's basketball schedule announced today.

"I think we have a very competitive schedule for next season," Utah head coach Ray Giacoletti said. "This is something we are constantly going to try to upgrade through the years."

Utah will have seven games shown on national or regional television this season, including four games on ESPN or ESPN2. The Mountain West Conference has gone to a Wednesday-Saturday format for its base schedule this season, with occasional games moved to Thursday to accommodate national television.

The Utes welcome Arizona, a team that advanced to the Elite Eight in the 2005 NCAA Tournament last season, to the Huntsman Center on Dec. 17. The Wildcats, who finished with a 30-7 record last season, edged the Utes 67-62 last season on Dec. 11 in Tucson, Ariz. The Runnin' Utes lead the all-time series between the former WAC rivals 28-19. Utah plays 15 regular-season home games in 2005-06.

Utah continues its recent series with Colorado on Dec. 7 in Boulder, Colo., The Utes took both of the previous games, winning 77-57 in December of 2003 in Boulder and 80-48 last December in Salt Lake City to come to within 18-15 of the Buffaloes in the series.

Following a pair of exhibition games against Whitman College (Nov. 5) and Northwest Nazarene (Nov. 14) in Salt Lake City, the Runnin' Utes open the regular season at home against Texas State on Nov. 18. Rhode Island visits the Huntsman Center on Nov. 22. Giacoletti added that it is "important to remember that our exhibition games can't be against foreign teams or AAU teams anymore."

Utah then faces a pair of in-state rivals, heading to Ogden, Utah, on Nov. 26 to face Weber State, and hosting Utah State on Nov. 30. The Wildcats advanced to the Big Sky Conference Tournament title game last season, while the Aggies went 24-8 and made it to the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Runnin' Utes head to Houston on Dec. 3 to face Rice. The Owls went 19-12 in 2004-05 and were invited to the NIT. A home game with Southern Utah on Dec. 10 is sandwiched between the Utes' match-ups with Colorado and Arizona.

After a home game with Adams State College on Dec. 19, Utah closes out its pre-holiday schedule against Washington State of the Pac-10 Conference at Key Arena in Seattle. The Utes close out their nonconference schedule against High Point on Dec. 28.

"I think this is a very challenging non-conference schedule," Giacoletti said. "It really meets our needs as far as helping us be at our best when the Mountain West Conference starts."

Utah opens Mountain West Conference play versus New Mexico, which defeated the Utes in the championship game of the MWC Tournament last season to advance to the NCAA's, at home on Jan. 4. TCU, which becomes the MWC's ninth member in 2005-06, comes to Salt Lake City on Jan. 28.

Utah returns two starters and five other lettermen from last year's team that 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 in Giacoletti's first season.

2005-06 Utah Men's Basketball Schedule

November5 (Sat)    Whitman College (Exb.)14 (Mon)   NW Nazarene (Exb.)18 (Fri)   Texas State22 (Tue)   Rhode Island26 (Sat)   at Weber State30 (Wed)   Utah State
December3 (Sat)    at Rice7 (Wed)    at Colorado10 (Sat)   Southern Utah17 (Sat)   Arizona                  2:00 p.m.        ESPN/ESPN219 (Mon)   Adams State College22 (Thu)   vs. Washington State ^28 (Wed)   High Point
January4 (Wed)    * New Mexico7 (Sat)    * at BYU                 1:00 p.m.        ESPN+Plus11 (Wed)   * San Diego State14 (Sat)   * at Colorado State19 (Thu)   * at Air Force           7:30 p.m.        ESPN221 (Sat)   * UNLV28 (Sat)   * TCU                    1:00 p.m.        ESPN+Plus
February1 (Wed)    * at Wyoming4 (Sat)    * at New Mexico          2:00 p.m.        ESPN28 (Wed)    * BYU11 (Sat)   * at San Diego State     12:00 p.m. (PST) ESPN+Plus15 (Wed)   * Colorado State18 (Sat)   * Air Force22 (Wed)   * at UNLV
March1 (Wed)    * at TCU                 9:00 p.m. (CST)  ESPN24 (Sat)    * Wyoming
Mountain West Conference Tournament - Denver, Colo.7 (Tue)    First Round Game     TBA9 (Thu)    Quarterfinals        TBA10 (Fri)   Semifinals               7:00/10:00 p.m.11 (Sat)   Championship             8:00 p.m.        ESPN
All Times Mountain Standard Time unless noted otherwise^ - Game played at Key Arena in Seattle, Wash.* - Mountain West ConferenceESPN+Plus - ESPN Regional Television. KJZZ-TV in Salt Lake City.

Upcoming Events

Recent Results