Utah Men's Basketball Notes - Game #15 - University of Utah Athletics

Jan. 12, 2006

Game #15

Utah Runnin' Utes (8-6, 1-2) vs. Colorado State Rams (11-4, 0-2)
Jan. 14 ? 2:05 p.m. (MST)
Moby Arena (8,745) ? Fort Collins, Colo.

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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 Here
Matt Thomas (play-by-play), Mark Rydalch (analyst) and Bill Riley (host).
Utah Head Coach: Ray Giacoletti      Colorado St. Head Coach: Dale LayerAlma Mater: Minot State, 1985        Alma Mater: Eckerd College, 1980Record at Utah: 37-12 (2nd Season)   Record at CSU: 81-82 (6th Season)Overall Record: 154-95 (9th Season)  Overall Record: 248-169 (15th Season)
Series Record: Utah leads 95-39Utah's Record Home/Away/Neutral: 52-15/37-23/6-1Current Streak: Utah has won 5 in a row.Last Meeting: Utah won 62-49 on March 10, 2005 in Denver, Colo.
Utah Probable StartersNo. Pos. Name             Ht.  Wt.  Cl.  Statistics20  F    Bryant Markson   6-7  198  Sr.    14.2 ppg, 5.6 rpg21  F    Shaun Green      6-8  208  Fr.   7.2 ppg, 4.1 rpg30  C    Chris Jackson    6-11 245  Sr.     7.9 ppg, 4.2 rpg1   G    Johnnie Bryant   6-0  190  So.    11.9 ppg, 2.3 apg3   G    Chris Grant      6-3  200  So.   1.8 ppg, 1.5 rpg
Colorado State Probable StartersNo. Pos. Name             Ht.  Wt.  Cl.  Statistics14  F    Jason Smith      7-0  230  So.  16.9 ppg, 7.5 rpg55  F    Michael Harrison 6-9  215  Jr.  12.3 ppg, 5.0 rpg4   G    Cory Lewis       6-0  170  Jr.  9.7 ppg, 4.3 apg32  G    Michael Morris   6-4  215  Sr.  4.7 ppg, 5.5 rpg33  G    Stephan Gilling  6-2  195  Fr.  7.2 ppg, 1.1 rpg

After This
The Runnin' Utes play Air Force on Thursday, Jan. 19 at 7:05 p.m. (MST) in Colorado Springs, Colo. The game will be televised by ESPN2. Utah then returns home to host UNLV on Saturday, Jan. 21 at 7:07 p.m. (MST) in the Huntsman Center.

Quickly On Utah
The Runnin' Utes (8-6, 1-2 MWC) play their second Mountain West Conference road game of the season against Colorado State (11-4, 0-2 MWC) on Saturday at 2:05 p.m. (MST) at Moby Arena in Fort Collins, Colo. The game will be broadcast on Hot Ticket 700 (KALL-AM) and the Utah Sports Network.

Utah has gone 4-4 in its last eight games and is 1-4 away from home this season. The Utes are coming off of back-to-back losses to BYU, 72-60, last Saturday afternoon in Provo, Utah., and to San Diego State, 72-67 at home on Wednesday night.

Senior forward Bryant Markson (6-7, 198), a preseason all-Mountain West Conference pick, leads the Utes in scoring (14.2 ppg), assists (2.9 apg) and steals (22), and is second in rebounds (5.6 rpg). Markson is shooting 75.4 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 (11.9 ppg) and assists (2.3 apg), and is averaging 2.9 rebounds per game. Bryant is also shooting 40.9 percent (27-of-66) from three-point range and 88.5 percent from the free throw line. Freshman center Luke Nevill (7-1, 250) is third on the team in scoring (9.1 ppg) and leads the way in rebounding (5.9 rpg). Senior center Chris Jackson (6-11, 245) is fourth in scoring (7.9 ppg) while shooting a team-best 75.8 percent from the field, and ranks third in rebounding (4.2 rpg).

Utah ranked 29th in the NCAA in rebound margin (+6.5), 77th in field goal percentage (46.5) and 71st in scoring defense (63.1 ppg) as of Jan. 10. Currently, the Utes have a +5.3 rebound margin, are shooting 46.7 percent from the field and allowing 63.7 points per game.

Take Note
? Utah is playing one redshirt freshman and four other newcomers. Through 14 games, 54.9 percent of the Utes' points, 48.8 percent of their rebounds, 53.8 percent of their assists and 55.8 percent of their minutes played have come from the first-year players.

? The Utes are 8-0 when holding their opponents to 68 points or less this season and 0-6 when allowing 69 points or more.

? The Utes have a -3.1 turnover margin, averaging 16.1 turnovers per game compared to 13.1 for their opponents. Utah also has a 0.9 assist/turnover ratio (197 assists/226 turnovers). However, the Utes have improved their turnover numbers in Mountain West play, averaging 12.7 in three league games compared to 17.1 in nonconference games.

? The Runnin' Utes have the most league wins in the seven-year history of the Mountain West Conference. Utah is 64-23 (.736) in MWC games, including 40-4 at home and 24-19 on the road. UNLV (50-36) is second, followed by Wyoming (50-37) and BYU (49-38) to round out the top four.

From The Training Room
? Senior guard Tim Drisdom suffered a bone bruise in his left knee on Jan. 2 and has not been able to fully participate since them. Drisdom has missed the last three games and is doubtful for the Colorado State game on Wednesday.

Scouting The Rams
Colorado State is 11-4 overall and 7-0 at home this season. The Rams dropped their first two conference games on the road, falling to San Diego State, 83-75, on Jan. 4 and New Mexico, 83-75, on Jan. 7. During the nonconference season, the Rams recorded notable wins over Colorado (83-82) at home on Nov. 21, Auburn at home (77-67) on Nov. 23, Pepperdine (71-56) at home on Dec. 10 and at Hawaii (67-61) on Dec. 22.

Sophomore forward Jason Smith (7-0, 230) was named the 2004-05 MWC Freshman of the Year. Smith leads the Rams in scoring (16.9 ppg) and rebounding (7.5 rpg), and is also averaging 2.3 blocked shots and 2.3 assists per game. He is shooting 53.2 pecent from the field and 76.5 percent at the free throw line. Junior forward Michael Harrison (6-9, 215) is second on the team in scoring (12.3 ppg) and rebounding (5.0 rpg), and leads the way in blocked shots 2.5 bpg). Sophomore guard Sean Morris (5-10, 175) is CSU's third leading scorer (10.7 ppg). Morris is shooting 38.7 percent (31-for-80) from three-point range and 78.6 percent at the free throw line. Junior guard Cory Lewis (6-0, 170) leads the Rams in assists (4.3 apg) and steals (21).

Comparing The Numbers


         Utah    CSURecord          8-6 11-4MWC Record      1-2 0-2Streak          Lost 2  Lost 2Scoring         65.2    77.4Scoring Defense 63.7    69.1FG%             .467    .497FG% Defense .429    .3983-Pt. FG%   .350    .3893-Pt. FG% Def.  .344    .328FT%             .625    .693Rebound Margin  +5.3    +3.0Assists         14.1    16.1Turnovers       16.1    17.3Opp. Turnovers  13.1    16.1Steals          6.1 7.6Blocked Shots   2.0 7.2

Head Coach Dale Layer
Dale Layer has an 81-82 record in his sixth season at Colorado State and a 248-169 career record in his 15th 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.

Utah vs. Colorado State Series Notes
? Utah and Colorado State meet for the 135th time on Saturday 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 95-39 and have won 10 of the last 11, including five 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 all three meetings last season, winning 75-52 on Jan. 17 in Fort Collins, Colo., 64-50 on Feb. 12 in Salt Lake City, and 62-49 on March 10 in the MWC Tournament quarterfinals in Denver, Colo.

? In Fort Collins, Colo., the Utes are 37-23. The Utes have followed up two consecutive losses with four straight victories.

? 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 3-0 against Colorado State.

? Dale Layer is 2-10 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.

Johnnie Be Good
Sophomore guard Johnnie Bryant (6-0, 190) is second on the team in scoring (11.9 ppg), second in assists (2.3 apg) and third in steals (13). Bryant is shooting 40.9 percent from three-point range (27-for-66) and 88.5 percent from the free throw line, leading Utah in three-pointers made and free throw percentage.

? He has scored in double figures eight times this season and three consecutive games to begin the Mountain West season. In the last three outings, Bryant has averaged 17.7 points per game while shooting 50.0 percent from the field, 40.9 percent (9-for-22) from three-point range and 4-for-5 at the free throw line.

? Bryant had a career-high 23 points against BYU on Jan. 7. He shot 9-for-17 from the field, 4-for-8 from three-point range and 1-for-1 at the line in 36 minutes.

? Bryant has had three 20-point games this season. In addition to 23 points against BYU, he scored 21 points against both Texas State in the season opener and Weber State on Nov. 26.

? He had career highs of seven rebounds and five assists (just one turnover) to go with 15 points against Rice on Dec. 3.

? Bryant joined the Utes last December after earning his associate's degree. As a first team all-conference pick at San Francisco City College in 2003-04, the Oakland native averaged 15 points and four assists per game.

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