Utah Men's Basketball Preview - Game 5 - University of Utah Athletics

Nov. 28, 2006

UTAH RUNNIN' UTES VS. WEBER STATE WILDCATS
Wednesday, November 29, 2006 ? 8:05 p.m. (MST)
Jon M. Huntsman Center (15,000) ? Salt Lake City

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UTAH (1-3)Head Coach: Ray GiacolettiAlma Mater: Minot State, 1985At Utah: 44-24 (3rd Season)Career: 161-107 (10th Season)
WEBER STATE (4-2)Head Coach: Randy RaheAlma Mater: Buena Vista, 1982At WSU: 4-2 (1st Season)Career: 4-2 (1st Season)
MEDIA COVERAGETelevision: The mtn.  Rich Cellini (play-by-play), Blaine Fowler (analyst)Radio: Sports Radio 700 The Zone  Bill Riley (play-by-play),  Mark Rydalch (analyst), Scott Gerrard (host)Internet Audio/Live Stats: www.UtahUtes.com Get Utah All-Access Here
THE SERIESOverall: Utah leads 22-12Utah Home/Away/Neutral: 14-3/8-9/0-0Current Streak: Utah has won 5Last Meeting: Utah won 67-62 in OT on  Nov. 26, 2005 in Ogden, Utah

AFTER THIS
The Runnin' Utes close out their four-game home stand against Washington State on Saturday at 7:05 p.m. (MST). Utah then plays its next two games on the road, starting with Utah State on Wednesday, Dec. 6 at 7:05 p.m. (MST) in Logan, Utah.

QUICKLY ON UTAH
The Runnin' Utes (1-3) play the third game of a four-game home stand against the Weber State Wildcats (4-2) on Wednesday at 8:05 p.m. (MST) in the Jon M. Huntsman Center. The game will be televised on the mtn. (Comcast 37 in Salt Lake City) and broadcast on Sports Radio 700 The Zone in Salt Lake City.

Utah picked up its first win of the season with an 80-64 victory over Rice last Saturday night. The Utes lost their first three games, falling to Southern Utah (76-73) at home on Nov. 10, at Santa Clara (83-72) on Nov. 18 and to Colorado (60-59) at home on Nov. 21.

Junior guard Johnnie Bryant (6-0, 180) leads the Utes in scoring (18.3 ppg) and assists (3.0 apg). Bryant has connected on 52.0 percent (13-for-25) of his three-point attempts. Sophomore center Luke Nevill (7-1, 265) is the Utes' second-leading scorer (17.5 ppg) and top rebounder (8.0 rpg). Sophomore forward Shaun Green (6-8, 208) is the third Ute averaging double figures in scoring (12.5 ppg) and is second in rebounding (5.8 rpg). He is connecting on 64.3 percent of his field goals and 60.0 percent (9-for-15) of his three-pointers.

RUNNIN' UTE NOTABLES
? Utah defeated Rice on Saturday night to avert its second 0-4 start all-time and the first since 1952-53.

? This was the sixth time in school history the Utes had started out 0-3. Utah last dropped its first three games in 1970-71 under Jack Garnder. The U. fell to Southern California (90-81) on Dec. 3 at home before dropping road games to Utah State (94-77) on Dec. 5 and Oregon State (91-75) on Dec. 7.

? After allowing its first two opponents to shoot at least 60 percent from the field and 50 percent from three-point range, Utah gave better defensive efforts against Colorado and Rice. The Utes held the Buffaloes to 41.1 percent shooting from the field and 44.4 percent from three-point range. The Owls hit 44.7 percent from the field and 50.0 percent (8-for-16) from three-point range.

? Seven of the 13 Utes who have seen action this season are first-year players. Six of those players are freshmen.

COUTING WEBER STATE
The Wildcats are 4-2 overall and 2-2 away from home this season. The Wildcats placed second in the Top of the World Classic (Nov. 16-19) in Fairbanks, Alaska. Weber State beat Alaska-Fairbanks (71-66 OT) and Troy (66-61) before losing to Utah State (68-55) in the title game. Weber State then defeated Montana Tech, 81-53, last Wednesday at home before playing its first game on an opponents' home court at Utah State last Saturday night, falling 77-68.

Senior forward David Patten (6-8, 230) leads WSU in scoring (12.3 ppg) and is second in rebounding (4.7 rpg). Junior center/forward Arturas Valeika (6-9, 215) is second in scoring (10.8 ppg) and first in rebounding (7.0 rpg), and is shooting 66.7 percent from the field. Sophomore guard Juan Pablo Silveira (6-3, 195) leads the team in assists (3.2 apg) and is third in scoring (10.5 ppg) while shooting 65.2 percent (15-for-23) from three-point range.

COMPARING THE NUMBERS


          Utah   Weber St.Record           1-3    4-2Scoring          71.0   70.7Scoring Defense 70.8    63.7FG%          .497   .511FG% Defense .525    .3973-Pt. FG%         .474  .4223-Pt. FG% Defense   .500    .296FT%          .735   .636Rebound Margin  +4.3    +5.0Assists          15.8   13.7Turnovers            14.0   17.7Opp. Turnovers  12.8    15.3Steals           4.3    6.0Blocked Shots   2.5 1.8

WILDCAT HEAD COACH Randy Rahe
Former Utah assistant coach Randy Rahe is in his first season as the head coach at Weber State. Rahe, who is a rookie college head coach, spent the past two seasons under Ray Giacoletti at Utah. He helped lead the Utes to the MWC championship and the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament in 2004-05.

Prior to that, he was an assistant under Stew Morrill at Utah State for six seasons and Colorado State for seven seasons. Colorado State went 121-86 and made three NIT appearances during Rahe's tenure. The Aggies went 143-48, won five Big West titles, and earned three NCAA berths with Rahe on staff. He was also an assistant coach at Colorado College (1988-89), Colorado (1989-90) and Denver (1990-91).

UTAH VS. WEBER STATE SERIES NOTES
? Utah and Weber State meet for the 35th time on Wednesday. Utah leads the all-time series 22-12 and has won 10 of the last 12 meetings, including five in a row. The teams have met every year since 1993.

? After Weber State took two in a row in 1999-2000 and 2000-01, the Utes have captured the last five meetings. Utah won last season, 67-62 in overtime, on Nov. 26 in Ogden, Utah.

? Utah has a 14-3 edge in games played in Salt Lake City. The Utes won their last two games in the Huntsman Center against WSU, winning 51-40 on Dec. 28, 2004 and 72-58 on Jan. 3, 2003. Weber State took the previous game in Salt Lake City, 79-77, on Dec. 9, 2000 to break a nine-game home winning steak in the series by the Utes.

? Ray Giacoletti, the head coach at Big Sky Conference member Eastern Washington from 2000-04, is 7-6 all-time against Weber State. He is 2-0 versus the Wildcats as the head coach at Utah.

? Utah is 115-47 (.710) all-time against the Big Sky Conference. That mark includes a 74-14 (.841) mark in home games.

TAKE NOTICE OF NEVILL
Sophomore center Luke Nevill (7-1, 265) is the Utes' second-leading scorer (17.5 ppg) and top rebounder (8.0 rpg). He is also shooting 60.5 percent from the field and has seven assists and a team-best five blocked shots.

? Nevill has led the Utes in scoring twice and rebounding four times this season. He has scored in double figures all four games.

? The Perth, Australia, native has had double-doubles the past two games to bring his career total to six. On Nov. 25 against Rice, Nevill had a season-high 20 points (7-9 FG, 6-9 FT) and tied a season-high with 10 rebounds in 30 minutes. He had his first double-double of the season against Colorado on Nov. 21 with 14 points (4-6 FG, 6-8 FT) and 10 rebounds. He also had three blocked shots in 35 minutes.

JOHNNIE BE GOOD
Junior guard Johnnie Bryant (6-0, 180) leads the Utes in scoring (18.3 ppg) and has connected on 52.0 percent (13-for-25) of his three-point attempts. Bryant has scored in double figures in all four games this season and led the Utes in scoring twice.

? Bryant set career-highs with 28 points (7-12 FG, 3-7 3FG, 11-13 FT) and seven assists (just one turnover) in 36 minutes against Rice on Nov. 25. It was his second consecutive 20-point game and the sixth of his career. Bryant had 20 points (6-12 FG, 6-9 3FG, 2-2 FT) in 35 minutes against Colorado on Nov. 21.

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Utah Men's Basketball Preview - Game 5

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Players Mentioned

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