Utah Men's Basketball Preview - Game 6 - University of Utah Athletics

Dec. 1, 2006

UTAH RUNNIN' UTES VS. WASHINGTON STATE COUGARS
Saturday, December 2, 2006 ? 7:06 p.m. (MST)
Jon M. Huntsman Center (15,000) ? Salt Lake City

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UTAH (2-3)Head Coach: Ray GiacolettiAlma Mater: Minot State, 1985At Utah: 45-24 (3rd Season)Career: 162-107 (10th Season)
WASHINGTON STATE (7-0)Head Coach: Tony BennettAlma Mater: Wis-Green Bay, 1992At WSU: 7-0 (1st Season)Career: 7-0 (1st Season)
MEDIA COVERAGETelevision: NoneRadio: 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 12-2Utah Home/Away/Neutral: 9-1/2-0/1-1Current Streak: Washington State has won 1Last Meeting: Washington State won 69-42  on Dec. 22, 2005 in Seattle, Wash.

AFTER THIS
The Runnin' Utes play their next two games on the road, starting with Utah State on Wednesday at 7:05 p.m. (MST) in Logan, Utah. Utah then plays Rhode Island on Saturday, Dec. 9 at 2:05 p.m. (EST) in Kingston, R.I.

QUICKLY ON UTAH
The Runnin' Utes (2-3) play the final game of a four-game home stand against the Washington State Cougars (7-0) on Saturday at 7:06 p.m. (MST) in the Jon M. Huntsman Center. Utah is 2-2 at home this season. The game will be broadcast on Sports Radio 700 The Zone in Salt Lake City.

Utah has won two in a row after starting out the season 0-3. The Utes picked up their first win with an 80-64 victory over Rice last Saturday night. Utah then defeated Weber State, 67-55, on Wednesday night.

Sophomore center Luke Nevill (7-1, 265) is the Utes' leading scorer (18.8 ppg) and rebounder (7.4 rpg). He is also shooting 67.3 percent from the field, and has 10 assists and a team-best six blocked shots.

Junior guard Johnnie Bryant (6-0, 180) is second on the team in scoring (18.8 ppg) and has connected on 50.0 percent (15-for-30) of his three-point attempts. Sophomore forward Shaun Green (6-8, 208) is third on the team in scoring (12.4 ppg) and second in rebounding (6.0 rpg). He is shooting 62.9 percent (22-for-35) from the field and 60.0 percent from three-point range (12-for-20). Green also leads the Utes in steals (8) and is second in both assists (2.6 apg) and blocked shots (4).

FREE ADMISSION SATURDAY WITH WINTER COAT DONATION
Fans who donate a winter jacket at the Utah vs. Washington State game on Saturday will receive free admission for an upper level ticket (limit two per person). The donation program is organized by the Salt Lake County Kearns and Redwood Recreation Centers. The winter coats will benefit families in need during the holiday season.

SCOUTING WASHINGTON STATE
The Cougars are 7-0 overall and 3-0 away from home this season. Washington State won its only game on an opponents' home court with a 74-54 victory at UW-Milwaukee on Nov. 11. The Cougars wrapped up a four-game home stand with wins over Boise State, 65-63, last Saturday and Portland, 62-50, on Wednesday night.

Junior guard Derrick Low (6-2, 186) leads Washington State in scoring (15.6 ppg) and steals (14). He is shooting 50.6 percent from the floor and 46.9 percent (15-for-32) from three-point range. Senior forward Ivory Clark (6-6, 220) is second in scoring (11.6 ppg) and leads the way in rebounds (6.3 rpg). Junior guard Kyle Weaver is third in scoring (9.9 ppg) and second in assists (3.1 apg). Sophomore guard Mac Hopson (6-2, 178) is Wazzu's top assists man (4.4 apg) and has a 1.82 assists/turnover ratio.

COMPARING THE NUMBERS

             Utah   Wash. St.Record           2-3    7-0Scoring          70.2   69.9Scoring Defense 67.6    56.9FG%          .509   .495FG% Defense .506    .3853-Pt. FG%            .486   .4003-Pt. FG% Defense   .451    .296FT%          .723   .6664Rebound Margin  +2.6    +0.1Assists          16.0   15.1Turnovers            13.8   12.7Opp. Turnovers  14.4    16.3Steals           5.6    7.6Blocked Shots   2.4 4.9

COUGAR HEAD COACH TONY BENNETT
Tony Bennett is in his first season at the helm of the Cougar program. He is in his fourth year with WSU overall, joining the program as an assistant coach in 2003-04 under his father, Dick Bennett. Tony was promoted to associate head coach in 2004-05. Tony also served as an assistant coach at Wisconsin from 2000-03. He played for Dick at Wisconsin-Green Bay and graduated in 1992. Bennett finished his college career as the Mid-Continent Conference's all-time leader in points (2,285) and assists (601), and he still ranks as the NCAA's all-time leader in three-point percentage (49.7).

UTAH VS. WASHINGTON STATE SERIES NOTES
? Utah and Washington State meet for the 15th time on Saturday night. The series dates back to a 45-44 Utah win on Dec. 17, 1938 in Pullman, Wash.

? The Utes lead the all-time series 12-2 and have a 9-1 advantage in games played in Salt Lake City. The Cougars' only win in Salt Lake City came on Dec. 14, 1946 by a 33-32 score.

? Utah had won 11 in a row in the series before Wazzu won last season, 69-42, on Dec. 22 at Key Arena in Seattle.

? Before their recent series, the two schools played a home-and-home series during the 1999-2000 and 2000-01 seasons. Utah won 78-66 on Dec. 11, 1999 in Pullman, Wash., and 87-63 on Dec. 16, 2000 in Salt Lake City.

? Utah is 128-90 (.587) against Pac-10 Conference teams all-time and 81-23 (.587) at home.

? Ute head coach Ray Giacoletti is 0-1 versus Washington State.

TAKE NOTICE OF NEVILL
Sophomore center Luke Nevill (7-1, 265) is the Utes' leading scorer (18.8 ppg) and rebounder (7.4 rpg). He is also shooting 67.3 percent from the field, and has 10 assists and a team-best six blocked shots.

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

? Nevill scored a season-high 24 points against Weber State on Wednesday night to record his second 20-point game of the season and his second in a row. He now has four 20-point games in his career. Nevill also had a career-high tying three assists and five boards in 36 minutes.

? He shot 11-for-12 against Weber State to tie the fifth-best single-game field goal percentage mark in school history. Josh Grant went 11-of-12 against Montana Tech on Dec. 1, 1992. Four Ute players have shot 100 percent in a game--all with at least eight attempts--to tie for the top mark.

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Utah Men's Basketball Preview - Game 6

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Utah Men's Basketball Preview - Game 6

Players Mentioned

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