Utah Men's Basketball Notes - Game 8 - University of Utah Athletics

Dec. 7, 2006

UTAH RUNNIN' UTES VS. RHODE ISLAND RAMS
Saturday, December 9, 2006 ? 2:05 p.m. (EST)
Ryan Center (7,657) ? Kingston, R.I.

Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader

UTAH (3-4)Head Coach: Ray GiacolettiAlma Mater: Minot State, 1985At Utah: 46-25 (3rd Season)Career: 163-108 (10th Season)
RHODE ISLAND (5-4)Head Coach: Jim BarronAlma Mater: St. Bonaventure, 1977At URI: 73-85 (6th Season)Career: 279-287 (20th Season)
MEDIA COVERAGETelevision: NoneRadio: Sports Radio 700 The Zone  Bill Riley (play-by-play), Joe Cravens (analyst),  Scott Gerrard (host)Internet Audio/Live Stats: www.UtahUtes.com Get Utah All-Access Here
THE SERIESOverall: Utah leads 2-1Utah Home/Away/Neutral: 2-0/0-0/0-1Current Streak: Utah has won 1Last Meeting: Utah won 66-50 on Nov. 22, 2005 in Salt Lake City

AFTER THIS
The Runnin' Utes take a week off for final exams before hosting Cal Poly on Saturday, Dec. 16 at 1:05 p.m. (MST). Utah then heads to Puerto Rico for the San Juan Shootout Dec. 19-21. The Utes open against Central Florida on Tuesday, Dec. 19 at 3:00 p.m. (AST).

QUICKLY ON UTAH
The Runnin' Utes (3-4) head to the East Coast to take on the Rhode Island Rams (5-4) on Saturday at 2:05 p.m. (EST) at the Ryan Center in Kingston, R.I. Utah is 0-2 on the road this season. The game will be broadcast on Sports Radio 700 The Zone.

Utah had its three-game winning steak snapped with a 60-57 loss at Utah State on Wednesday night. Last week, the Utes defeated Weber State, 67-55, on Nov. 29 and previously unbeaten Washington State, 69-55, on Dec. 2.

Sophomore center Luke Nevill (7-1, 265) is the Utes' leading scorer (17.7 ppg) and rebounder (8.1 rpg). He is shooting 70.0 percent from the field, and has 15 assists and a team-best seven blocked shots. Junior guard Johnnie Bryant (6-0, 180) is second on the team in scoring (15.9 ppg) and has connected on 48.8 percent (21-for-43) of his three-point attempts. Bryant also leads the Utes in assists (2.6 apg). Sophomore forward Shaun Green (6-8, 208) is third on the team in scoring (13.0 ppg) and second in rebounding (6.0 rpg). He is shooting 64.0 percent from the field and 65.5 percent from three-point range (19-for-29). Green also leads the Utes in steals (11) and blocked shots (5).

In the NCAA statistical rankings released on Dec. 4, Utah ranked first in three-point percentage (49.5), 11th in field goal percentage (52.0), 57th in free throw percentage (73.4) and 82nd in three-pointers made per game. Green ranked first in the nation in three-point percentage (68.0).

RUNNIN' UTE NOTABLES
? Three of Utah's four losses have come by a combined seven points.

? Before its loss at Utah State on Wednesday night, Utah had won three in a row for the first time since it won its first four games of the 2005-06 season. That followed up Utah's first 0-3 start since 1970-71.

? The Utes have shot at least 50 percent from three-point range in five of the seven games and at least 50 percent from the field in five of the seven games this season.

SCOUTING RHODE ISLAND
The Rams are 5-4 overall and 3-1 at home this season. During the past week, Rhode Island lost at Providence, 95-66, on Saturday and edged Brown, 72-68, at home on Tuesday night.

Junior forward Will Daniels (6-8, 220) leads URI in scoring (17.9 ppg), is second in rebounding (5.1 rpg), and has a team-best eight blocked shots. He is also shooting 50.0 percent (16-for-32) from three-point range. Sophomore guard Jimmy Barron (6-2, 190) is second on the team in scoring (15.0 ppg) and is shooting 55.3 percent (26-for-47) from three-point range. Sophomore forward Kahiem Seawright (6-8, 220) is the third Ram averaging double figures in points (13.4 ppg) and leads the effort on the boards (9.2 rpg). Junior guard Jon Lucky (6-5, 220) leads the team in assists (4.4 apg). He is suffering from ankle soreness and did not play against Brown on Tuesday. Baron started in his place and poured in a career-high 28 points.

COMPARING THE NUMBERS


          Utah   URIRecord           3-4    5-4Scoring          68.1   80.3Scoring Defense 64.7    79.1FG%          .524   .459FG% Defense .490    .4433-Pt. FG%            .476   .4333-Pt. FG% Defense   .462    .404FT%          .728   .747Rebound Margin  +2.7    +8.0Assists          14.4   14.2Turnovers            14.3   17.9Opp. Turnovers  14.6    13.1Steals           5.6    4.6Blocked Shots   2.1 3.4

RAM HEAD COACH JIM BARRON
Jim Barron has a 73-85 record in his sixth season at Rhode Island. His career mark is 279-287 in 20 seasons.

Barron led Rhode Island to back-to-back 20-win seasons and NIT berths in 2002-03 and `03-04. He was named the 2003 Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year.

Named head coach at St. Francis (Pa.) in 1987, his 1990-91 team set a school record for wins (24-8) and earned the school's only NCAA Tournament bid. In 1992, he returned to his alma mater, St. Bonaventure. The 1995 Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year took the Bonnies to three NITs and one NCAA Tournament, posting a 39-22 (.639) log his last two years.

UTAH VS. RHODE ISLAND SERIES NOTES
? The Utes and Rams meet for the fourth time on Saturday afternoon with Utah leading the series 2-1. It will be the first game in the series played on the Rams' home court.

? The Utes won the first game of the recent home-and-home series last season 66-50 on Nov. 22 in Salt Lake City.

? Utah won the teams' first meeting 84-72 on March 27, 1992 in Salt Lake City in the quarterfinals of the NIT. Then Rhode Island won the second match-up 70-63 on Dec. 2, 1998 in the Great 8 Tournament at the United Center in Chicago, Ill.

? Utah is 14-11 (.560) all-time against members of the Atlantic 10 Conference, including a 6-4 mark on the road. The Atlantic 10 team Utah has faced the most is St. Joseph's (Pa.), going 5-5 against the Hawks.

Upcoming Events

Recent Results

Utah Men's Basketball Notes - Game 8

Players Mentioned

Johnnie Bryant

Shaun Green

Luke Nevill

Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball versus Nevada [Exh] on October 17, 2025

Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball at Oregon [Exh] on October 24, 2025

Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball versus San José State on November 3, 2025

Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball versus Weber State on November 8, 2025

Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball versus Holy Cross on November 10, 2025

Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball versus Sam Houston State on November 15, 2025

Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball versus Purdue Fort Wayne on November 18, 2025

Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball versus Cal Poly on November 20, 2025

Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball versus Grand Canyon on November 25, 2025 at 10 PM

Completed Event: Men's Basketball versus Butler on March 31, 2025 , Loss , 84, to, 86

Completed Event: Men's Basketball versus No. 14-Seed UCF on March 11, 2025 , Loss , 72, to, 87

Completed Event: Men's Basketball at #23/22 BYU on March 8, 2025 , Loss , 74, to, 85

Completed Event: Men's Basketball versus West Virginia on March 4, 2025 , Loss , 69, to, 71

Completed Event: Men's Basketball versus Arizona State on March 1, 2025 , Win , 99, to, 73

Completed Event: Men's Basketball at #22/21 Arizona on February 26, 2025 , Loss , 66, to, 83

Completed Event: Men's Basketball at UCF on February 23, 2025 , Loss , 72, to, 76

Completed Event: Men's Basketball versus Kansas State on February 17, 2025 , Win , 74, to, 69

Completed Event: Men's Basketball versus #17/20 Kansas on February 15, 2025 , Win , 74, to, 67

Utah Men's Basketball Notes - Game 8

Players Mentioned

Johnnie Bryant

Shaun Green

Luke Nevill

Related Videos