Utah Men's Basketball Notes - Game #22 - University of Utah Athletics

Feb. 10, 2006

Game #22

Utah Runnin' Utes (11-10, 4-6) vs. San Diego State Aztecs (16-6, 9-1)
Feb. 11 ? 12:05 p.m. (PST)
Cox Arena at Aztec Bowl (12,414) ? San Diego, Calif.

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Game Data

Television: ESPN Regional(Shown on KJZZ-TV 14 in Salt Lake City).Rich Cellini (play-by-play) and Irv Brown (analyst).
Radio: Utah Sports Network(Hot Ticket 700/KALL-AM in Salt Lake City and affiliate stations).On the Internet at www.UtahUtes.com.Matt Thomas (play-by-play), Mark Rydalch (analyst) and Bill Riley (host).
Utah Head Coach: Ray Giacoletti      San Diego St. Head Coach: Steve FisherAlma Mater: Minot State, 1985        Alma Mater: Illinois State, 1967Record at Utah: 40-16 (2nd Season)   Record at SDSU: 97-103 (7th Season)Overall Record: 157-99 (9th Season)  Overall Record: 281-185 (15th Season)
Series Record: Utah leads 48-10Utah's Record Home/Away/Neutral: 26-2/18-7/4-1Current Streak: San Diego State has won 1.Last Meeting: San Diego State won 72-67 on Jan. 11, 2006 in Salt Lake City.
Utah Probable StartersNo. Pos. Name              Ht.  Wt.  Cl.  Statistics20  F    Bryant Markson      6-7  198  Sr.  14.0 ppg, 5.7 rpg21  F    Shaun Green    6-8  208  Fr.  7.1 ppg, 3.8 rpg50  C    Luke Nevill    7-1  250  Fr.  10.1 ppg, 6.2 rpg1   G    Johnnie Bryant      6-0  190  So.  12.2 ppg, 2.2 apg3   G    Chris Grant    6-3  200  So.  2.9 ppg, 2.2 rpg
San Diego State Probable StartersNo. Pos. Name              Ht.  Wt.  Cl.  Statistics34  F    Mohamed Abukar    6-10 210  Jr.  13.1 ppg, 3.8 rpg42  F    Marcus Slaughter  6-8  223  Jr.  17.4 ppg, 10.9 rpg1   G    Brandon Heath     6-3  183  Jr.  17.8 ppg, 3.2 rpg3   G    Richie Williams   5-9  150  Fr.  6.0 ppg, 3.0 apg21  G    Matt Thomas       6-3  191  So.  1.5 ppg, 1.1 rpg

After This
The Runnin' Utes open a two-game home stand against Colorado State on Wednesday, Feb. 15 at 7:07 p.m. (MST) in the Jon M. Huntsman Center.

Quickly On Utah
The Runnin' Utes (11-10, 4-6 MWC) head to San Diego to take on Mountain West Conference leader San Diego State (16-6, 9-1 MWC) on Saturday at 12:05 p.m. (PST) in Cox Arena at Aztec Bowl. The game will be televised by ESPN Regional (KJZZ-TV 14 in Salt Lake City) as the MWC "Game of the Week." It will also be broadcast on Hot Ticket 700 (KALL-AM) and the Utah Sports Network.

Utah is 2-7 away from home overall this season and 1-4 in Mountain West Conference play. The Utes have won three of their last four games. Utah defeated TCU (80-45) at home and Wyoming (71-63) on the road before falling at New Mexico (64-53) last Saturday. Utah defeated BYU, 79-60, in Salt Lake City on Wednesday night.

Senior forward Bryant Markson (6-7, 198), a preseason all-Mountain West Conference pick, leads the Utes in scoring (14.0 ppg), assists (2.5 apg) and steals (28), and is second in rebounds (5.7 rpg). Markson is shooting 51.1 percent from the field, 42.9 percent from three-point range and 78.1 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 (12.2 ppg) and assists (2.2 apg), and is averaging 2.4 rebounds per game. Bryant is also shooting 43.0 percent (43-of-100) from three-point range and 86.5 percent from the free throw line. Freshman center Luke Nevill (7-1, 250) is third on the team in scoring (10.1 ppg) and leads the way in rebounding (6.2 rpg). Senior center Chris Jackson (6-11, 245) is fifth in scoring (7.0 ppg) while shooting a team-best 76.5 percent from the field, and ranks fourth in rebounding (3.6 rpg).

Take Note
? Utah is playing one redshirt freshman and four other newcomers. Through 21 games, 57.5 percent of the Utes' points, 47.7 percent of their rebounds, 51.7 percent of their assists, and 54.4 percent of their minutes played have come from the first-year players.

? Four different players have led the Utes in scoring this season, six in rebounding and nine in assists. Eleven different players have earned at least one start. Utah also has 10 players averaging at least 10 minutes per game.

? The Utes are 11-2 when holding their opponents to 68 points or less this season and 0-8 when allowing 69 points or more.

Scouting The Aztecs
San Diego State is 16-6 overall and leads the Mountain West Conference with a 9-1 record. The Aztecs are 10-1 at home this season with their only loss coming to Washington State (60-49) on Dec. 10.

The Aztecs are riding an eight-game winning streak, which started with a 72-67 over the Utes in Salt Lake City on Jan. 11. San Diego State won 85-81 at Colorado State last Saturday and defeated Air Force, 61-51, at home on Wednesday night.

Junior guard Brandon Heath (6-3, 183), ranks first in the MWC in scoring (17.8 ppg), sixth in assists (3.23 apg), eighth in assist/turnover ratio (0.78), ninth in steals (1.50 spg) and sixth in three-point percentage (41.1). Junior forward Marcus Slaughter (6-8, 223), one of two players in the conference averaging a double-double, ranks second in the MWC in scoring (17.4 ppg) and first in rebounding (10.9 rpg). He also ranks 15th in the league in field goal percentage (50.8), sixth in free throw percentage (79.3) and seventh in blocked shots (1.11 bpg). Freshman guard Richie Williams (5-9, 150) is fifth in the MWC in assists (3.41 apg) and sixth in assist/turnover ratio (1.14). Junior center Mohamed Abukar (6-10, 210), who became eligible at the end of the fall semester after transferring from Florida, has played in the last 12 games with 11 starts. He is averaging 13.1 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. Freshman forward Kyle Spain (6-6, 205), who was averaging 10.2 points and 6.2 rebounds per game, was suspended indefinitely for "conduct detrimental to the team" on Jan. 28.

As of Feb. 7, San Diego State ranked 82nd in the NCAA in scoring offense (73.6 ppg), 44th in field goal percentage (47.2), 11th in three-point field goal percentage (40.7) and 37th in rebound margin (+4.8 rpg). Heath was 31st in three-point percentage (42.6) and Slaughter was 10th in rebounds per game (10.7).

Comparing The Numbers

            Utah    SDSURecord          11-10   16-6MWC Record  4-6 9-1Streak          Won 1   Won 8Scoring         65.6    73.0Scoring Defense 64.0    66.0FG%         .471    .471FG% Defense .432    .4323-Pt. FG%   .368    .3943-Pt. FG% Def.  .348    .337FT%         .668    .715Rebound Margin  +4.5    +5.1Assists         13.7    12.8Turnovers   16.1    16.4Opp. Turnovers  13.0    14.7Steals          6.0 7.5Blocked Shots   2.2 3.4

Aztec Head Coach Steve Fisher
Steve Fisher is 97-103 in his seventh season at San Diego State and has a 281-185 career mark in 15 seasons. Before posting a losing record the last two seasons, the Aztecs went 16-14 in 2002-03 and advanced to the second round of the NIT. In 2001-02, Fisher led SDSU to the Mountain West Conference Tournament title and its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1984-85. With a 21-12 record, SDSU also posted its highest single-season wins total since `84-85.

In his previous college head coaching job, Fisher led Michigan to a 184-82 record (.691), three NCAA Final Fours and eight trips to the NCAA Tournament from 1989-97. He was named the 1992 National Coach of the Year by Basketball Times after leading Michigan's "Fab Five" as freshmen to a 25-9 record and the NCAA title game. As the interim head coach in 1989, he led the Wolverines to a 6-0 record and the NCAA title.

Utah vs. San Diego State Series Notes
? Utah and San Diego State meet for the 59th time on Saturday afternoon. The series dates back to a 98-89 Utah win on Dec. 13, 1975 in Salt Lake City. That was the only game played between the two teams before they became members of the WAC and later the Mountain West Conference.

? The Utes lead the all-time series 48-10 and have won 28 of the last 31.

? San Diego State broke Utah's six-game winning streak in the series with a 72-67 victory on Jan. 11 in Salt Lake City.

? The Utes have an 18-7 advantage over the Aztecs in San Diego. SDSU's last home win over the Utes was on Jan. 18, 2003 (58-56). That Aztec win snapped Utah's 14-game winning streak in the series.

? Utah swept the 2004-05 series, winning 61-41 on Feb. 5 in San Diego, Calif., and 72-60 on March 5 in Salt Lake City.

? In regular-season conference play, the Utes have a 42-9 advantage. Since the formation of the MWC in 1999-2000, Utah is 11-2 in regular season games.

? Ray Giacoletti is 3-3 against San Diego State overall and 2-1 while at Utah. The first three games took place in San Diego while he was the head coach at Eastern Washington.

? Steve Fisher is 4-12 against Utah, including a 2-12 mark while at SDSU.

Last Meeting
Brandon Heath scored 21 points as San Diego State defeated Utah 72-67 on Jan. 11, the Aztecs' first road win against Utah since 1982.

Mohamed Abukar, playing just his fifth game of the year after transferring from Florida last season, scored 16 points and Marcus Slaughter added 14 before fouling out.

SDSU held Utah without a field goal for the final 6:18 and held on despite giving the Utes several chances in the final moments.

John Sharper made a three-pointer to give the Aztecs a 70-66 lead with 1:59 to play. Ricky Johns made one of two free throws to get Utah within three points.

In the final 41 seconds, Heath traveled, Abukar failed to inbound the ball within five seconds and Richie Williams missed the front end of a 1-and-1. But each time, Utah failed to convert on the other end.

Johnny Bryant led Utah with 17 points but missed a three-point attempt to tie it in the final seconds. Bryant Markson had 12 for the Utes.

Heath is 22 of 40 from three-point range the last five games, scoring more than 20 points in each outing. But the guard was unable to shake Ricky John's defense to score the final 11:52 of the game.

Utah led 23-10 with 6:33 left in the first half before the Aztecs battled back and cut it to 34-32 on Heath's bank three-pointer at the halftime buzzer. It was the first time an opponent came back to beat the Utes after trailing at halftime this season.

The Aztecs outshot the Utes 50.0 to 48.0 percent from the field and had a 35-25 advantage on the boards.

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