Utah Men's Basketball Preview: At TCU

Feb. 27, 2006

Game #26

Utah Runnin' Utes (12-13, 5-9) vs. TCU Horned Frogs (5-23, 1-13)
March 1 ? 9:05 p.m. (CST)
Daniel-Meyer Coliseum (7,201) ? Fort Worth, Texas

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Game Data

Television: ESPN2.Dave Pasch (play-by-play) and Jimmy Dykes (analyst).
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 HereMatt Thomas (play-by-play), Mark Rydalch (analyst) and Bill Riley (host).
Utah Head Coach: Ray Giacoletti       TCU Head Coach: Neil DoughertyAlma Mater: Minot State, 1985         Alma Mater: Cameron, 1984Record at Utah: 41-19 (2nd Season)    Record at TCU: 47-73 (4th Season)Overall Record: 158-102 (9th Season)  Overall Record: 47-73 (4th Season)
Series Record: Utah leads 7-1Utah's Record Home/Away/Neutral: 5-1/1-0/1-0Current Streak: Utah has won 5 in a row.Last Meeting: Utah won 80-45 on Jan. 28, 2006 in Salt Lake City.
Utah Probable StartersNo. Pos. Name               Ht.  Wt.  Cl.  Statistics20  F    Bryant Markson     6-7  198  Sr.  13.3 ppg, 5.5 rpg21  F    Shaun Green        6-8  208  Fr.  6.3 ppg, 3.7 rpg50  C    Luke Nevill        7-1  250  Fr.  11.0 ppg, 6.4 rpg1   G    Johnnie Bryant     6-0  190  So.  12.9 ppg, 2.2 apg3   G    Chris Grant        6-3  200  So.  2.5 ppg, 2.3 rpg
TCU Probable StartersNo. Pos. Name               Ht.  Wt.  Cl.  Statistics15  F    Judson Stubbs      6-7  228  Sr.  10.4 ppg, 6.6 rpg45  F    Art Pierce         6-9  233  Jr.  2.6 ppg, 3.0 rpg4   G    Nile Murry         6-4  202  So.  16.4 ppg, 4.4 rpg5   G    Neiman Owens       6-4  193  So.  4.4 ppg, 3.2 rpg13  G    Neil P. Dougherty  6-0  181  Jr.  1.7 ppg, 1.4 rpg

After This
The Runnin' Utes close out the regular season against Wyoming on Saturday, March 4 at 7:07 p.m. (MST) in Salt Lake City. Utah then plays in the Mountain West Conference Tournament, March 7-11 at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colo.

Quickly On Utah
The Runnin' Utes (12-13, 5-9 MWC) play their final road game against the TCU Horned Frogs (5-23, 1-13 MWC) on Wednesday at 9:05 p.m. (CST) at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum in Fort Worth, Texas. The game will be televised by ESPN2 and broadcast on Hot Ticket 700 (KALL-AM) and the Utah Sports Network.

Utah, tied for sixth place in the Mountain West Conference, takes a three-game losing streak into its game with TCU. The Utes lost at UNLV last Wednesday night 65-59, then had the weekend off. In a pair of home games the previous week, Utah pushed Colorado State to overtime before falling 69-61 on Feb. 15, and lost to Air Force, 52-51, on Feb. 18. Utah is 3-7 on opponents' home courts overall this season and 2-5 in Mountain West Conference play.

Senior forward Bryant Markson (6-7, 198), a preseason all-Mountain West Conference pick, leads the Utes in scoring (13.3 ppg), assists (2.3 apg) and steals (34), and is second in rebounds (5.5 rpg). Markson is shooting 50.7 percent from the field, 45.5 percent from three-point range and 77.3 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 (12.9 ppg), second in assists per game (2.2 apg), and is averaging 2.7 rebounds per game. Bryant is also shooting 45.2 percent (57-of-126) from three-point range and 82.6 percent at the free throw line. Freshman center Luke Nevill (7-1, 250) is third on the team in scoring (11.0 ppg), and leads the way in rebounding (6.4 rpg) and blocked shots (23). Nevill is also shooting 54.7 percent from the field.

Take Note
? Utah is playing one redshirt freshman and four other newcomers. Through 25 games, 57.6 percent of the Utes' points, 48.0 percent of their rebounds, 51.7 percent of their assists, and 54.1 percent of their minutes played have come from the first-year players.

? Four different players have led the Utes in scoring this season, seven 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 12-4 when holding their opponents to 68 points or less this season and 0-9 when allowing 69 points or more.

? Over the last eight games, Utah has held its opponents to an average of 60.4 points per game on 40.1 percent shooting from the field and 32.8 percent from three-point range. The Utes have owned a 34.4 to 27.3 edge in rebounds per game, outworking all eight teams on the glass.

Scouting The Horned Frogs
TCU is 5-23 overall and in ninth place in the Mountain West Conference with a 1-13 record. The Horned Frogs are 5-10 at home this season overall and 1-6 in conference games. TCU has dropped nine in a row, including losses last week to Colorado State (89-74) on the road on Wednesday night and BYU (81-72) at home on Saturday night. Its only conference win was over Colorado State (85-72) at home on Jan. 21.

Senior guard Nile Murry (6-4, 202) ranks fourth in the MWC in scoring (16.4 ppg), third in free throw percentage (81.6), seventh in three-point percentage (36.3), 18th in rebounding (4.4 rpg), fifth in steals (1.71 spg) and 10th in assists (2.68 apg). Sophomore guard Brent Hackett (6-3, 203) is tied for 13th in the conference in assists (2.61 apg). Hackett is also averaging 10.6 points per game and shooting 34.0 percent from three-point range. Senior forward Judson Stubbs (6-7, 228) is ranked sixth in the league in rebounding (6.6 rpg) and 10th in free throw percentage (71.7). Stubbs is also averaging 10.4 points per game.

TCU ranks ninth in the Mountain West Conference in scoring offense (62.1 ppg), ninth in scoring defense (72.4 ppg), eighth in rebound margin (-2.2 rpg), second in steals (7.89 spg) and eighth in assist/turnover ratio (0.74).

Comparing The Numbers

                Utah    TCURecord          12-13   14-10MWC Record  5-9 1-13Streak          Lost 3  Lost 9Scoring         64.6    62.1Scoring Defense 63.8    70.2FG%             .469    .365FG% Defense .436    .4533-Pt. FG%   .374    .3213-Pt. FG% Def.  .356    .369FT%             .674    .634Rebound Margin  +4.9    -2.2Assists         13.3    12.0Turnovers   16.2    16.2Opp. Turnovers  12.7    17.9Steals          5.6 7.9Blocked Shots   2.2 2.2

Head Coach Neil Dougherty
Neil Dougherty is in his fourth season at TCU with a record of 47-73. In 2004-05, Dougherty led TCU to a 21-14 record, the NIT quarterfinals and an eighth-place finish in Conference USA with an 8-8 record.

Dougherty took his first head coaching job at TCU after serving as an assistant coach at the University of Kansas from 1995-2002. During Dougherty's seven years on the Kansas staff, KU averaged nearly 30 victories per season and won four Big 12 Conference championships. The 2001-02 Jayhawks captured the NCAA Midwest Regional title and advanced to the Final Four where they were defeated by the eventual champion Maryland Terrapins.

Dougherty also worked as an assistant coach at Cameron University (1984-88), Drake (1988-89), Vanderbilt (1989-93) and South Carolina (1993-95). He earned his degree from Cameron University in 1984.

Utah vs. TCU Series Notes
? Utah and TCU meet for the ninth time on Wednesday evening. The Runnin' Utes lead the all-time series 7-1. The series dates back to a 72-55 win by the U. on Dec. 14, 1953 in Salt Lake City.

? The Utes have won five in a row in the series. In the first meeting this season, Utah prevailed 80-45 on Jan. 28 in Salt Lake City.

? Utah won the only previous game between the Utes and Horned Frogs in Fort Worth, Texas, by an 81-77 margin on Jan. 18, 1997.

? The last season Utah and TCU played as conference rivals, the Utes took all three games from the Horned Frogs. As members of the 16-team WAC, Utah defeated TCU twice during the 1996-97 regular season. Utah won 81-77 on Jan. 18 in Fort Worth, Texas, and 94-91 on Feb. 15 in the Huntsman Center. Utah then beat TCU 89-68 on March 8 in the WAC Tournament championship game in Las Vegas.

Last Meeting
Freshman center Luke Nevill scored 18 points and Johnnie Bryant had 15 to lead Utah 80-45 over TCU on Jan. 28 in the Huntsman Center. The Utes broke a five-game losing streak, while the Horned Frogs lost their eighth game in the last nine.

The Utes shot 50 percent from the field, including 11-25 from three-point range, while TCU struggled on offense, hitting 30 percent from the field, 44 percent from the free throw line and only 4-of-21 shots from beyond the three-point arc.

The Frogs stayed close in the first half, never letting the Utes get a lead bigger than five points. But it was a different story in the second half as the Utes quickly jumped ahead.

Using an 11-3 run to start the half and a 16-2 run later on, Utah blew open the game, seeing their lead grow to the final 35-point advantage with 1:41 to play.

Nevill went 8-of-8 from the free throw line after entering the contest with a 51.8 free throw shooting percentage.

Chudi Chinweze led the Frogs with nine points and seven rebounds.

Bryant tied his career high with five assists, while Bryant Markson tied a career-best with nine rebounds and added eight points.

The Utes had their most decisive win in a conference home game (35 points) since defeating UNLV by 44 points (96-52) on Feb. 21, 2000.

Utah scored 53 points in the second half, the most points it has scored in a half this season.

Utah's defense held the Horned Frogs to a .300 shooting percentage. That is the lowest shooting percentage by a Utah opponent this season. TCU's 15 total field goals were also a season-low by a Ute opponent.

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Johnnie Bryant

Chris Grant

Shaun Green

Bryant Markson

Bryant Markson

Luke Nevill

Luke Nevill

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