Utah Men's Basketball Preview - Game 20 - University of Utah Athletics

Jan. 25, 2007

UTAH RUNNIN' UTES VS. SAN DIEGO STATE AZTECS
Saturday, January 27, 2007 ? 3:04 p.m. (PST)
Cox Arena at Aztec Bowl (12,414) ? San Diego, Calif.

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UTAH (7-12, 2-4)Head Coach: Ray GiacolettiAlma Mater: Minot State, 1985At Utah: 50-33 (3rd Season)Career: 167-116 (10th Season)
SAN DIEGO STATE (13-7, 2-4)Head Coach: Steve FisherAlma Mater: Illinois State, 1967At SDSU: 118-113 (8th Season)Career: 302-195 (16th Season)
MEDIA COVERAGETelevision: CSTV (Comcast 269)  Tom Hart (play-by-play), Sean Farnham (analyst)Radio: 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 49-10Utah Home/Away/Neutral: 26-2/19-7/4-1Current Streak: Utah has won 1Last Meeting: Utah won 67-65 on Feb. 11, 2006  in San Diego, Calif.

QUICKLY ON UTAH
The Runnin' Utes (7-12, 2-4 MWC) go for their third consecutive win when they face the San Diego State Aztecs (13-7, 2-4 MWC) on Saturday at 3:04 p.m. (PST) at Cox Arena in San Diego, Calif. The game will be televised nationally by CSTV (Comcast 269 in Salt Lake City) and broadcast on Sports Radio 700 The Zone.

Utah is coming off of back-to-back wins at home last week. The Utes defeated No. 13 Air Force, 85-79, on Tuesday night and Wyoming, 62-60, on Saturday afternoon. The win over Air Force broke a six-game losing streak for the Utes. Utah is 0-6 on the road this season and 0-3 on opponents' home courts.

Sophomore center Luke Nevill (7-1, 265) is the Utes' leading scorer (17.1 ppg) and rebounder (8.2 rpg). He is shooting 64.9 percent from the field, 77.3 percent from the free throw line, and also has a team-best 17 blocked shots. Junior guard Johnnie Bryant (6-0, 180) is second on the team in scoring (15.6 ppg), and has connected on 43.4 percent (59-for-136) of his 3-point attempts and 77.8 percent of his free throws. Bryant leads the team in assists (2.79 apg). Sophomore forward Shaun Green (6-8, 208) is third on the team in scoring (12.5 ppg), and is second in both assists (2.11 apg) and rebounding (6.0 rpg). He is shooting 56.5 percent from the field and 57.3 percent (51-for-89) from 3-point range. Green also leads the Utes in steals (26) and is second in blocked shots (9).

In the latest NCAA statistical rankings released on Jan. 22, Utah ranked fifth in 3-point percentage (43.3), 18th in field goal percentage (49.2), 57th in 3-pointers made per game (7.8), 41st in free throw percentage (73.0), 61st in turnovers per game (13.5) and 57th in rebound margin (+4.3 rpg). Green ranked first in the nation in 3-point percentage (57.3) and 77th in 3-pointers made per game (2.7). Nevill was seventh in field goal percentage (64.9), 91st in points per game (17.1) and 66th in rebounds per game (8.2). Bryant was 28th in 3-pointers made per game (3.1) and 42nd in 3-point percentage (43.4).

RUNNIN' UTE NOTABLES
? Seven of the 13 Utes who have seen action this season are first-year players. Six of those players are freshmen. The nine freshmen and sophomores who have played have accounted for 69.4 percent of Utah's points, 83.8 percent of its rebounds, 62.0 percent of its assists and 68.6 percent of its minutes.

? Utah has won its last two games decided by six points or less after losing its first nine this season.

? Eight of Utah's 12 losses have come by a combined 19 points. The Utes have lost three games by one point, four by three points and one by four points. Three of Utah's losses have been in overtime.

? Third-year Ute head coach Ray Giacoletti picked up his 50th career win at Utah with the Utes 62-60 win over Wyoming last Saturday.

? The Utes have shot at least 50 percent from 3-point range nine times and at least 50 percent from the field eight times in 19 games this season.

? Utah is 0-7 this season when opponents shoot at least 50 percent from the field and 4-11 when they shoot at least 40 percent from 3-point range.

? The Utes are 6-0 when leading at halftime this season.

NEVILL NAMED MWC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Utah sophomore Luke Nevill was named the Mountain West Conference Player of the Week on Monday, earning his first career weekly honor.

Nevill, a 7-1 center from Perth, Australia, led the Utes to a 2-0 record in conference play last week, including an 85-79 upset victory over No. 13 Air Force. Against the 13th-ranked Falcons, Nevill shot a perfect 8-for-8 from the field, as well as 2-of-2 from the free-throw stripe, tallying a team-high 18 points. He also grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds to collect his seventh double-double of the season, while dishing out three assists and blocking two shots in 35 minutes. Nevill also had team-highs of 14 points and eight rebounds in the Utes' 62-60 win over visiting Wyoming. He shot 5-for-12 from the field and also blocked two more shots, including one in the final seconds to preserve the win.

For the week, Nevill averaged 16.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.0 blocks and 2.0 assists per game, while shooting 65.0 percent (13-for-20) from the field and 75.0 percent from the free throw line (6-for-8).

SCOUTING SAN DIEGO STATE
The Aztecs are 13-7 overall and 9-2 at home this season. San Diego State is 2-4 in Mountain West Conference play and has lost its last two games, both coming on the road. The Aztecs fell at Air Force, 56-51, last Saturday and lost at UNLV, 68-61, on Tuesday night.

Senior guard Brandon Heath (6-4, 198) leads the Aztecs in scoring (19.2 ppg) and steals (40), and is second in assists (3.3 apg). He is shooting 38.2 percent (52-for-136) from 3-point range and 76.5 percent from the field. Senior forward Mohamed Abukar (6-10, 216) is second on the team in both scoring (15.7 ppg) and rebounding (5.9 rpg). Abukar missed the UNLV game on Tuesday with a pain in his left knee and is questionable for Saturday's game. Sophomore forward Lorenzo Wade (6-6, 212) is third in scoring (10.9 ppg) and rebounding (5.4 rpg). Junior forward Jerome Habel (6-10, 220) is the fourth Aztec averaging double figures in points (10.2 ppg) and is the team's leading rebounder (6.1 rpg). Sophomore guard Richie Williams (5-9, 158) is SDSU's assists leader (4.6 apg).

The Aztecs rank sixth in the Mountain West in scoring offense (73.8 ppg), fifth in scoring defense (69.7 ppg), fourth in rebound margin (+1.8 rpg) and sixth in assist/turnover ratio (0.87).

COMPARING THE NUMBERS


          Utah   SDSUOverall Record  7-12    13-7MWC Record  2-4 2-4Scoring          70.7   73.8Scoring Defense 70.3    69.7FG%          .492   .484FG% Defense .492    .4343-Pt. FG%            .433   .3813-Pt. FG% Defense   .466    .333FT%          .730   .714Rebound Margin  +4.3    +1.8Assists         14.3    14.2Turnovers            13.5   16.2Opp. Turnovers  11.6    15.5Steals           5.0    7.4Blocked Shots   2.0 3.7

AZTEC HEAD COACH STEVE FISHER
Steve Fisher is 118-113 in his eighth season at San Diego State and has a 302-195 career mark in 16 seasons. Fisher led San Diego State to the first round of the NCAA Tournament last season. The Aztecs also won the Mountain West Conference regular season and tournament titles while going 24-9 overall and 13-3 in league play. Their previous post-season appearance was in 2002-03 when they 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 60th 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 49-10 and have won 29 of the last 32.

? The teams split the home-and-home series in 2005-06. 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. Utah won 67-65 on Feb. 11 in San Diego.

? The Utes have an 19-7 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 a 14-game winning streak by Utah in the series.

? In regular-season conference play, the Utes have a 43-9 advantage. Since the formation of the MWC in 1999-2000, Utah is 12-2 in regular season games.

? Ray Giacoletti is 4-3 against San Diego State overall and 3-1 while at Utah. Giacoletti's first three games against the Aztecs took place in San Diego while he was the head coach at Eastern Washington.

? Steve Fisher is 4-13 against Utah, including a 2-13 mark while at SDSU.

AFTER THIS
The Runnin' Utes return home to host the BYU Cougars on Wednesday, Jan. 31 at 8:05 p.m. (MST) in the Jon M. Huntsman Center. The game will be televised by The mtn--MountainWest Sports Network. Utah then faces the TCU Horned Frogs on Saturday, Feb. 3 at 7:05 p.m. (CST) in Fort Worth, Texas.

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