Utah Men's Basketball Preview - Game 15 - University of Utah Athletics

Jan. 5, 2007

UTAH RUNNIN' UTES VS. TCU HORNED FROGS
Saturday, January 6, 2007 ? 7:05 p.m. (MST)
Jon M. Huntsman Center (15,500) ? Salt Lake City

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UTAH (5-9, 0-1)Head Coach: Ray GiacolettiAlma Mater: Minot State, 1985At Utah: 48-30 (3rd Season)Career: 165-113 (10th Season)
TCU (9-4, 1-0)Head Coach: Neil DoughertyAlma Mater: Cameron, 1984At TCU: 57-79 (5th Season)Career: 57-79 (5th Season)
MEDIA COVERAGETelevision: The mtn. (Comcast 37)  James Bates, (play-by-play), Blaine Fowler (analyst)Radio: 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 7-2Utah Home/Away/Neutral: 5-1/1-1/1-0Current Streak: TCU has won 1Last Meeting: TCU won 69-65 on March 1, 2006in Fort Worth, Texas.

AFTER THIS
Utah plays its next two games on the road, beginning with Colorado State on Tuesday, Jan. 9 at 7:05 p.m. (MST) at Moby Arena in Fort Collins, Colo. The game will be televised on The mtn. The Runnin' Utes then face New Mexico on Saturday, Jan. 13 at 7:05 p.m. (MST) in Albuquerque, N.M.

QUICKLY ON UTAH
The Runnin' Utes (5-9, 0-1 MWC) play their first Mountain West Conference home game against the TCU Horned Frogs (9-4, 1-0 MWC) on Saturday at 7:05 p.m. (MST) at the Jon M. Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City. The game will be televised on The mtn. (Comcast 37 in Salt Lake City) and broadcast on Sports Radio 700 The Zone.

Utah has dropped four of its last five games, including three in a row. The Utes closed out their nonconference schedule with a 59-58 loss to Albany on Dec. 28 in the Huntsman Center. Utah then lost its Mountain West opener at UNLV, 97-94 in double overtime, on Wednesday night. Utah is 4-3 at home this season.

Sophomore center Luke Nevill (7-1, 265) is the Utes' leading scorer (18.2 ppg) and rebounder (8.3 rpg). He is shooting 67.1 percent from the field and also has a team-best 12 blocked shots. Junior guard Johnnie Bryant (6-0, 180) is second on the team in scoring (15.1 ppg) and has connected on 44.2 percent (46-for-104) of his 3-point attempts and 78.1 percent of his free throws. Bryant is tied for the team lead in assists (2.35 apg). Sophomore forward Shaun Green (6-8, 208) is third on the team in scoring (12.5 ppg), tied for first in assists (2.35 apg) and second in rebounding (6.4 rpg). He is shooting 57.8 percent from the field and 57.8 percent (37-for-64) from 3-point range. Green also leads the Utes in steals (16) and is second in blocked shots (7).

In the latest NCAA statistical rankings released on Jan. 2, Utah ranked fourth in 3-point percentage (43.8), 12th in field goal percentage (50.7), 72nd in 3-pointers made per game (7.6), 37th in free throw percentage (73.2), 46th in turnovers per game (13.5), 66th in rebound margin (+4.6 rpg) and 78th in personal fouls per game (17.5). Green ranked first in the nation in 3-point percentage (61.1). Nevill was second in field goal percentage (70.2), 48th in points per game (18.6) and 62nd in rebounds per game (8.2). Bryant was 25th in 3-pointers made per game (3.2) and 53rd in 3-point percentage (43.2).

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 71.8 percent of Utah's points, 85.7 percent of its rebounds, 61.4 percent of its assists and 69.8 percent of its minutes.

? Six of Utah's nine losses (Southern Utah, Colorado, Utah State, Rhode Island, Albany and UNLV) have come by a combined 12 points. The Utes have lost three games by one point and three by three points.

? The Utes have shot at least 50 percent from 3-point range seven times and at least 50 percent from the field seven times in 14 games this season.

? Utah is 0-5 this season when opponents shoot at least 50 percent from the field and 2-9 when they shoot at least 40 percent from 3-point range.

? The Runnin' Utes entered the Mountain West Conference season with a 5-8 record. The last time Utah entered league play with a losing record was in 1984-85, when it was 5-7 under Lynn Archibald. The Utes finished 15-16 overall and 6-6 in the WAC to place sixth. This was also the Utes' worst pre-conference record since going 3-8 in 1972-73 under Bill Foster.

TILLIE OUT FOR THE SEASON
? Freshman forward Kim Tillie fractured his left ankle in practice on Jan. 1 and is expected to be out the rest of the season. Tillie, from Cagnes-sur-Mer, France, played in 11 games this season, averaging 2.1 points and 1.5 rebounds in 7.4 minutes per game.

DEANE BACK FOR TCU GAME
? Freshman forward Daniel Deane has been dealing with an academic issue this past week but is expected to play against TCU on Saturday. He sat out the UNLV game on Wednesday. Deane has appeared in all 13 games with two starts. The Park City, Utah, native is averaging 2.7 points and 2.3 rebounds in 10.8 minutes per game.

SCOUTING TCU
The Horned Frogs are 9-4 overall and 1-2 on the road this season. TCU has won two in a row and five of its last six games. Following a 63-51 win over Texas-San Antonio on Dec 27, the Horned Frogs opened their league schedule with a 64-52 win over New Mexico at home on Wednesday night.

Sophomore forward Kevin Langford (6-8, 242) leads TCU in scoring (10.7 ppg) and is second in rebounding (5.6 rpg). Junior guard Brent Hackett (6-2, 203) is the second-leading scorer (9.8 ppg) and is shooting 33.8 percent (25-for-74) from 3-point range. Junior forward Alvardo Parker (6-8, 218) leads TCU in rebounding (6.4 rpg) and blocked shots (34), and is third in scoring (9.5 rpg). Senior guard Neil P. Dougherty (6-0, 195) leads the team in assists (3.1 apg).

TCU ranks ninth in the MWC in scoring (62.8 ppg), second in scoring defense (60.2 ppg) and fourth in rebound margin (+3.4 rpg).

COMPARING THE NUMBERS


          Utah   TCUOverall Record  5-9 9-4MWC Record  0-1 1-0Scoring          70.6   62.8Scoring Defense 69.0    60.2FG%          .504   .420FG% Defense .493    .4013-Pt. FG%            .442   .3263-Pt. FG% Defense   .476    .322FT%          .740   .572Rebound Margin  +5.3    +3.4Assists          14.2   13.0Turnovers            13.8   19.0Opp. Turnovers  11.5    17.5Steals           4.6    8.3Blocked Shots   1.8 4.3

HORNED FROG HEAD COACH NEIL DOUGHERTY
Neil Dougherty is in his fifth season at TCU with a record of 57-79. In 2004-05, his best season at TCU, Dougherty led the Horned Frogs to a 21-14 record, the NIT quarterfinals and an eighth-place finish in Conference USA with an 8-8 record. Last season, TCU went 6-25 overall and placed ninth in the MWC with a 2-14 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 10th time on Saturday evening. The Runnin' Utes lead the all-time series 7-2. The series dates back to a 72-55 win by the U. on Dec. 14, 1953 in Salt Lake City.

? The Utes had won five in a row in the series before the Horned Frogs won the second meeting last season, 69-65, on March 1, 2006 in Fort Worth, Texas.

? Utah has a 5-1 edge over TCU in games played in Salt Lake City and has won three in a row. The Horned Frogs' only win in Salt Lake City was 71-66 on Dec. 13, 1958. Last season in the Huntsman Center, Utah prevailed 80-45 on Jan. 28.

? In conference games, Utah has a 3-1 advantage. Before last year, Utah and TCU also met as members of the 16-team WAC. The Utes 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.

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Utah Men's Basketball Preview - Game 15

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Johnnie Bryant

Shaun Green

Luke Nevill

Kim Tillie

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