Utah Men's Basketball Begins with Ball State on Friday

11/10/2014 12:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Nov. 10, 2014

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Game Information
Utah vs. Ball State
Date: Friday, Nov. 14
Tip Time: 8 p.m.
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah
Arena: Jon M. Huntsman Center
TV: Pac-12 Networks
Radio: ESPN 700
Promotion: Season Ticket Holder Appreciation Night

Fast Breaks
> Utah is 2-0 all-time vs. Ball State, winning last year in SLC 88-69
> Utah is 7-4 all-time vs. teams from the Mid-American Conference
> Former Utah head coach Rick Majerus also served in the same capacity at Ball State (1987-89)
> Utah will start the season in the top 25 for the first time since the 2000-01 season
> Utah has been ranked for a total of 230 weeks with a record of 296-90 (.767)
> Utah will be playing three Top-20 teams in the non-conference portion of its schedule for the first time since 1996 (No. 5 Kansas, No. 11 Wichita State and No. 16 San Diego State)
> Delon Wright was named to the Cousy Award Watch List which is awarded to the top point guard in the nation

Full Court Friday
Pac-12 Networks is providing FREE access to ten Pac-12 Men's Basketball season openers on Full Court Friday. No username or password will be required to watch any Pac-12 digital platform starting at 4:30 p.m. PT/5:30 p.m. MT that day.

UHSAA Football Parking Resolutions
In an effort to address some of the concerns with high school football at RES this Friday, three additional shuttles that run from the north end of campus to the bus cut-out in front of the Huntsman Arena have been provided pre and post-game. There will be pop up tents and lights at each stop (When UHSAA football is over, the shuttles will move to Lot 40 on Guardsman).

Last Time Out
Utah pasted Pacific (Ore.) on Thursday evening, 98-38, in its lone exhibition game. Jordan Loveridge scored 20 points to go along with four rebounds to lead the Utes. Freshmen Brekkott Chapman (14 points, five rebounds) and Jakob Poeltl (nine points, 11 rebounds) played well in their first collegiate contests.

Clamping Down on "D"
A big reason for Utah's improvement last season was the defensive effort. The Utes ranked second among Pac-12 teams in defensive points per possession. Utah also excelled in guarding the 3-point line, limiting opponents to a league low 30.8 percent from beyond the arc.

Offensive Efficiency
Utah was one of the most efficient teams offensively last season, converting 48.8 percent of its field-goal tries. The Utes won 15 games by double figures and finished the season ranked 15th in scoring margin, beating opponents by an average of 10.8 points.

Multi-Dimensional Delon
Delon Wright was Utah's first All-Pac-12 performer after a breakthrough campaign. The guard was also named to the All-Defensive Team after finishing 10th in the nation in steals per game.

His 82 steals were second only to Andre Miller's single-season mark of 84 and also had one of the best single-season assist marks with 174 (5.3 per game).

Wright led the league in minutes played (36.4 per game) and ranked among the Pac-12's top 15 in field goal percentage (3rd), assist/turnover ratio (5th), blocks (6th), scoring (10th), rebounding (12th) and free-throw percentage (13th).

In the off-season, Wright was one of 30 collegiate players nationwide invited to take part in the LeBron James Skills Academy. He was also named the 2014 Collegiate Athlete of the Year for the state of Utah.

Loveridge Making Leap
Jordan Loveridge became the first player in program history to earn a weekly honor from the conference, another accolade for this local player who helped changed the program's culture.

Loveridge is currently 22nd all-time in scoring average at Utah (13.4 ppg). He only needs 128 points to become the 37th player in team history to eclipse the 1,000 point mark.

Last season, Loveridge ranked 10th in the Pac-12 in rebounding (7.0) and 12th in scoring (14.7), while racking up six double-doubles.

Taylor Trending Upward
Brandon Taylor enters this season needing only 11 3-pointers to crack the top-10 all-time at Utah. His accuracy also has him
among the Utah greats as he is 10th all-time with a 40.5 3-point percentage.

Taylor is also an astute point guard, finishing sixth in the conference in assist/turnover ratio and 11th in assists per game.

Bachynski Bringing It
The Canadian big man had one of the most effective scoring seasons in Utah history. Dallin Bachynski shot 62 percent from the floor, the 4th-highest total ever by a Ute.

Ogbe Overseas
While some players were relaxing this off-season, Kenneth Ogbe suited up for the U-20 German National Team. Last season, he shot 47 percent on 3-pointers, the best mark for a Utah freshman in program history.

Runnin' Ute Newcomers
The Utes added five scholarship players for this season; Brekkott Chapman, Kyle Kuzma, Isaiah Wright, Jakob Poeltl and Chris Reyes.

Kuzma, a four-star commit was ranked by Scout.com as one of the best power forward recruits in the country. Chapman, a local product, was ranked as high as No. 12 in the class of 2014 by ESPN. Wright was named the Idaho Gatorade Player of the Year and MVP of the state title game.

Poeltl captained the U-12 Austrian National team at the European Championships and Reyes, a transfer from St. Mary's (CA) and Citrus College, was named the Western State Conference MVP.

Utah Tradition
The Utes have a long and outstanding history of basketball excellence. Utah is among the top 15 all-time in Division 1 for wins and winning percentage while also ranking fifth with 32 conference championships.

Utah ranks well when compared with its other Pac-12 comrades. The Utes are third among schools in the Conference of Champions when it comes to NCAA Tournament bids and is one of six schools in the league to have won a national championship.

Striving for Success in the Classroom
Head coach Larry Krystkowiak has put an emphasis on excellence on the court and in the classroom during his tenure. Last year, four players were named to the Dean's List (3.5), eight to the Honor Roll (3.0) and 14 players achieved a GPA above a 2.7.

Jeremy Olsen and Brandon Taylor were each named to the Pac-12 All-Academic First Team and a record five Utes earned accolades (Lenz, Tucker, Bachynski). Three players were named to the NABC Honors Court, one of only three Pac-12 schools to be recognized and Taylor was selected to the Capital One Academic All-District squad.

Team Together
The Utes take part in a number of community outreach programs such as participating in the Huntsman 5K for Cancer Research, Utah Food Bank drives, holiday toy drives and university healthcare appearances.

This off-season, the team also took part in a Navy SEAL program to help build mental and physical toughness. This unique team-building experience benefitted the coaches and student-athletes involved by preparing them for the rigors of the upcoming season.

Increased Visibility
All 30 regular-season men's basketball contests will be televised this season with 14 games on the Pac-12 Networks, a program-record 13 on ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU and three on Fox Sports 1.

This marks a new visibility standard for the Utes who were on an ESPN channel a total of five times during the first three years in the Pac-12. It also eclipses the program mark set by the 1999-2000 and 2003-04 teams who were on an ESPN channel 12 times during their respective regular seasons.

Utah Athletics Participates in Native American Heritage Month
The Utah athletics department will join the Ute tribe in celebrating Native American Heritage Month in November.

The Ute Proud campaign unveiled by the athletics department and the Ute tribe two months ago will expand from primarily an educational effort to a celebration of the partnership throughout November.

In addition, all Utah sports that are competing in November will host Ute Proud games (Nov. 21 vs. UC Riverside).

The education effort, which is also promoted on UtahUtes.com/UteProud and UteTribe.com, encourages fans to buy Ute Proud t-shirts, the proceeds of which go to Ute Indian tribe scholarships and youth programs.

How I Spent My Summer Vacation ... In China
University of Utah men's basketball head coach Larry Krystkowiak, along with student-athletes Jordan Loveridge, Brandon Taylor and Jeremy Olsen, traveled to China for a four-game all-star tour this summer as part of the Pac-12 Conference's Globalization Initiative.

The aim of the initiative was to help support Pac-12 member universities' international outreach efforts, build their brands in an important market, and provide quality educational and cultural exchange experiences for student-athletes.

Loveridge, Taylor and Olsen helped make up a squad that went 3-0 against two teams from the Chinese Basketball Association and one group of university all-stars. The Pac-12 squad defeated the Shanghai Sharks who are owned by eight-time NBA All-Star Yao Ming and the Guangdong Southern Tigers, 2013-14 Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) regular season champion.

The Tigers' leading Chinese scorer was Yi Jianlian, who played for the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks under Krystkowiak during the 2007-08 season.

In addition to the competition in China, the team participated in various youth clinics, as well as take in the culture and history of China with visits to various landmarks and historical sites in the cities of Shanghai, Nantong and Shenzhen.

Huntsman Renovations
Since the close of last season, the Jon M. Huntsman Center has undergone some drastic changes.

Regarded as one of the top college arenas in the nation since opening its doors in 1969 and serving as a landmark on the U. campus, the Jon M. Huntsman Center is the perfect place to watch a sporting event. With
15,000 chair seats assuring a great view from

anywhere in the arena, it is the largest venue in the Pac-12 Conference.

Listed below are some of the things that fans can experience when they visit the renovated Jon M. Huntsman Center this season.

• Removal of the original ceiling cloud above the scoreboard to accommodate the installation of a new super grid system - the new super grid will improve the ability of the arena to accommodate the increasing event needs for both Athletic and Special Events

• A new maple wood floor surrounded by a defining black border and a large block `U' at center court, ranked third in the nation by a recent ESPN poll

• New energy efficient LED lighting throughout the arena that will increase brightness levels for televised games while reducing operation costs. The same LED lighting has also been installed on the concourse level to increase the brightness for patrons upon entry and during concession stand purchases all at a lower energy output

• This will also accommodate quick on-off status changes so for player introductions the lights can be turned down and spot lights can focus on the team & players

• Total upgrade to a new state-of-the-art sound system that will bring better PA clarity

• New ceiling mounted sound panels that will assist with the legibility of the sound within the arena

• A new curtaining system will allow the upper bowl to be blacked out - creating a more intimate setting for events (less than 9,500 capacity)

• New backdrop curtains provided for commencement

• New graphics on the walls of the lower bowl comprising of a red background and the Circle and Feather, Muss and Crimson Club logos