Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball versus Grand Canyon on November 25, 2025 at 10 PM
10 PM
Men's Basketball
vs Grand Canyon
.png&width=31&height=31&type=webp)
.png&width=31&height=31&type=webp)
![Oregon [Exh]](https://images.sidearmdev.com/crop?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdxbhsrqyrr690.cloudfront.net%2Fsidearm.nextgen.sites%2Futahutes.com%2Fimages%2Flogos%2Foregon.png&width=31&height=31&type=webp)
![Nevada [Exh]](https://images.sidearmdev.com/crop?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdxbhsrqyrr690.cloudfront.net%2Fsidearm.nextgen.sites%2Futahutes.com%2Fimages%2Flogos%2FNevadaAthletics_Navy.png&width=31&height=31&type=webp)
The University of Utah Athletics
No. 14 Utah Hosts South Dakota State Tomorrow Night
12/22/2014 12:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 22, 2014
GameTracker | Live Radio | Ticket Information | Twitter | Facebook | Game Notes
Game Info
Utah vs. South Dakota State
Date: Tues., Dec. 23
Time: 7 p.m. MT
TV: Pac-12 Networks
Radio: ESPN 700
Promotion: Holiday Theme Night - Support the Runnin' Utes Toy Drive this holiday season by bringing an unwrapped toy to the gates of the Huntsman Center to receive a FREE upper bowl ticket
Utah Fast Breaks
• Utah is one of only seven athletic programs to have a basketball and football program ranked in the respective AP Top 25's (Arizona, Baylor, Louisville, Ohio State, TCU and Wisconsin)
• Utah stayed at No. 14 this week in the Associated Press Poll. With their win over UNLV, Utah earned its 300th win all-time as a ranked program.
• Delon Wright, Pac-12 Player of the Week on 12/15, averaged 17.8 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 2.8 steals during a recent stretch of games against No. 8 WSU, BYU, No. 10 KU and UNLV
• The Utes currently rank second in the Pac-12 in scoring defense (56.8 ppg) and rank 12th nationally in field-goal percentage defense (36.0%).
• Brandon Taylor is fifth in the league at the charity stripe, shooting 87 percent, and also ranks among the top 10 in steals and 3-pointers made. He is also the Ute representative on this year's NABC Good Works Team.
• The Utes entered the 2014-15 season with a 561-143 (.797) all-time record in the facility and have posted winning records in 43 of the building's 45 seasons, including eight undefeated seasons, at home. Last year, the team set a record for wins at the Huntsman Center, going 18-2.
Last Time Out
After a sluggish first half, No. 14 Utah pulled away for a 59-46 victory over UNLV at the MGM Grand Showcase.
Delon Wright scored 17 points and Brandon Taylor had 16 for the Utes. Utah (8-2) had 12 steals - including six by Taylor and four by Wright - to cap a difficult stretch by winning for the third time in four games.
The Utes led 24-23 at halftime before UNLV scored the first two points of the second half to take the lead. However, Utah followed with an 8-0 run to regain the lead and didn't trail again.
The Utes increased the lead to 13 and the Rebels did not get closer than nine over the final 6 minutes.
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.
This year, Utah is fifth in the nation at defending 2-point shots (36.8%) and 12th in defensive floor percentage, which measures the number of opponent offensive possessions in which there is at least one point scored.
Rebounding has been another key defensively with the team ranking second in the Pac-12 in total margin (+8.3).
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.
This season, they are excelling once more in scoring margin, sitting 15th nationally (+18.0). Utah is also currently shooting 49.0 percent from the field, 24th in the nation and 38.2 from 3-point range, third best in the conference.
Utah is 23th in the nation on 2-pointers (54%), 22nd in true shooting percentage and 27th in points per shot. At the stripe, the Utes are 10th in free-throw production (ability to get to the line) and 11th in free-throw rate (percentage of points at the line).
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.
Wright Racking Up Award Nominations Wright was recently named to the preseason watch list for the John Wooden Award. He has also been selected to the Lute Olsen and the Bob Cousy Award Watch Lists.
The Wooden and Olsen awards are given to the player deemed the top collegiate player in the nation. The Cousy award is given to the top collegiate point guard.
Poeltl Putting Up Big Numbers
Jakob Poeltl has burst on to the scene this season for the Utes, leading the Pac-12 by shooting 68 percent from the floor.
Defensively, he is also having an impact, ranking third in the Pac-12 in blocks and fourth in rebounding. Poeltl is also grabbing 38 percent of Utah's offensive rebounds, the 15th-highest percentage in the country.
The Utah freshman records for field goal percentage (58.8) and blocks (44) are each well within the 7-footer's reach.
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 82 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 now ranks 10th all-time at Utah with 115 3-pointers during his career. His accuracy also has him among the Utah greats as he is 10th all-time with a 39.5 3-point percentage.
Taylor is also an astute point guard, finishing sixth in the conference in assist/turnover ratio last season.
Ogbe On The Rise
While some players were relaxing this off-season, Kenneth Ogbe suited up for the U-20 German National Team.
This year, the freshman earned his first collegiate start and responded by scoring a career-high 19 points vs. Alabama State
Last season, he shot 47 percent on 3-pointers, the best mark for a Utah freshman in program history.
He currently ranks fifth in the Pac-12, shooting 47.6 percent from 3-point range.
Balanced Ute Attack
One of the goals of the early season for Coach Krystkowiak was to get more playing time for some of his younger players. So far, this plan seems to be working.
The Utes are 8-2 with the best scoring margin in the league despite only having one player among the top 25 in scoring. Also, after seeing his starters rack up a ton of time on the court last season, Utah has only one player among the top 10 in minutes played (D. Wright - 7th)
New Utes Produce
The Utes added four other scholarship players for this season; Brekkott Chapman, Kyle Kuzma, Isaiah Wright and Chris Reyes.
Kuzma, a four-star commit was ranked by Scout.com as one of the best power forward recruits in the country. He has led the team in scoring twice, including a 19-point performance vs. UC Riverside.
Chapman, a local product, was ranked as high as No. 12 in the class of 2014 by ESPN. He also scored in double figures vs. UC Riverside and is one of the team's top shot blockers.
Wright was named the Idaho Gatorade Player of the Year and MVP of the state title game. He ranks third on the team in assists with two games of five or more helpers.
Reyes, a transfer from St. Mary's (CA) and Citrus College, was named the Western State Conference MVP. He is currently third on the team in rebounding and grabbed a season-high 10 boards at UNLV.
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballUtah: 85, Cal Poly: 92 | Utah Basketball Postgame Press Conference
Friday, November 21
ESPN+ Feature | Utah Basketball's James Okonkwo
Thursday, November 20
Utah: 85, Purdue Fort Wayne: 77 | Utah Basketball Postgame Press Conference
Wednesday, November 19
Utah Basketball Media Availability | 11.17.25
Monday, November 17