Completed Event: Men's Basketball versus No. 9-Seed Cincinnati (1st Round) on March 10, 2026 , Loss , 66, to, 73
Final Score
Men's Basketball
66
vs No. 9-Seed Cincinnati (1st Round)
73
The University of Utah Athletics
Utes Host Cal on Wednesday
1/26/2016 12:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 26, 2016
GAME 21 | UTAH Utes (15-5, 4-3) vs. CALIFORNIA Golden Bears (14-6, 4-3)
When: Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2016 | 9 p.m. (MST)
Where: Jon M. Huntsman Center | Salt Lake City, Utah
Television: ESPNU | Roy Philpott (PxP), Adrian Branch (Analyst)
Radio: Utah Sports Radio Network (ESPN 700) | Bill Riley (PxP), Jimmy Soto (Analyst)
Live Stats: UtahUtes.com
Complete Utah Basketball Game Notes
FAST BREAKS
> Utah is coming off its first-ever Pac-12 road sweep over a pair of teams from the same state, following a 92-71 victory over Washington State last Thursday and a 80-75 overtime win over Washington this past Sunday.
> The Golden Bears have won two straight after sweeping both Arizona teams. Cal defeated Arizona State 75-70 last Thursday and proceeded to defeat then No. 12-ranked Arizona, 74-73, on Saturday.
> Sophomore Jakob Poeltl became the first-ever Utah player to earn three Pac-12 Player of the Week honors. He is the first player since 2008-09 to be named Player of the Week at least three times in the same season.
> As of Jan. 25, Utah moved up to No. 17 in the NCAA RPI Rankings. Utah has the second-best RPI ranking among Pac-12 teams, following only Oregon at No. 6.
> Utah's three-game winning streak is currently the league's longest unbeaten streak. The Utes are in a six-way tie for second place heading into the week.
THE GAME
The Utah Runnin' Utes (15-5, 4-3) return home to the Jon M. Huntsman Center this Wednesday, Jan. 27, to face California (14-6, 4-3) in Pac-12 play. The Utes and Golden Bears are set to tip-off at 9 p.m. in Salt Lake City.
BLACKOUT
The Utah Men's Basketball team is hosting the California Golden Bears in their annual BLACKOUT game on Wednesday. Fans are encouraged to wear black and come early, the first 3,000 fans in attendance will receive a Utah Blackout Flag. The national anthem will be sung by Allison Brown and there will be a special halftime performance by the Utah Jazz Dunk Team. For more information on gameday promotions, visit UtahUtes.com, or for more information on tickets, visit UtahTickets.com.
COVERING THE UTES
Wednesday's contest will be televised live on ESPNU. Roy Philpott will call the action, while Adrian Branch provides color commentary for the game.
Fans can also follow Wednesday's game online at www.espn.go.com/watchespn or via smart phone/tablet by downloading the Watch ESPN App.
Additionally, the game can be found on the Utah Sports Radio Network (ESPN 700). Bill Riley will provide play-by-play, with the assistance of in-game analyst Jimmy Soto.
Live stats will be provided for Wednesday's contest, with links to GameTracker found on-line at www.UtahUtes.com.
LAST TIME OUT
Utah picked up its third straight road win and notched the program's first-ever weekend sweep away from the Huntsman Center after downing Pac-12-best Washington, 80-75 in overtime at Alaska Airlines Arena in Seattle on Sunday.
After shooting just 28 percent from the field in the first half, Utah came out and notched a 51.5 percent effort in the second half, but both teams finished regulation tied 66-66.
Utah opened the overtime period with a buckets from junior Lorenzo Bonam and sophomore Jakob Poeltl to take a four-point lead, but UW countered with a three-pointer at the other end of the floor. The Utes were saddled with just one more field goal in OT, but did manage to go 8-for-10 from the free throw line, en route to the five-point victory.
Poeltl recorded a double-double with 29 points and 10 rebounds, while sophomore Kyle Kuzma added a double-double with 11 points and 10 boards. Poeltl was 8-of-14 from the field, but impressed at the free throw line with a 13-of-16 effort.
#ROADWARRIORS
With a win at Washington State and at Washington this past weekend, Utah recorded its first two-game road sweep in Pac-12 Conference play since joining the league in 2011.
The Utes had three straight road wins last season, but all three games were either separated by a home game or, in the case of defeating Colorado in Boulder, the game came at the end of a road swing through Oregon.
POELTL NEARS 30-MARK AT UW
Sophomore Jakob Poeltl poured in 29 points and posted 10 points in Utah's win at Washington on Sunday. It marked the second-most points scored by the big man, following only his career-high of 32 points, which he tallied against Temple back on Nov. 21 in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
It was Poeltl's ninth double-double of the season and the 12th of his career.
POELTL NOW A THREE-TIME PAC-12 POW
Sophomore Jakob Poeltl was named the Pac-12 Player of the Week for the third time this season after earning the honor earlier this week. Along with Monday's honor, he was also tabbed the POW back on Nov. 23 and Dec. 21.
Poeltl becomes the first player in school history to be named Pac-12 POW three times in a career. He also becomes the first Ute player to record at least three player of the week honors since 2008-09 when Luke Nevill was a five-time conference player of the week honoree when Utah was a member of the Mountain West Conference.
POELTL TABBED NATIONAL WEEKLY AWARD WINNER
The U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) has selected Jakob Poeltl as its Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week for games ending the week of Sunday, Jan. 24.
Poeltl becomes the first player from the Pac-12 to receive the award since Dec. 2012 (Shabazz Muhammad, UCLA) and is just the fourth Pac-12 player to earn the award since its creation in 2009.
He is the first-ever Utah player to earn the national honor.
OFFENSIVE ONSLAUGHT
Utah's 92-point effort against Washington State last Thursday was not only the Utes' most points scored in a Pac-12 game, but it also marked the first time that Utah scored 90 points or more in a conference game since a 94-88 overtime win over BYU back on Jan. 27, 2009, when the program was a member of the Mountain West Conference.
Utah followed its 92-point effort with 80 points against Washington, giving the Utes 80 or more points in back-to-back conference games for the first time ever in Pac-12 play and the first time since Jan. 13 and 16, 2007, when Utah tallied 82 points in a loss to New Mexico and followed with 85 points in a win against Air Force.
BRACKETOLOGY
As of Jan. 25, according to ESPN's Joe Lunardi, the Utes are currently a No. 8 seed in the Midwest Region. In Lunardi's latest bracket, he has the Utes facing No. 9-seeded Gonzaga in the first round in Des Moines, Iowa.
USA Today has Utah as a No. 6 seed and facing No. 11-seeded VCU in Denver, while BracketMatrix.com also has Utah as a No. 6 seed.
RPI WATCH
As of Jan. 26, Utah's RPI ranking at NCAA.com was No. 16, while coming in at No. 18 in ESPN's RPI rankings.
Pac-12 RPI Rankings (NCAA):
5. Oregon
16. Utah
23. Colorado
24. USC
29. Arizona
38. California
47. Oregon State
48. Stanford
50. Stanford
UTAH IN PAC-12 PLAY
Now in its fifth season of Pac-12 play, the Utes are 34-45 overall against conference foes. Utah tallied its best record in the league play after posting a 13-5 record in 2014-15.
Utah is 23-15 all-time in Pac-12 games played at home and 11-30 in conference games played on the road.
UP NEXT
Utah will close out the week hosting Stanford, this Saturday, Jan. 30, with a tip-off time scheduled for 3 p.m. at the Huntsman Center.
Players Mentioned
Crimson Corner with Bill Riley - Former Runnin’ Ute Branden Carlson
Tuesday, May 19
Crimson Corner with Bill Riley - College football analyst Yogi Roth
Wednesday, May 06
Utah Basketball Media Availability | 3.2.26
Monday, March 02
Crimson Corner with Bill Riley - Utah Basketball General Manager Wes Wilcox
Wednesday, February 25