Runnin' Utes Head to Desert to Face #17/17 Arizona on Thursday

Thursday, January 5

Tucson, Ariz.

8:00 PM

University of Utah

Arizona

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Runnin' Utes Head to Desert to Face #17/17 Arizona on Thursday

1/2/2017 4:15 PM | Men's Basketball

Complete Game Notes (PDF)

Utah coming off 76-60 conference-opening victory against Colorado

GAME #14 \| UTAH (10-3, 1-0) at #17/17 ARIZONA (13-2, 2-0)
DATE/TIME	Thursday, Jan. 5 \| 8 p.m. MST
LOCATION	McKale Center \| Tucson, Ariz.
TELEVISION	Fox Sports 1
TV TALENT	Aaron Goldsmith (PxP) \| Bill Raftery (Color)
RADIO	ESPN 700
RADIO TALENT	Bill Riley (PxP \| Jimmy Soto (Color)
LIVE STATS	Live Stats
SERIES/STREAK	Wildcats lead 30-29 \| Utah, Won 1
LAST GAME	Utah 70, Arizona 64 (Feb. 27, 2016)

FAST BREAKS
> Utah (10-3, 1-0) hits the road in Pac-12 play for the first time this season, as the team travels to Tucson, Ariz., to take on the #17/17 Arizona Wildcats (13-2, 2-0) this Thursday, Jan. 5, at the McKale Center.
> Utah is coming off a 76-60 conference-opening win over Colorado in Salt Lake City this past Sunday.
> Arizona opened Pac-12 play with wins over California and Stanford this past weekend.
> The Wildcats lead the all-time series 30-29, which includes a 17-8 mark against the Utes in Tucson.
> Utah defeated Arizona, 70-64, in the only meeting between the two teams last season.
> The Utes rank fifth or better among Pac-12 teams in 12 different statistical categories. Utah leads the league in rebound margin (+10.1), while ranking second in both scoring margin (+16.4) and field goal percentage (.504).
> Junior Kyle Kuzma returned to the line-up following a minor ankle injury, scoring 14 points and grabbing six rebounds against Colorado on Sunday.
> Sophomore Sedrick Barefield registered new season/career-highs against the Buffs with eight assists, three steals and four rebounds.

THE GAME
The Utah Runnin' Utes (10-3, 1-0 Pac-12) head to the desert this week for a pair of match-ups between both Arizona squads. The Utes will open with Arizona (13-2, 2-0) this Thursday, Jan. 5, in Tucson, Ariz. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. MST.

COVERING THE RUNNIN' UTES
Thursday's contest will be televised live on the FS1. Aaron Goldsmith will call the action, while Bill Raftery provides color commentary for the game.

Fans can also follow the action on-line by logging onto FoxSportsGo.com or watching via smart phones and tablets using the Fox Sports GO Apps, which can be downloaded at the Apple Store, Google Play Store or Amazon Apps Store.

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 with links to the contest found at www.UtahUtes.com or www.StatBroadcast.com.

LAST TIME OUT
The Utes are coming off a 76-60 conference-opening win over Colorado this past Sunday at the Huntsman Center.
• Utah moved to 2-4 all-time in Pac-12 openers, recording its first win in a league-opener since downing USC in 2014-15.
• CU opened the game with a 10-2 run, but Utah responded with its own 10-2 run to tie the game at 12-12.
• The Buffs would take a six-point lead, up 20-14, but again the Utes countered and closed out the rest of the half with a 22-9 run to lead 36-29 at the break.
• Junior Kyle Kuzma returned to action following an ankle injury he suffered in Hawaii, registering 14 points, six rebounds and two steals.
• Senior Lorenzo Bonam led the Utes in scoring with 15 points, which included a perfect 3-for-3 effort from downtown.
• Junior David Collette notched 14 points for the Utes - his fifth double-digit scoring effort in as many games since making his Utah debut back on Dec. 17.
• Sophomore Sedrick Barefield dished out a season-high eight assists and also recorded three steals in the contest.
• Utah shot 52.5 percent (32-of-61) from the field against the Buffs - Utah's best shooting percentage in a conference-opener since a 59 percent effort against the Trojans in 2015.

ABOUT ARIZONA
• The Wildcats opened Pac-12 play with a pair wins over the Bay Area schools, downing California in its league-opener, 67-62, and then recording a 91-52 win over Stanford.
• Arizona is 13-2 overall and has won seven straight games since falling to Gonzaga, 69-62, back on Dec. 3.
• The Wildcats 74.3 points per game ranks seventh in the Pac-12, but Arizona is giving up just 60.3 points to opposing squads, which ranks second in the league.
• The Wildcats have four players averaging double figures on the season, but are led by Lauri Markkanen's 15.8 points per game. Markkanen also leads the team with 7.3 rebounds per contest.
• Despite playing in just nine games this season, Parker Jackson-Cartwright has a team-high 47 assists on the year. Kadeem Allen follows with 41 assists in 15 games played.
• Allen leads Arizona with 21 steals on the season, while Keanu Pinder has a team-high 16 blocked shots.
• Dusan Ristic leads his squad with a .560 shooting percentage, while seven-footer Markkanen shoots a team-best .490 from three-point range and a .836 effort from the free throw line.

SERIES HISTORY
Arizona leads the all-time series 30-29, but Utah won the only meeting between the two teams last season, downing the Wildcats 70-64 at the Huntsman Center. Prior to the defeat to Utah, Arizona had won 12 straight against the Utes and is 9-1 all-time since Utah became a member of the Pac-12 Conference.

Utah is just 8-17 all-time when facing the Wildcats in Tucson, with its last win coming back on Dec. 6, 1986. The Utes have dropped six straight at McKale Center dating back to 1992.

KUZMA BACK IN ACTION
Junior Kyle Kuzma returned to Utah's starting line-up on Sunday after suffering a minor ankle injury at the Diamond Head Classic. The Flint, Mich., native scored 14 points and posted six rebounds in his return. Kuzma also tied a season-high with two steals on the evening.

Kuzma heads into the week averaging 14.4 points and a team-best 9.8 rebounds per game. He is tied for second on the team with 32 total assists.

COLLETTE NOTCHES DOUBLE-DIGITS AGAIN
Junior David Collette notched a double-figure scoring effort for the fifth time in as many games with 14 points in Utah's win over Colorado on Sunday. The Murray, Utah, native has scored 10 points or more in each game since debuting with the Utes back on Dec. 17.

Collette registered a season-high 18 points against San Francisco to go along with a pair of 17-point efforts against Hawaii and Stephen F. Austin.

BONAM PERFECT FROM DOWNTOWN
Senior Lorenzo Bonam not only set a new career-high with three three-pointers made against Colorado, but he was a perfect 3-of-3 while doing so.

Bonam was a perfect 100 percent from beyond the arc for just the fifth time in his career, but it was the first time in his two years at the U making at least three-of-three from the arc.

DISHING WITH BAREFIELD
Sophomore Sedrick Barefield dished out a season-high eight assists in Utah's win over Colorado on Sunday, surpassing his original high mark of four assists he tallied in his Utah debut against Prairie View A&M back on Dec. 17. The Corona, Calif., native also managed to record season-high in both rebounds (4) and steals (3).

DANIELS AND BONAM AMONG LEAGUE LEADERS
Senior Lorenzo Bonam leads the team and ranks third in the Pac-12 with a .594 field goal percentage on the season, while freshman Devon Daniels ranks second on the team and fourth in the league converting .585 percent of his field goal attempts this season.

ZAMORA CONVERTING AT FREE THROW LINE
Junior JoJo Zamora has converted .839 percent of his free throw attempts on the season, which ranks first on the team and No. 5 overall in the Pac-12. Zamora is 26-of-31 from the charity stripe this season.

CLEANING THE GLASS
Utah leads the league and ranks eighth in the nation with a +10.1 rebound margin. The Utes have tallied 40.8 rebounds per game, while giving up just 30.7 boards to opposing squads. Utah's 40.8 boards per game ranks second in the Pac-12 and 24th in the nation.

Junior Kyle Kuzma ranks fourth in the conference and 33rd in the nation with 9.8 rebounds per game, while his 7.0 defensive rebounds per game ranks 28th among all players in the NCAA.

HOME SWEET HUNTSMAN
The Utes moved to 8-1 overall at home on the season, while picking up its eighth straight home win over a Pac-12 opponent dating back to last season.

Since the 2013-14 season, Utah is 58-5 overall when playing games inside the Huntsman Center and 24-4 in home contests against Pac-12 teams.

UTAH IN PAC-12 PLAy
Utah pushed its record to 44-47 overall in league play since joining the Pac-12 in 2011-12. The Utes finished second in the league last season with a 13-5 record, while also going 13-5 in 2014-15 and 9-9 back in 2013-14.

UP NEXT
Utah will close out its two-game road swing through the desert against Arizona State on Saturday, Jan. 7. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. MST at Wells Fargo Arena and the game will be televised on the Pac-12 Network.