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The University of Utah Athletics
Tuesday, March 27
New York, N.Y.
5:00 PM
University of Utah
vs
Western Kentucky
Runnin' Utes Set for NIT Semifinals in New York
3/24/2018 10:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Utah will take on Western Kentucky Tuesday evening at Madison Square Garden
| NIT SEMIFINALS: Utah (22-11) vs. Western Kentucky (27-10) |
| WHERE: New York, N.Y. (Madison Square Garden) |
| WHEN: Tuesday, March 27 |
| TIP-OFF: 7 p.m. ET/5 p.m. MT |
| TELEVISION: ESPN / WatchESPN (Bob Wischusen and Fran Fraschilla) |
| RADIO: ESPN700 / Utah Radio Sports Network (Bill Riley and Jimmy Soto) |
| LIVESTATS: StatBroadcast |
| Utah Game Notes | Western Kentucky Game Notes |
THE GAME
The Utah Runnin' Utes (22-11) will be making its fourth NIT Final Four appearance this coming Tuesday, March 27. The Utes will take on the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (27-10) in the first semifinal that will be played at Madison Square Garden in New York, N.Y. Tip-off between the Utes and Hilltoppers is set for 7 p.m. ET.
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COVERING THE RUNNIN' UTES
Tuesday's contest against the Hilltoppers will be televised live on ESPN. Bob Wischusen will call the action and Fran Fraschilla will be on-hand to offer color commentary for the broadcast.
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Fans can also follow the action on-line by logging onto watchespn.com or watching via smart phones and tablets using the ESPN or WatchESPN Apps, which can be downloaded at the Apple Store, Google Play Store or Amazon Apps Store.
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Additionally, the contest can be found on the Utah Sports Radio Network (ESPN 700). Bill Riley will provide play-by-play commentary, with the assistance of in-game analyst Jimmy Soto.
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Live stats will be provided for the game with links found at www.UtahUtes.com.
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UTAH IN THE NIT
This marks the 44th post-season appearance in school history, and the 14th appearance for the Utes in the NIT. Utah is making its second-consecutive NIT appearance after earning an at-large bid into the tournament last season.
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Following its win over Saint Mary's in the quarterfinal round, the Utes are now 14-12 all-time in the NIT. Utah won the NIT in 1947 as head coach Vadal Peterson's team defeated Kentucky (49-45) behind the play of Vern Gardner, who was named the tournament's MVP. The Utes reached the NIT Championship again in 1974, but fell to Purdue. Despite the loss, Mike Sojourner was named MVP.
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In 1992, Utah lost in the semifinals to Notre Dame but won the third-place game against Florida. The Utes fell to Memphis in the first-round of the 1992 NIT Championship.
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Utah is 4-2 all-time when playing NIT games in Salt Lake City, 2-3 in NIT road games and 8-7 all-time when playing NIT games at Madison Square Garden in New York.
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THE NIT FINAL FOUR FIELD
Utah remains the highest seeded team in the Final Four. The Utes are the No. 2 seed out of the Saint Mary's quadrant, while Western Kentucky, Penn State and Mississippi State are all No. 4 seeds.
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Utah advanced to the Final four following home wins over No. 7 UC Davis and No. 3 LSU. The Utes defeated No. 1 Saint Mary's on the road.
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Western Kentucky, the No. 4 seed out of the USC quadrant, defeated Boston College at home in the opening round and then went on the road to defeat No. 1 USC in the second round. The Hilltoppers advanced to the Final Four following a road win over No. 2 Oklahoma State this past Monday.
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Penn State was the No. 4 seed out of the Notre Dame quadrant, where they defeated No. 5 Temple at home, No. 1 Notre Dame on the road and No. 2 Marquette, which also came on the road.
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Mississippi State was also a No. 4 seed, coming out of the Baylor quadrant. The Bulldogs defeated No. 5 Nebraska at home in the opening round and then went on the road to defeat No. 1 Baylor and No. 2 Louisville.
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SCOUTING WESTERN KENTUCKY
The Hilltoppers are 27-10 overall on the season and finished third in Conference USA with a record of 14-4. Western Kentucky has won five of its past six games, which included a pair of wins in the C-USA Tournament. The Hilltoppers fell in the championships game, 67-66, to Marshall.
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All five WKU starters are averaging double-figures on the season and are led by their big man Justin Johnson's 15.4 points per game. He also leads the team on the boards with 9.4 rebounds per game. Darius Thompson (13.9), Taveion Hollingsworth (13.5), Lamonte Bearden (11.8) and Dwight Coleby (11.1) are each posting double-digit scoring averages this season, as well.
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Coleby has tallied a team-high 64 blocked shots, while Thompson leads the squad with 57 steals on the season. Thompson also has a team-high 174 assists and Bearden follows with 128 assists on the year.
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The Hilltoppers average 78.8 points a game with a .497 field goal shooting percentage. They shoot .353 from beyond the arc and .716 from the charity stripe.
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HISTORY WITH THE HILLTOPPERS
Tuesday's meeting will mark the first-ever meeting between the Utes and Hilltoppers.
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This will also mark Utah's first meeting against a Conference USA team this season and first meeting against a C-USA based team since 2007-08. The Utes last game against a C-USA member came in the quarterfinals of the CBI Tournament, when the Utes fell to Tulsa, 69-60, in Tulsa. The Utes met UTEP in the first round of the CBI Tournament that season as well, downing the Minors, 81-69, in El Paso. Utah defeated current C-USA member, UT-San Antonio, in the regular season of the 2009-10 season, but the Roadrunners were still a member of the Southland Conference.
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Utah is 44-32 all-time against teams that currently align Conference USA.
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LAST TIME OUT FOR THE UTES
Utah opened the fourth quarter against St. Mary's down five points, 39-34, but managed to tie the game at the end of regulation behind Tyler Rawson's eight-point fourth quarter effort. Utah would go onto win the game, out-scoring the Gaels 13-4 in the overtime period.
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Sedrick Barefield scored nine of his game-high 19 points in overtime, going 3-for-3 from three-point range. Gabe Bealer knocked down Utah's other three-pointer in the period and the Utes managed to pick up its first NIT road win since 1992 when Utah downed Arizona State in Tempe, Ariz., during second-round action of the tournament.
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Utah shot .481 from the field overall, which included a 12-of-27 effort (.318) from downtown. The Utah defense stifled Saint Mary's to just 58 points and a combined .404 field goal shooting percentage. It was SMC's lowest point total of the season and it marked the lowest point total for the Gaels at home since defeating Portland 51-41 at McKeon Pavilion back on Feb. 9, 2017.
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Players Mentioned
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