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Men's Basketball
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Friday, November 8
Salt Lake City, UT
7:00 PM
University of Utah
vs
Mississippi Valley State
Men's Basketball Welcomes Delta Devils for Home-Opener
11/7/2019 12:15 PM | Men's Basketball
The Utah men’s basketball team plays host to Mississippi Valley State this Friday, Nov. 8, for its home-opener.
OPENING TIP
The University of Utah men's basketball team entertains Mississippi Valley State this Friday, Nov. 8, for a 7 p.m. tip-off on the Pac-12 Network for its home-opener. Barry Tompkins will have the call while coaching veteran Ben Braun serves as the analyst on the broadcast.
Heading into Friday's home-opener against MVSU, the Utes are 95-16 overall in home-openers and 18-3 all-time when those home-openers don't serve as the season-opener. Additionally, Utah is 43-7 in home-openers inside the Jon M. Huntsman Center and 5-1 when those home-openers don't serve as the season-openers.
EYING THE DELTA DEVILS
Mississippi Valley State enters Friday's match 0-1 after dropping its season-opener at Iowa State 110-74 on the road in Lindsey Hunter's collegiate head coaching debut. The starters accounted for 80-percent of the team's offense, scoring 59-of-74 total points.
The Delta Devils were led by senior Michael Green, who had 22 points on 10-of-19 shooting with eight assists, three rebounds and two steals. Richard Rivers Jr., who is a 6-11 freshman, was the only other player to reach double-figures with 12 points and four rebounds.
Southern Utah transfer Jordan Lyons was a point shy of a double-double for MVSU, posting nine points and 10 rebounds. Brandon Kimble and Quinton Alston were also shy of the double-double mark. Kimble, a JUCO transfer, had nine points and eight boards, while Alston had eight points and seven boards off the bench in his collegiate debut.
Iowa State took full advantage of the Delta Devils with a 35-3 edge in points off 21 MVSU turnovers while converting 15 offensive rebounds into 22 points. As a team, the Cyclones shot a .517 clip to Mississippi Valley State's .411 shooting clip. MVSU's also took a beating in the paint, scoring just 22 points to ISU's 62.
FOES MEET ONCE AGAIN
Friday's meeting won't be the first time that Utah head coach Larry Krystkowiak and Mississippi Valley State head coach Lindsey Hunter have squared off. The two first met on the hardwood in the NBA on Nov. 17, 1993. Krystkowiak's team during the 1993-95 seasons were 3-1 against Hunter.
Hunter's Detroit Pistons got the best of Krystkowiak's Orlando Magic 98-92 in The Palace of Auburn Hills. Krystkowiak, who was in his seventh season in the league that year had 14 points and five rebounds on 7-of-12 shooting while the rookie, Hunter, had six points and five assists in the win for Orlando.
Later that spring, Krystkowiak's Magic got the better of the Pistons 117-103 on April 8, 1994. This time, Hunter had 17 points, 7 assists and 4 steals while Krystkowiak was held scoreless with five rebounds. A couple weeks later, Krystkowiak (12pts, 4rebs, 3asts) and the Magic took it to Hunter (4pts, 5asts) and the Pistons 132-104.
STANDING TALL
With two 7-footers, Matt Van Komen (7-4) and Brandon Carlson (7-0), Utah is tied with ETSU, Florida State, Saint Mary's, Seton Hall, UT Martin and Washington for the second-most 7-footers on a team. Hawai'i leads the country with a trio of players standing at 7-0.
According to KenPom (thru games on 11/6/19), Utah's average height of 78.5 inches ranks them as the seventh tallest team in the country behind ECU (79.5), Seton Hall (78.9), Gonzaga (78.8), Mississippi State (78.8), Villanova (78.7) and Kansas (78.6).
LAST TIME OUT
With a lot of uncertainty heading into Tuesday's season-opener for both Utah and Nevada, the young Runnin' Utes team showed poise down the stretch on the backs of sophomores Timmy Allen and Both Gach – who poured in 23 and 22 points, respectively. With the win, Utah is now 84-27 overall in season-opening games and 8-13 when opening the season on the road.
Gach went off in the second half for the U, scoring 19 of his 22 points on 7-of-11 shooting – including 3-of-6 from downtown. Allen had 12 of his 23 points in the second frame to go with six rebounds as well. The two not only combined for 31 of the team's 42 points in the final 20 minutes of action, but also scored 12 of the last 17 points in the final 5:36 minutes of play.
Riley Battin had a good showing for the Utes, scoring nine points with six boards while freshman Branden Carlson nearly became the first freshman to post a double-double in a season-opener in five seasons, registering eight points and nine rebounds. Freshman floor general Rylan Jones went for nine points, five rebounds and five assists for the Utes in his debut as well.
As a team the Utes out-rebounded the Wolfpack 51-32 and held Nevada to zero second-chance points with an 8-0 edge in that column. The 51 boards for Utah was the first time they've reached the 50-plus rebound threshold since grabbing 52 against Prairie View A&M on Dec. 27, 2016.
In addition, Allen's double-double of 23 points and 11 rebounds was also the first time a Ute has posted a double-double in a season-opener since Kyle Kuzma (23pts, 19rebs) did so on Nov. 12, 2016. It was also the last a Ute posted 23 points in a season-opener.
UP NEXT
Utah remains at home for one more game, welcoming Minnesota to the Jon M. Huntsman Center for a 7 p.m. (MT) battle on Friday, Nov. 15. Krista Blunk will have the call between the Runnin' Utes and the Gophers while Matt Muehlebach serves as the analyst on the Pac-12 Network broadcast.
LOOKING AHEAD
After wrapping their short homestand, the Utes head off to the Myrtle Beach Invitational (Nov. 21-24) the following week. First up for Utah in the three-game tournament will be host Coastal Carolina before facing either Baylor or Ohio. The Bears were ranked 16th and 18th in the preseason AP Poll and USA Today Coaches Poll, respectively.
The University of Utah men's basketball team entertains Mississippi Valley State this Friday, Nov. 8, for a 7 p.m. tip-off on the Pac-12 Network for its home-opener. Barry Tompkins will have the call while coaching veteran Ben Braun serves as the analyst on the broadcast.
Heading into Friday's home-opener against MVSU, the Utes are 95-16 overall in home-openers and 18-3 all-time when those home-openers don't serve as the season-opener. Additionally, Utah is 43-7 in home-openers inside the Jon M. Huntsman Center and 5-1 when those home-openers don't serve as the season-openers.
EYING THE DELTA DEVILS
Mississippi Valley State enters Friday's match 0-1 after dropping its season-opener at Iowa State 110-74 on the road in Lindsey Hunter's collegiate head coaching debut. The starters accounted for 80-percent of the team's offense, scoring 59-of-74 total points.
The Delta Devils were led by senior Michael Green, who had 22 points on 10-of-19 shooting with eight assists, three rebounds and two steals. Richard Rivers Jr., who is a 6-11 freshman, was the only other player to reach double-figures with 12 points and four rebounds.
Southern Utah transfer Jordan Lyons was a point shy of a double-double for MVSU, posting nine points and 10 rebounds. Brandon Kimble and Quinton Alston were also shy of the double-double mark. Kimble, a JUCO transfer, had nine points and eight boards, while Alston had eight points and seven boards off the bench in his collegiate debut.
Iowa State took full advantage of the Delta Devils with a 35-3 edge in points off 21 MVSU turnovers while converting 15 offensive rebounds into 22 points. As a team, the Cyclones shot a .517 clip to Mississippi Valley State's .411 shooting clip. MVSU's also took a beating in the paint, scoring just 22 points to ISU's 62.
FOES MEET ONCE AGAIN
Friday's meeting won't be the first time that Utah head coach Larry Krystkowiak and Mississippi Valley State head coach Lindsey Hunter have squared off. The two first met on the hardwood in the NBA on Nov. 17, 1993. Krystkowiak's team during the 1993-95 seasons were 3-1 against Hunter.
Hunter's Detroit Pistons got the best of Krystkowiak's Orlando Magic 98-92 in The Palace of Auburn Hills. Krystkowiak, who was in his seventh season in the league that year had 14 points and five rebounds on 7-of-12 shooting while the rookie, Hunter, had six points and five assists in the win for Orlando.
Later that spring, Krystkowiak's Magic got the better of the Pistons 117-103 on April 8, 1994. This time, Hunter had 17 points, 7 assists and 4 steals while Krystkowiak was held scoreless with five rebounds. A couple weeks later, Krystkowiak (12pts, 4rebs, 3asts) and the Magic took it to Hunter (4pts, 5asts) and the Pistons 132-104.
STANDING TALL
With two 7-footers, Matt Van Komen (7-4) and Brandon Carlson (7-0), Utah is tied with ETSU, Florida State, Saint Mary's, Seton Hall, UT Martin and Washington for the second-most 7-footers on a team. Hawai'i leads the country with a trio of players standing at 7-0.
According to KenPom (thru games on 11/6/19), Utah's average height of 78.5 inches ranks them as the seventh tallest team in the country behind ECU (79.5), Seton Hall (78.9), Gonzaga (78.8), Mississippi State (78.8), Villanova (78.7) and Kansas (78.6).
LAST TIME OUT
With a lot of uncertainty heading into Tuesday's season-opener for both Utah and Nevada, the young Runnin' Utes team showed poise down the stretch on the backs of sophomores Timmy Allen and Both Gach – who poured in 23 and 22 points, respectively. With the win, Utah is now 84-27 overall in season-opening games and 8-13 when opening the season on the road.
Huge win for @UtahMBB at Nevada. Coach K has 11 freshman (most in country) and some good ones but sophomores Both Gach & Timmy Allen are All Pac 12 talents some day. Bright future for Utes! Will see them at @MyrtleInvite.
— Fran Fraschilla (@franfraschilla) November 6, 2019
Gach went off in the second half for the U, scoring 19 of his 22 points on 7-of-11 shooting – including 3-of-6 from downtown. Allen had 12 of his 23 points in the second frame to go with six rebounds as well. The two not only combined for 31 of the team's 42 points in the final 20 minutes of action, but also scored 12 of the last 17 points in the final 5:36 minutes of play.
Riley Battin had a good showing for the Utes, scoring nine points with six boards while freshman Branden Carlson nearly became the first freshman to post a double-double in a season-opener in five seasons, registering eight points and nine rebounds. Freshman floor general Rylan Jones went for nine points, five rebounds and five assists for the Utes in his debut as well.
As a team the Utes out-rebounded the Wolfpack 51-32 and held Nevada to zero second-chance points with an 8-0 edge in that column. The 51 boards for Utah was the first time they've reached the 50-plus rebound threshold since grabbing 52 against Prairie View A&M on Dec. 27, 2016.
Got that W vs Nevada??#GoUtes???? pic.twitter.com/SHzEbRLsgy
— Utah Basketball?? (@UtahMBB) November 6, 2019
In addition, Allen's double-double of 23 points and 11 rebounds was also the first time a Ute has posted a double-double in a season-opener since Kyle Kuzma (23pts, 19rebs) did so on Nov. 12, 2016. It was also the last a Ute posted 23 points in a season-opener.
UP NEXT
Utah remains at home for one more game, welcoming Minnesota to the Jon M. Huntsman Center for a 7 p.m. (MT) battle on Friday, Nov. 15. Krista Blunk will have the call between the Runnin' Utes and the Gophers while Matt Muehlebach serves as the analyst on the Pac-12 Network broadcast.
LOOKING AHEAD
After wrapping their short homestand, the Utes head off to the Myrtle Beach Invitational (Nov. 21-24) the following week. First up for Utah in the three-game tournament will be host Coastal Carolina before facing either Baylor or Ohio. The Bears were ranked 16th and 18th in the preseason AP Poll and USA Today Coaches Poll, respectively.
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