#RV/RV Men's Basketball Concludes Non-Con Play with Bellarmine on Wednesday

Wednesday, December 20

Salt Lake City, UT

7:00 PM

University of Utah

Bellarmine

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#RV/RV Men's Basketball Concludes Non-Con Play with Bellarmine on Wednesday

12/18/2023 4:33 PM | Men's Basketball

Utah Game Notes Bellarmine Game Notes SiriusXM Ch. 390

The Utah men’s basketball team closes out non-conference play this Wednesday, Dec. 20, against Bellarmine.

SALT LAKE CITY – The #RV/RV Utah men's basketball team will close out its non-conference slate this Wednesday, Dec. 20, when it welcomes in Bellarmine for a 7 p.m. (MT) tip-off inside the Jon M. Huntsman Center. Krista Blunk and former Pac-12 veteran head coach Ernie Kent will have the call in the first-meeting ever between the Runnin' Utes and Knights on Pac-12 Networks.

ONE OF ONE
Wednesday's game between Utah and Bellarmine will be the first meeting ever between the two programs and will serve as the only team this season the Utes have never played before. Heading into the game against the Knights, the Utes are 8-1 against first-time opponents in the Craig Smith Era.

2021-22: 3-0
2022-23: 5-1
2023-24: --

CROWD WORK
Utah's game against then-No. 14/13 BYU at home drew 15,468 fans to the Jon M. Huntsman Center – which was the fourth-largest crowd in program history. That total was the eighth time in program history a game between the heated in-state rivals has landed in the top-16 top single-game attendance list. Utah is 12-4 all-time in these sellout games since the Jon M. Huntsman Center opened up in November of 1969.

RANK	OPPONENT	DATE	ATTENDANCE	RESULT
1.	#23 BYU ^[1]	Feb. 27, 1993	15,755	W, 89-83
2.	BYU	Jan. 8, 1994	15,713	L, 64-62
3.	UTEP ^[1]	Feb. 21, 1981	15,683	W, 69-59
4.	#14 BYU	Dec. 9, 2023	15,648	W, 73-69
5.	BYU ^[1]	Jan. 12, 1974	15,644	W, 104-86
6.	BYU ^[1]	Feb. 10, 1990	15,548	W, 89-73
7.	#6 North Carolina ^[2]	March 19, 1981	15,536	L, 61-56
8.	#9 Arizona ^[3]	Feb. 27, 2016	15,508	W, 70-46
9.	Wyoming ^[1]	Feb. 22, 1992	15,494	L, 70-57
10.	New Mexico ^[1]	Feb. 3, 1996	15,451	W, 74-58
11.	BYU ^[1]	March 4, 1995	15,447	W, 87-79
12.	BYU ^[1]	March 7, 1992	15,429	L, 87-73
13.	BYU ^[1]	Feb. 16, 1991	15, 426	W, 81-74
14.	New Mexico ^[1]	Feb. 1, 1992	15,414	W, 61-54
15.	Wyoming	Jan. 17, 1998	15,410	W, 75-58
16.	San Diego State ^[1]	Feb. 17, 1996	15,375	W, 88-74

[1] – WAC Game
[2] – NCAA Tournament Game
[3] – Pac-12 Game

WORSTER APPROACHING 1K
Through 10 games this season, Utah guard Rollie Worster has scored 109 points – which brings his career total to 838 points. The Missoula, Mont., product just needs 162 more points to reach 1000 career points at the Division I level.

YEAR	SCHOOL	POINTS
2020-21	Utah State	236
2021-22	Utah	234
2022-23	Utah	259
2023-24	Utah	109
TOTAL		838

LAST TIME OUT
The Utes took a while to get their gears going against a feisty Utah Valley team that didn't quit but a 9-0 run coupled with staunch defense in the final 2:45 minutes of action sealed the 76-62 victory for Utah at home last Saturday. With Keba Keita and Ben Carlson in foul trouble all game, Branden Carlson picked up the slack and dropped 26 points with 7 rebounds on 10-of-16 shooting to go with 2 blocks. Meanwhile, Gabe Madsen and Rollie Worster each chipped in with 13 points apiece for the Utes. Worster once again flirted with a double-double and triple-double pulling down 5 rebounds along with 9 assists to go with his 13 points. Lawson Lovering was nails for Utah down the stretch and finished just shy of a double-double as well with 8 points, 11 rebounds and 5 blocks – four of which came in the second half.

UP NEXT
With the non-conference slate all wrapped up, the Runnin' Utes now turn their attention to Pac-12 play. Utah will first open league play against Washington State on Friday, Dec. 29, inside the Jon M. Huntsman Center for a 6:30 p.m. (MT) tip before welcoming in Washington on Sunday, Dec. 31, to close out the 2023 calendar year at 4 p.m. (MT). J.B. Long will have the call between the Utes and Cougars alongside Casey Jacobsen while AJ Kanell and Don MacLean have the action between the Runnin' Utes and Huskies.

LOOKING AHEAD
Utah will start the new year on the road as it heads to the Valley of the Sun to first take on Arizona State (Jan. 4) before heading east on I-10 to battle against current #4/4 Arizona on Saturday, Jan. 6. The contest between the Utes and Sun Devils will air on ESPN2 while the Pac-12 Networks has the action against the Wildcats.

For the latest news and information on the Runnin' Utes men's basketball program, fans can stay connected online at www.UtahUtes.com and on social media by following @UtahMBB on Facebook, X and Instagram.

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