SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah men's basketball team is set to officially begin its inaugural season as members of the Big 12 Conference on Tuesday, Dec. 31, when it battles #25/21 Baylor in a New Year's Eve matinee showdown on the road.
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Rich Hollenberg and Chris Spatola will have the call in the fourth-ever meeting between the Runnin' Utes and Bears on
ESPN+ inside Foster Pavilion. Utah is 3-0 all-time against Baylor but the two haven't squared off since Dec. 9, 1960, in Salt Lake City.
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STARTING ANEW
Looking ahead to Big 12 Conference Play, Utah is 3-3 all-time in its first game as members of a new conference.
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| SEASON |
DATE |
OPPONENT |
CONF |
RESULT |
| 1908-09 |
01/23/09 |
at BYU |
State |
L, 32-9 |
| 1924-25 |
01/30/25 |
Utah State |
RMAC |
W, 33-29 |
| 1937-38 |
01/14/38 |
at Colorado |
Skyline |
L, 54-43 |
| 1962-63 |
01/11/63 |
at Arizona |
WAC |
W, 52-50 (OT) |
| 1999-00 |
01/10/00 |
at SDSU |
MWC |
W, 70-55 |
| 2011-12 |
12/31/11 |
at Colorado |
Pac-12 |
L, 73-33 |
| 2024-25 |
12/31/24 |
at Baylor |
Big 12 |
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NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK
Last season, the newest additions to the Big 12 Conference went 2-2 in their conference openers and 3-5 overall on the "opening weekend" in their first two league games.
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STARTING LEAGUE PLAY
Since joining the power conference ranks (2011-12), the Runnin' Utes are 8-5 in its conference opening game and 2-4 when those games have been on the road. Utah's last road win to start league play came on Jan. 3, 2019, when it defeated Arizona State 86-86. Since 2011-12, Utah is 1-2 when it opens conference play against a ranked opponent and 0-1 when it's been on the road. It's also 0-3 when those conference-openers have gone into overtime and 0-1 when those OT games have been on the road.
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Dec. 1, 2021 – at #20/18 USC – L, 93-73
Jan. 30, 2019 – at Arizona State – W, 86-86
Dec. 29, 2017 – at Oregon – W, 66-56
Jan. 1, 2016 – at Stanford – L, 70-68 [OT]
Jan. 2, 2013 – at Arizona State – L, 55-54 [OT]
Dec. 31, 2011 – at Colorado – L, 73-33
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AGAINST THE RANKED
Heading into the match-up against #25 Baylor, Utah is 70-163 (.300) all-time against AP ranked opponents and is just 11-65 (.145) all-time against AP ranked opponents on the road.
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Last Win vs. AP Ranked Opp: 12/9/23 vs. #14 BYU – 73-69
Last Win vs. #25 AP Ranked Opp: 5-3 (.625)
Last Win vs. AP Ranked Opp (Away): 3/21/18 at #25 St. Mary's – 67-58 (OT) [NIT QF]
Last Win vs. AP Ranked Opp (OT): 3/21/18 at #25 St. Mary's – 67-58 (OT) [NIT QF]
Last Win vs. AP Ranked Opp (Away Conference): 1/25/18 at #21 Arizona State – 80-77 (OT)
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UTAH VS. #25 AP RANKED TEAMS
| DATE |
OPPONENT |
H/A/N |
RESULT |
| 01/12/91 |
UTEP |
H |
W, 67-60 |
| 3/6/99 |
New Mexico1 |
N |
W, 60-45 |
| 03/19/04 |
Boston College2 |
N |
L, 58-51 |
| 03/08/07 |
UNLV |
A |
L, 80-54 |
| 01/18/14 |
UCLA |
H |
W, 74-69 |
| 01/12/17 |
USC |
H |
W, 86-64 |
| 03/21/18 |
St. Mary's3 |
A |
W, 67-58 (OT) |
| 01/12/20 |
Colorado |
A |
L, 91-52 |
LEGEND: 1 = WAC Tournament | 2 = NCAA Tournament | 3 = NIT
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AMONG THE RANKED
Through games on Dec. 27, here's how
Gabe Madsen and
Caleb Lohner's career numbers stack up against other active players in the NCAA.
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GABE MADSEN
Career 3FGM Per Game: 16th in DI (2.54 3FGM Per Game)
Career 3FGM: 24th in DI & 37th among DI/II/II (254 3FGM)
Career 3FGA: 28th in DI & 39th among DI/II/II (661 3FGA)
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CALEB LOHNER
Career Games Played: 59th in DI & 62nd among DI/II/III (135 GP)
Career Rebounds: 82nd in DI & 154th among DI/II/III (633 Rebounds)Â Â Â Â Â Â
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MY TURN
Utah guard
Gabe Madsen has been the team's go-to scorer during non-con action, but twin brother
Mason Madsen made a case for himself in Utah's final non-conference game of the year vs. Iowa when he poured in a new career-high 26 points on 6-of-11 shooting from 3-point range. He is now the fourth player this season to score 20-plus points in a game for Utah.
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UP NEXT
The Utes return home to the friendly confines of the Jon M. Huntsman Center for the first time in 2025 to host #RV/RV Texas Tech as part of its Big 12 home-opener on Saturday, Jan. 4. Tip-off is slated for 5 p.m. (MST) on
ESPN+ with Pete Sousa on the call alongside former Oklahoma State guard Bryndon Manzer.
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LOOKING AHEAD
Utah hits the road once again, this time to the Midwest for a 6 p.m. (MST) match-up against Iowa State inside Hilton Coliseum on Tuesday, Jan. 7. Iowa grad Shawn Kenney will have the call alongside former Hawkeyes forward Jess Settles on
ESPN+ as the Runnin' Utes make their return to Ames for the first time since Dec. 30, 1936.
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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. Fans can also stay connected on their mobile devices or tablets with the Utah 360, the official app of Utah Athletics, through the
Apple Store or
Google Play.
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