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Men's Basketball
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Tuesday, March 19
Salt Lake City, UT
9:00 PM
University of Utah
vs
UC Irvine
Runnin' Utes Open NIT at Home vs. UC Irvine
3/18/2024 3:09 PM | Men's Basketball
The Utah men’s basketball team hosts UC Irvine in the NIT opener on Tuesday, March 19, at 9 p.m. (MDT) on ESPN2.
SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah men's basketball team is set to play in its first postseason tournament in six years when it welcomes in UC Irvine out of the Big West Conference for the first round of the NIT at 9 p.m. (MDT) this Tuesday, March 19, inside the Jon M. Huntsman Center. Dave Feldman will have the call alongside Corey Williams on ESPN2 as the second-seeded Runnin' Utes look for their first postseason victory since 2018 – when it advanced to the NIT Championship game.
GAME DAY INFO
-PARKING
Parking will be FREE at several locations around the Jon M. Huntsman Center for fans in attendance. Parking map of the FREE lots can be found here.
-RUNNIN' UTES EXPRESS SHUTTLE
The Runnin' Ute Express Shuttle will run as usual for fans on Tuesday for the NIT in its usual routes. Routes and locations of where the shuttle runs can be found on the parking map.
-TRAX
Thanks to UTA for their partnership with Utah Athletics, fans attending the NIT game Tuesday night can ride for FREE with their ticket as part of the #TicketAsFare initiative.
-FLAG POLES
Due to NIT rules, fans CANNOT bring in flag poles and fly them inside the Jon M. Huntsman Center.
-DOORS OPEN
Doors will open for fans 60 minutes prior to tip-off like it has been all season.
PROTECT THIS HOUSE
Utah enters the NIT with a 14-2 record at home inside the Jon M. Huntsman Center – which the most wins at home since the 2017-18 season when that squad went 14-3. The 2016-17 also went 14-4 at home while the 2014-15 and 2015-16 squads went 16-1 at home, respectively.
UTES IN THE NIT
Utah has had a lot of history with the NIT having won it back in 1947 to go along with four semifinal appearances in the program's history (1947, 1974, 1992, 2018). Of those four semifinal appearances, the Runnin' Utes are 1-2 all-time in the championship game.
The Runnin' Utes enter the NIT 19-14 overall on the year – the most wins since 2017-18 when it last went to NIT Championship game inside Madison Square Garden. Utah finished the final Pac-12 regular-season 9-11 and advanced to the quarterfinals of the conference tournament.
NIT APPEARANCES
Tuesday's NIT First Round game vs. UC Irvine will be Utah's 15th appearance in the National Invitational Tournament all-time. The Utes are 15-13 (.535) all-time previous 14 appearance with a Championship dating back to 1947. The Runnin' Utes have made the semifinals four times in school history (1947, 1974, 1992, 2018) and is 1-2 when playing in the NIT Championship game.
Utah is 4-2 all-time when playing in the NIT at home two wins coming in 1992 and two in 2018. It's two losses came in the first round back in 2001 vs. Memphis (71-62) and 2017 against Boise State (73-68).
HISTORY REPEATING ITSELF
The last time Utah played in the NIT? 2018. Utah's first opponent? UC Davis, the two-time defending Big West Regular-Season Champions (2017, 2018). Utah's first-round opponent in the 2024 NIT? UC Irvine, the two-time defending Big West Regular-Season Champions (2023, 2024).
KNOWING THY FOE
The two-time defending Big West Regular-Season Champions are led by 14th-year head coach Russell Turner, who has led the Anteaters to nine seasons with 20-plus wins. UCI enters Tuesday's match-up 24-9 overall with a 17-3 mark in Big West action. As the top-seed in the conference tournament, UCI fell to a hot Long Beach State team that won three-straight games this past weekend to punch its ticket to the Big Dance. This will be UCI's eighth NIT appearance all-time and the fourth under Turner.
UC Irvine utilizes its full roster with 12 of the 13 players with statistics having played at least 27 games. Of the 13, only two have played less than 350 minutes on the year. The team's top-four scorers are predominantly upper classmen with the exception of one.
Redshirt senior Justin Hohn leads the way averaging 12.7 points with a team-best 60 made 3-pointers while his 31 steals is second-most on the team and his 51 assists is tied for third-most. Senior Andre Henry is second-leading scorer on the team and only other player averaging in double-digits scoring 10.6 points per game with a 3.7 rebounding average. Freshman Derin Saran, a 6-4 guard out of Istanbul, Turkey, is third on the team in scoring averaging 9.9 points and 3.3 rebounds with a .502 shooting clip. He's also tied with Hohn for third on the team in assists with 51 dimes. Redshirt Junior Devin Tillis is just behind Saran, averaging 9.5 points with a team-best 6.1 rebounds to go with his 61 assists – which is good for second on the team.
On the defensive side, the Anteaters have a trio of players with 30-plus blocks on the team, in Dean Keeler (33), Bent Leuchten (31) and Carter Welling (30).
UP NEXT
Utah, who is the second-seed in its four-team pod, would host the winner between third-seeded Iowa and Kansas State in the second round this Saturday (March 23) or Sunday (March 24) inside the Jon M. Huntsman Center.
LOOKING AHEAD
Should the Utes advance to the quarterfinals, here's a look at the top half of the bracket. Villanova (18-15), the top-seed in the bottom half of the bracket, is scheduled to face off against VCU (22-13) with the winner playing UCF (17-15) or USF (24-7) in the second round.
For the latest news and information on the Utah cross country and track & field programs, fans can stay connected online at www.UtahUtes.com and on social media by following on Facebook, X and Instagram.
GAME DAY INFO
-PARKING
Parking will be FREE at several locations around the Jon M. Huntsman Center for fans in attendance. Parking map of the FREE lots can be found here.
-RUNNIN' UTES EXPRESS SHUTTLE
The Runnin' Ute Express Shuttle will run as usual for fans on Tuesday for the NIT in its usual routes. Routes and locations of where the shuttle runs can be found on the parking map.
-TRAX
Thanks to UTA for their partnership with Utah Athletics, fans attending the NIT game Tuesday night can ride for FREE with their ticket as part of the #TicketAsFare initiative.
-FLAG POLES
Due to NIT rules, fans CANNOT bring in flag poles and fly them inside the Jon M. Huntsman Center.
-DOORS OPEN
Doors will open for fans 60 minutes prior to tip-off like it has been all season.
PROTECT THIS HOUSE
Utah enters the NIT with a 14-2 record at home inside the Jon M. Huntsman Center – which the most wins at home since the 2017-18 season when that squad went 14-3. The 2016-17 also went 14-4 at home while the 2014-15 and 2015-16 squads went 16-1 at home, respectively.
UTES IN THE NIT
Utah has had a lot of history with the NIT having won it back in 1947 to go along with four semifinal appearances in the program's history (1947, 1974, 1992, 2018). Of those four semifinal appearances, the Runnin' Utes are 1-2 all-time in the championship game.
The Runnin' Utes enter the NIT 19-14 overall on the year – the most wins since 2017-18 when it last went to NIT Championship game inside Madison Square Garden. Utah finished the final Pac-12 regular-season 9-11 and advanced to the quarterfinals of the conference tournament.
NIT APPEARANCES
Tuesday's NIT First Round game vs. UC Irvine will be Utah's 15th appearance in the National Invitational Tournament all-time. The Utes are 15-13 (.535) all-time previous 14 appearance with a Championship dating back to 1947. The Runnin' Utes have made the semifinals four times in school history (1947, 1974, 1992, 2018) and is 1-2 when playing in the NIT Championship game.
Utah is 4-2 all-time when playing in the NIT at home two wins coming in 1992 and two in 2018. It's two losses came in the first round back in 2001 vs. Memphis (71-62) and 2017 against Boise State (73-68).
HISTORY REPEATING ITSELF
The last time Utah played in the NIT? 2018. Utah's first opponent? UC Davis, the two-time defending Big West Regular-Season Champions (2017, 2018). Utah's first-round opponent in the 2024 NIT? UC Irvine, the two-time defending Big West Regular-Season Champions (2023, 2024).
KNOWING THY FOE
The two-time defending Big West Regular-Season Champions are led by 14th-year head coach Russell Turner, who has led the Anteaters to nine seasons with 20-plus wins. UCI enters Tuesday's match-up 24-9 overall with a 17-3 mark in Big West action. As the top-seed in the conference tournament, UCI fell to a hot Long Beach State team that won three-straight games this past weekend to punch its ticket to the Big Dance. This will be UCI's eighth NIT appearance all-time and the fourth under Turner.
UC Irvine utilizes its full roster with 12 of the 13 players with statistics having played at least 27 games. Of the 13, only two have played less than 350 minutes on the year. The team's top-four scorers are predominantly upper classmen with the exception of one.
Redshirt senior Justin Hohn leads the way averaging 12.7 points with a team-best 60 made 3-pointers while his 31 steals is second-most on the team and his 51 assists is tied for third-most. Senior Andre Henry is second-leading scorer on the team and only other player averaging in double-digits scoring 10.6 points per game with a 3.7 rebounding average. Freshman Derin Saran, a 6-4 guard out of Istanbul, Turkey, is third on the team in scoring averaging 9.9 points and 3.3 rebounds with a .502 shooting clip. He's also tied with Hohn for third on the team in assists with 51 dimes. Redshirt Junior Devin Tillis is just behind Saran, averaging 9.5 points with a team-best 6.1 rebounds to go with his 61 assists – which is good for second on the team.
On the defensive side, the Anteaters have a trio of players with 30-plus blocks on the team, in Dean Keeler (33), Bent Leuchten (31) and Carter Welling (30).
UP NEXT
Utah, who is the second-seed in its four-team pod, would host the winner between third-seeded Iowa and Kansas State in the second round this Saturday (March 23) or Sunday (March 24) inside the Jon M. Huntsman Center.
LOOKING AHEAD
Should the Utes advance to the quarterfinals, here's a look at the top half of the bracket. Villanova (18-15), the top-seed in the bottom half of the bracket, is scheduled to face off against VCU (22-13) with the winner playing UCF (17-15) or USF (24-7) in the second round.
For the latest news and information on the Utah cross country and track & field programs, fans can stay connected online at www.UtahUtes.com and on social media by following on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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