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The University of Utah Athletics
Tuesday, April 2
Indianapolis, IN
5:00 PM
University of Utah
vs
Indiana State
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Runnin' Utes Indy Bound for Sold Out Battle in Hinkle Fieldhouse Against Indiana State
3/29/2024 5:31 PM | Men's Basketball
The Utah men’s basketball team will square off against Indiana State in a sold out Hinkle Fieldhouse at the NIT semifinals.
SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah men's basketball team is headed to Indianapolis to play Indiana State in the NIT semifinals in front of a sold out crowd inside Hinkle Fieldhouse on Tuesday, April 2. Mike Corey will have the call alongside former head coach Fran Fraschilla with Myron Medcalf roaming the sidelines on ESPN as the Runnin' Utes and Sycamores duke it out for the first time in program history while vying for a spot in the NIT Championship game.
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HISTORY REWIND
Utah has great history with the NIT, winning the championship back on March 24, 1947, when Vadal Peterson's squad defeated Adolph Rupp's Kentucky Wildcats 49-45 inside Madison Square Garden in front of 18,493 fans. The Runnin' Utes were led by a pair of All-Americans and ABA draft selections in Vern Gardner and Arnie Ferrin, who had 15 points each, while Leon Watson chipped in with 13 points. Fred Weidner added 4 points while Wat Misaka had 2 points.
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"Undoubtedly, Coach [Vadal] Peterson had instructed his men to slow down the pace and stress possession at all times. The Utah plan of battle never deviated although the Wildcats tried to force the Utes into faster action. The Utes knew what they wanted to do and did it -- handsomely." – Louis Effrat, New York Times
The semifinal game was a high-scoring affair between Utah and West Virginia with the Runnin' Utes sneaking past the Mountaineers 64-62 behind stellar performances from Gardner and Ferrin, who scored 18 points apiece. Watson chipped in with 14 points of his own while Misaka and Lyman Clark added 9 points and 5 points, respectively.
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"To achieve the upset, the Utah players – six players carried the burden until the last minute – controlled the rebounds underneath both backboards, with [Vern] Gardner, [Arnie] Ferrin] and little [Wat] Misaka a trio of busybodies that made the night most uncomfortable for the favored Mountaineers" – Louis Effrat, New York Times
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AGAINST THE VALLEY
Utah is 17-10 all-time against the Missouri Valley Conference with its last two meetings coming against Wichita State. Both teams won on their respective floors with the 25th-ranked Utes taking the 69-68 victory in OT over the No. 8-ranked Shockers on a go-ahead jumper with 14 seconds left in overtime at the Huntsman Center. Wichita State then knocked off No. 25/24 Utah the following year inside Intrust Bank Arena, 67-50, by turning the Utes over 19 times and held Utah future Kareem Abdul-Jabbar recipient Jakob Poeltl to just 11 points and 9 rebounds on 4-of-5 shooting. The Shockers outshot Utah by a margin of 25 field-goal attempts as well.
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103 AND COUNTING
Utah flamethrower Gabe Madsen broke the school's single-season 3-point record this past Wednesday against VCU. The 6-6 guard drained a straight-away 3-pointer and drew the foul with 4:00 on the clock to break Nick Jacobson's record of 99 set back in 2003-04. Madsen would knock down three more on the night to finish with 103 made 3-pointers this season. Meanwhile, his 103 made 3-pointers is good for 24th in the country this season.
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MADSEN ON A TEAR
Utah guard Gabe Madsen has been on an absolute tear during the NIT run so far, averaging 21.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.0 assists to go with his .476 shooting clip and .485 clip from 3-point range. The Rochester, Minn., product has drained 16 threes in the three NIT games. He joins Simas Loukosius of Cincinnati (19) as the only player to record 16 or more 3-pointers in three NIT games dating back to 1996-97. Sedrick Barefield (16; 2017-18) is the only other Ute to have at least 16 threes in the NIT during that time span as well.
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ASSIST CENTRAL
Through three NIT games, Deivon Smith has dished out 32 assists and the first player in the NIT to record 30-plus assists since Kenny Cooper had 33 for Lipscomb. However, Cooper needed five games to record his 33 while Smith only needed three. Of the four players that only played three games in the NIT dating back to 1996-97, Smith's 32 assists are second-most behind North Carolina's Raymond Felton – who had 34 in three games.
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STAR(TER) POWER
Utah's starting five has been great through three games in the NIT, accounting for 81.1-percent of the team's scoring. Gabe Madsen leads the way, averaging 21.7 points, 4.3 rebound and 3.0 assists while Branden Carlson is averaging 16.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.3 blocks to go with a deadly .625 shooting clip. Deivon Smith is nearly averaging a triple-double in the NIT, posting 15.7 points per game, 9.0 boards per game and 10.7 assists per game while also shooting .516 from the floor. Smith was just four rebounds why of a triple-double in the NIT first round game vs. UC Irvine before recording back-to-back triple-doubles against Iowa and VCU. In addition, big man Lawson Lovering has been filling the stat sheet, averaging 6.0 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists to go with his .538 shooting clip.
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LAST TIME OUT
Utah got off to a hot 18-2 start against VCU before the Rams settled in and answered with an 18-5 run to bring themselves within 23-20 of the Utes. Utah would outscore VCU 13-6 the rest of the half to take a 36-26 edge when Deivon Smith sank 3-pointer before the horn sounded. The Runnin' Utes came out of the break with ferocity, hitting the Rams with a 23-9 blitzkrieg that would put the game away for good by the time VCU called a timeout with 10:23 left to play. Utah's lead reached as high as 29 before late baskets from the Rams made it 74-54 at the final buzzer. Utah's starters were dominant from the get-go, scoring 63 of the team's 74 points.
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UP NEXT
Should the Runnin' Utes advance to the NIT Championship game, it'll play the winner between (1) Seton Hall and (4) Georgia on Thursday, April 4, at 5 p.m. (MDT) / 7 p.m. (EDT) local on ESPN inside a sold out Hinkle Fieldhouse. Mike Corey will once again guide fans through the action with Fran Fraschilla as Myron Medcalf roams the sidelines. Seton Hall enters the semifinals 23-12 while Georgia is 20-16 overall.
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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.
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HISTORY REWIND
Utah has great history with the NIT, winning the championship back on March 24, 1947, when Vadal Peterson's squad defeated Adolph Rupp's Kentucky Wildcats 49-45 inside Madison Square Garden in front of 18,493 fans. The Runnin' Utes were led by a pair of All-Americans and ABA draft selections in Vern Gardner and Arnie Ferrin, who had 15 points each, while Leon Watson chipped in with 13 points. Fred Weidner added 4 points while Wat Misaka had 2 points.
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"Undoubtedly, Coach [Vadal] Peterson had instructed his men to slow down the pace and stress possession at all times. The Utah plan of battle never deviated although the Wildcats tried to force the Utes into faster action. The Utes knew what they wanted to do and did it -- handsomely." – Louis Effrat, New York Times
The semifinal game was a high-scoring affair between Utah and West Virginia with the Runnin' Utes sneaking past the Mountaineers 64-62 behind stellar performances from Gardner and Ferrin, who scored 18 points apiece. Watson chipped in with 14 points of his own while Misaka and Lyman Clark added 9 points and 5 points, respectively.
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"To achieve the upset, the Utah players – six players carried the burden until the last minute – controlled the rebounds underneath both backboards, with [Vern] Gardner, [Arnie] Ferrin] and little [Wat] Misaka a trio of busybodies that made the night most uncomfortable for the favored Mountaineers" – Louis Effrat, New York Times
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AGAINST THE VALLEY
Utah is 17-10 all-time against the Missouri Valley Conference with its last two meetings coming against Wichita State. Both teams won on their respective floors with the 25th-ranked Utes taking the 69-68 victory in OT over the No. 8-ranked Shockers on a go-ahead jumper with 14 seconds left in overtime at the Huntsman Center. Wichita State then knocked off No. 25/24 Utah the following year inside Intrust Bank Arena, 67-50, by turning the Utes over 19 times and held Utah future Kareem Abdul-Jabbar recipient Jakob Poeltl to just 11 points and 9 rebounds on 4-of-5 shooting. The Shockers outshot Utah by a margin of 25 field-goal attempts as well.
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103 AND COUNTING
Utah flamethrower Gabe Madsen broke the school's single-season 3-point record this past Wednesday against VCU. The 6-6 guard drained a straight-away 3-pointer and drew the foul with 4:00 on the clock to break Nick Jacobson's record of 99 set back in 2003-04. Madsen would knock down three more on the night to finish with 103 made 3-pointers this season. Meanwhile, his 103 made 3-pointers is good for 24th in the country this season.
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MADSEN ON A TEAR
Utah guard Gabe Madsen has been on an absolute tear during the NIT run so far, averaging 21.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.0 assists to go with his .476 shooting clip and .485 clip from 3-point range. The Rochester, Minn., product has drained 16 threes in the three NIT games. He joins Simas Loukosius of Cincinnati (19) as the only player to record 16 or more 3-pointers in three NIT games dating back to 1996-97. Sedrick Barefield (16; 2017-18) is the only other Ute to have at least 16 threes in the NIT during that time span as well.
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ASSIST CENTRAL
Through three NIT games, Deivon Smith has dished out 32 assists and the first player in the NIT to record 30-plus assists since Kenny Cooper had 33 for Lipscomb. However, Cooper needed five games to record his 33 while Smith only needed three. Of the four players that only played three games in the NIT dating back to 1996-97, Smith's 32 assists are second-most behind North Carolina's Raymond Felton – who had 34 in three games.
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| NAME | YEAR | SCHOOL | GP | ASSISTS |
| Pierre Jackson | 2012-13 | Baylor | 5 | 55 |
| Alex Ruoff | 2006-07 | West Virginia | 5 | 39 |
| Alex Robinson | 2016-17 | TCU | 5 | 38 |
| Chris Lowe | 2007-08 | UMass | 5 | 38 |
| Kerry Thompson | 1996-97 | Florida State | 5 | 38 |
| Tony Carr | 2017-18 | Penn State | 5 | 35 |
| Jamont Gordon | 2006-07 | Mississippi State | 4 | 34 |
| Raymond Felton | 2002-03 | North Carolina | 3 | 34 |
| Terrell McIntyre | 1998-99 | Clemson | 5 | 34 |
| Kenny Cooper | 2018-19 | Lipscomb | 5 | 33 |
| Lamar Peters | 2017-18 | Mississippi Sate | 4 | 33 |
| Rafer Alston | 1997-98 | Fresno State | 5 | 33 |
| Travis Conlan | 1996-97 | Michigan | 5 | 33 |
| Deivon Smith | 2023-24 | Utah | 3 | 32 |
| Matt Carlino | 2012-13 | BYU | 4 | 32 |
| Kareem Reid | 1996-97 | Arkansas | 5 | 32 |
| Tony Carr | 2017-18 | Penn State | 5 | 35 |
STAR(TER) POWER
Utah's starting five has been great through three games in the NIT, accounting for 81.1-percent of the team's scoring. Gabe Madsen leads the way, averaging 21.7 points, 4.3 rebound and 3.0 assists while Branden Carlson is averaging 16.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.3 blocks to go with a deadly .625 shooting clip. Deivon Smith is nearly averaging a triple-double in the NIT, posting 15.7 points per game, 9.0 boards per game and 10.7 assists per game while also shooting .516 from the floor. Smith was just four rebounds why of a triple-double in the NIT first round game vs. UC Irvine before recording back-to-back triple-doubles against Iowa and VCU. In addition, big man Lawson Lovering has been filling the stat sheet, averaging 6.0 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists to go with his .538 shooting clip.
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LAST TIME OUT
Utah got off to a hot 18-2 start against VCU before the Rams settled in and answered with an 18-5 run to bring themselves within 23-20 of the Utes. Utah would outscore VCU 13-6 the rest of the half to take a 36-26 edge when Deivon Smith sank 3-pointer before the horn sounded. The Runnin' Utes came out of the break with ferocity, hitting the Rams with a 23-9 blitzkrieg that would put the game away for good by the time VCU called a timeout with 10:23 left to play. Utah's lead reached as high as 29 before late baskets from the Rams made it 74-54 at the final buzzer. Utah's starters were dominant from the get-go, scoring 63 of the team's 74 points.
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UP NEXT
Should the Runnin' Utes advance to the NIT Championship game, it'll play the winner between (1) Seton Hall and (4) Georgia on Thursday, April 4, at 5 p.m. (MDT) / 7 p.m. (EDT) local on ESPN inside a sold out Hinkle Fieldhouse. Mike Corey will once again guide fans through the action with Fran Fraschilla as Myron Medcalf roams the sidelines. Seton Hall enters the semifinals 23-12 while Georgia is 20-16 overall.
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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.
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