Utah plays first MWC road game vs. Aztecs
Jan. 15, 2008
University of Utah Utes
(10-4, 1-0 Mountain West)
vs.
San Diego State Aztecs
(12-4, 2-0 Mountain West)
Game No. 15 • Wednesday, Jan. 16 • 8 p.m. PST
Cox Arena • San Diego, Calif.
Series: Utah leads 50-11
Series Streak: Utah has won 1
Last Meeting: Utah 74, San Diego State 68 (2/27/07)
Last Meeting in San Diego: San Diego State 63, Utah 53 (1/27/2007)
Television: The Mtn.
Radio: Utah Sports Radio Network
Mike Lageschulte (play by play), Mark Rydalch (color analyst)
UtahUtes.com: Audio/live stats
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Utes Travel to San Diego, Face Aztecs Wednesday Night
The University of Utah men's basketball team will hit the road for the west coast this week. The Runnin' Utes will play a Mountain West Conference game at San Diego State Wednesday night at 8 p.m. PST.
Utah enters Saturday's game with a 10-4 overall record and a 1-0 Mountain West Conference mark. The Utes are coming off an 83-64 victory over Dixie State Jan. 9 at the Huntsman Center. It was the final non-conference game of the regular season for Utah. Luke Nevill scored 19 points and Johnnie Bryant came off the bench to add 19 more in the victory. It was Utah's best shooting night of the season. The Runnin' Utes converted from the field at a .620 clip.
San Diego State is 12-4 (2-0 MWC) coming into the contest. The Aztecs' last outing was a 72-67 road win at New Mexico. San Diego State overcame a 14-point, first-half deficit to take the five-point victory at The Pit. Lorrenzo Wade scored 19 of his 23 points in the second half for the Aztecs in that win. SDSU's other league win was over TCU to open MWC play.
Runnin' Ute Fast Breaks
• Three Utah players are averaging double-digit points per game, while two more average 7.8 or more.
• Utah's 22-point win over Air Force was its largest margin of victory in a conference game since topping TCU 80-45 (35-point margin) on Jan. 28, 2006.
• Utah has held five different opponents to 54 points or less this season. The Runnin' Utes did not hold a single 2006-07 opponent to less than 55 points.
• Utah holds a 506-321 (.611) record against current members of the Mountain West Conference. The Utes are .500-or-better against all eight other MWC teams.
• The Utes currently rank No. 1 in the MWC in field-goal percentage. The Utes are currently converting at a .506 clip, which also ranks No. 6 in the nation.
• Air Force's 36-point offensive output on Jan. 5 was the lowest total for a Utah opponent since the Falcons scored 35 against the Utes on Feb. 1, 2003.
Run and Shoot
Utah is easily the top shooting team in the Mountain West Conference at this point in the season. The Runnin' Utes lead the MWC in field-goal, 3-point field-goal and free-throw percentage. Utah has made more than half of its field-goal attempts in seven of its first 14 games. Utah is converting at a .506 clip from the field, which also ranks the Utes No. 6 in the nation. The Utes' .620 field-goal percentage vs. Dixie State was the team's best since shooting .707 against Air Force on Jan. 16, 2007. Utah also ranks No. 5 in the nation in 3-point field-goal percentage (.424) and No. 10 from the charity stripe (760).
Join The Club
Junior center Luke Nevill and senior guard Johnnie Bryant have both joined Utah's 1,000-Point Club this season, becoming the 32nd and 33rd Utes in the 100-year history of Utah Basketball to reach that milestone. It's only the third time in Utah history that teammates reached 1,000 points in the same season. Tom Chambers and Danny Vranes turned that trick in 1980, while Nick Jacobson and Britton Johnsen accomplished the feat in 2003.
Nevill currently ranks 31st all-time in career scoring at Utah, while Bryant needs just four points to move into the No. 32 spot. Both Nevill and Bryant reached 1,000 points in their third year at Utah. Of the 33 members of the 1,000-Point Club, 24 of them reached the 1,000-point mark in three years or less.
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