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Rick Majerus ranks fourth among active coaches in career winning percentage with a 407-142 record (.741).
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Aug. 8, 2003
SALT LAKE CITY - An appearance in the Preseason NIT for the second time in five years, match-ups with five opponents that made the 2003 NCAA Tournament during the nonconference slate, and 15 games against teams that advanced to postseason play a year ago headline the 2003-04 Utah men's basketball schedule announced today.
(Please scroll to bottom of page for complete schedule)
The Runnin' Utes begin the regular-season with the Preseason NIT, hosting Georgia State on Nov. 17 in the Huntsman Center. Should Utah win, it will play the winner of Minnesota/UMKC at a site to be determined on Nov. 19 at 8:30 p.m. (MST) on ESPN2. Minnesota went 19-14 last season and placed fourth in the 2003 postseason NIT.
Other teams headlining the field are Connecticut, which advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament last season; Texas Tech, which placed third in the NIT last spring; and Georgia Tech, which made it to the third round of the postseason NIT. The semifinals and championship round of the tournament are held at Madison Square Garden in New York on Nov. 26 and 28 and will be televised by ESPN and ESPN2.
In December, Utah plays five home games and takes on two NCAA Tournament teams from a year ago on the road. The first week of the month, the Utes host Utah State on Dec. 3 and San Diego on Dec. 6. Both teams won their conference tournaments and moved on to the NCAAs in 2003.
The Runnin' Utes will be in Baton Rouge, La., on Dec. 16 for their first-ever meeting with LSU. The Tigers went 21-11, tied for second place in the SEC Western Division and advanced to the first round of the NCAA Tournament last season. A week later, Utah plays at Colorado on Dec. 23. It will be the 32nd all-time meeting between the two schools and the first since 1988. The Buffs went 20-12 last season and made it to the NCAA Tournament first round.
The Utes play their final four non-league games in the state of Utah. After hosting Southern Utah on Dec. 29, Utah battles Weber State on Jan. 3 in Ogden, Utah. The Wildcats went 26-6, won the Big Sky championship and made it to the first round of the NCAAs last season. The Runnin' Utes close out the nonconference schedule against Pepperdine, a team that has made the NCAA Tournament twice in the last four years, on Jan. 5 and Whitworth on Jan. 7.
Utah opens its Mountain West Conference schedule with an ESPN "Big Monday" appearance at UNLV on Jan. 12. The Utes play two more conference games on "Big Monday," hosting Colorado State on Jan. 19 and playing at BYU on March 1. Some additional nonconference games could also be selected for ESPN or ESPN2 broadcast when the remainder of their schedules are announced in the coming weeks. Utah will also appear on the ESPN Regional "Mountain West Game of the Week" four times, playing home games against BYU (Jan. 31) and Air Force (Feb. 21), and road games against New Mexico (Jan. 24) and San Diego State (March 6).
For the second straight year, the MWC sent a record six teams to postseason play in 2002-03. In addition to Utah, BYU and Colorado State received NCAA Tournament bids. San Diego State, UNLV and Wyoming played in the NIT. The Mountain West Conference Tournament moves to the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colo., in 2004, taking place March 11-13.
October 31 (Fri) L.A. City All-Stars Salt Lake City 7:00 p.m.November 13 (Thu) Sydney Kings (Exb.) Salt Lake City 7:00 p.m.
17-28 Preseason NIT (Utah, Connecticut, Davidson, Georgia State, Georgia Tech, Hofstra, Louisiana-Lafayette, Marist, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, St. Francis (N.Y.), Texas Tech, UMKC, Vermont, Yale) 17 (Mon) Georgia State Salt Lake City 7:00 p.m. 19 (Wed) Minnesota or UMKC TBA 8:30 p.m. ESPN2 26 (Wed) Semifinals New York, N.Y. ESPN/ESPN2 28 (Fri) Championship/Consolation New York, N.Y. ESPN/ESPN2
23 (Sun) at Stony Brook Stony Brook, N.Y. TBA (EST)
December 3 (Wed) Utah State Salt Lake City 7:00 p.m. 6 (Sat) San Diego Salt Lake City 7:00 p.m. 13 (Sat) Savannah State Salt Lake City TBA 16 (Tue) at LSU Baton Rouge, La. TBA (CST) 19 (Fri) CS Northridge Salt Lake City 7:00 p.m. 23 (Tue) at Colorado Boulder, Colo. 7:00 p.m. 29 (Mon) Southern Utah Salt Lake City 7:00 p.m.
January 3 (Sat) at Weber State Ogden, Utah 2:00 p.m. 5 (Mon) Pepperdine Salt Lake City TBA 7 (Wed) Whitworth Salt Lake City 7:00 p.m. 12 (Mon) * at UNLV Las Vegas, Nev. 9:00 p.m. (PST) ESPN 17 (Sat) * Wyoming Salt Lake City 7:00 p.m. 19 (Mon) * Colorado State Salt Lake City 10:00 p.m. ESPN 24 (Sat) * at New Mexico Albuquerque, N.M. 1:00 p.m. ESPN+Plus 26 (Mon) * at Air Force Colorado Springs, Colo. 7:00 p.m. 31 (Sat) * Brigham Young Salt Lake City 1:00 p.m. ESPN+Plus
February 7 (Sat) * San Diego State Salt Lake City 7:00 p.m. 9 (Mon) * UNLV Salt Lake City 7:00 p.m. 14 (Sat) * at Colorado State Fort Collins, Colo. 7:00 p.m. 16 (Mon) * at Wyoming Laramie, Wyo. 7:00 p.m. 21 (Sat) * Air Force Salt Lake City 1:00 p.m. ESPN+Plus 23 (Mon) * New Mexico Salt Lake City 7:00 p.m.
March 1 (Mon) * at Brigham Young Provo, Utah 10:00 p.m. ESPN 6 (Sat) * at San Diego State San Diego, Calif. 3:00 p.m. (PST) ESPN+Plus
11-13 Mountain West Conf. Tourn. Denver, Colo. 11 (Thu) Quarterfinals ESPN+Plus/ESPN 12 (Fri) Semifinals ESPN+Plus/ESPN 13 (Sat) Championship ESPN
All times Mountain Standard Time unless noted otherwise HOME GAMES IN ALL CAPS * - Mountain West Conference game ESPN+Plus - ESPN Regional Television. Shown in Salt Lake City on KJZZ-TV
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