Nov. 24, 2006

UTAH RUNNIN' UTES VS. RICE OWLS
Saturday, November 25, 2006 • 6:05 p.m. (MST)
Jon M. Huntsman Center (15,000) • Salt Lake City

Buy Tickets Here

Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader

UTAH (0-3)
Head Coach: Ray Gaicoletti
Alma Mater: Minot State, 1985
At Utah: 43-24 (3rd Season)
Career: 160-107 (10th Season)

RICE (2-3)
Head Coach: Willis Wilson
Alma Mater: Rice, 1982
At Rice: 202-206 (15th Season)
Career: 202-206 (15th Season)

MEDIA COVERAGE
Television: None
Radio: Sports Radio 700 The Zone
  Bill Riley (play-by-play),
  Mark Rydalch (analyst), Scott Gerrard (host)
Internet Audio/Live Stats: www.UtahUtes.com Get Utah All-Access Here

THE SERIES
Overall: Utah leads 5-1
Utah Home/Away/Neutral: 3-0/2-1/0-0
Current Streak: Rice has won 1
Last Meeting: Rice won 96-94 in 3OT on
  Dec. 3, 2005 in Houston, Texas

AFTER THIS
The Runnin' Utes host Weber State on Wednesday at 8:05 p.m. (MST) in the Huntsman Center in a game that will be televised on the mtn. Utah then closes out its four-game home stand against Washington State on Saturday, Dec. 2 at 7:05 p.m. (MST).

QUICKLY ON UTAH
The Runnin' Utes (0-3) continue a four-game home stand against the Rice Owls (2-3) on Saturday at 6:05 p.m. (MST) in the Jon M. Huntsman Center. The game will be broadcast on Sports Radio 700 The Zone in Salt Lake City.

Utah has dropped its first three games. The Utes lost their season opener to Southern Utah, 76-73, at home on Nov. 10. Utah then lost at Santa Clara, 83-72, on the road last Saturday night and fell to Colorado, 60-59, at home on Tuesday night.

Sophomore center Luke Nevill (7-1, 265) is the Utes' leading scorer (16.7 ppg) and rebounder (7.3 rpg). Junior guard Johnnie Bryant (6-0, 180) is second on the team in scoring (15.0 ppg) and has connected on 55.6 percent (10-for-18) of his three-point attempts. Sophomore forward Shaun Green (6-8, 208) is the third Ute averaging double figures in scoring (11.0 ppg) and is second in rebounding (4.7 rpg). He is connecting on 75.0 percent of his field goals and 75.0 percent (6-for-8) of his three-pointers. Freshman forward Stephen Weigh (6-6, 220) is fourth on the team in scoring (9.3 ppg). Green and senior guard/forward Ricky Johns (6-3, 190) lead the Utes in assists (2.6 apg).

RUNNIN' UTE NOTABLES
• Utah has started out 0-3 five times in school history and won its next game four of those years.

• The last time the Utes dropped their first three games was in 1970-71 under Jack Garnder. The U. fell to Southern California (90-81) on Dec. 3 at home before dropping road games to Utah State (94-77) on Dec. 5 and Oregon State (91-75) on Dec. 7.

• The only time the Utes have started out 0-4 was in 1952-53 under Vadal Peterson. They lost to Washington twice in Seattle on Dec. 5 and 6, and to Southern California twice in Los Angeles on Dec. 12 and 13. Utah got its first win over Washington State at home on Dec. 19.

• After allowing its first two opponents to shoot at least 60 percent from the field and 50 percent from three-point range, Utah gave a better defensive effort against Colorado. The Utes held the Buffaloes to 41.1 percent shooting from the field and 44.4 percent from three-point range. Southern Utah connected on 65.2 percent of its shots overall and 60.0 percent of its three-pointers (6-for-10). Santa Clara shot 60.4 percent from the field and 50.0 percent from beyond the arc (8-for-16).

• Seven of the 13 Utes who have played this season are in their first year on the court at Utah. Six of those players are freshmen.

SCOUTING RICE
The Owls are 2-3 overall and will be playing their first game on an opponent's home court against the Utes on Saturday. After opening with a win over Paul Quinn College (118-66) at home on Nov. 11, Rice went 1-1 in the NIT Season Tip-Off held at Spokane Arena in Spokane, Wash. The Owls lost to Gonzaga (88-50) on Nov. 14 and defeated Colorado State (70-61) on Nov. 15. Rice then returned home to lose to North Texas (71-69) last Saturday and Oregon (79-73 OT) on Monday.

Senior guard Morris Almond (6-6, 215) was a first team all-Conference USA performer last season. Almond leads the Owls in scoring (26.8 ppg), rebounding (6.2 rpg), steals (10) and free throw percentage (82.6) this season. Senior center Greg Killings (6-10, 240) is second in scoring (10.4 ppg) and rebounding (5.6 rpg). Senior guard Lorenzo Williams (6-1, 165) is Rice's assists leader (4.2 apg).

COMPARING THE NUMBERS

	         Utah	Rice
Record	         0-3	2-3
Scoring	         68.0	76.0
Scoring Defense	73.0	73.0
FG%	         .500	.455
FG% Defense	.548	.429
3-Pt. FG%	         .538	.383
3-Pt. FG% Defense	.500	.352
FT%	         .754	.697
Rebound Margin	+1.3	-1.6
Assists	         15.0	14.6
Turnovers	         14.7	16.6
Opp. Turnovers	12.0	17.6
Steals	         4.0	7.0
Blocked Shots	3.0	3.6

HEAD COACH WILLIS WILSON
Rice is coached by Willis Wilson, who is in his 15th season as head coach of his alma mater. Wilson's school and career record stands at 202-206. Overall, he is in his 23rd year at the University. After enrolling in 1978 and playing basketball for four years, Wilson earned his degree in political science in 1982. He served five years as an assistant at Rice before being named head coach in 1992. In 2004, he was named the NABC District 9 Coach of the Year.

UTAH VS. RICE SERIES NOTES
• Utah and Rice meet for the seventh time on Saturday night. The Utes won the first five games in the series before the Owls won last season 96-94 in triple overtime on Dec. 3 in Houston.

• The Utes have taken all three games in played Salt Lake City. In the last meeting in the Huntsman Center, Utah prevailed 73-65 on Jan. 3, 1998.

• The first meeting took place on Dec. 21, 1963 in Salt Lake City with Utah winning 79-72.

• The Utes and Owls were members of the WAC in the late `90s. They played a home-and-home series in both 1997 and `98.

• Utah is 48-36 (.571) all-time against the current Conference USA schools, including a 28-10 (.737) mark in home games.