Men's Basketball Opens Four-Game Homestand with Beavers on ESPNU

Utah Game Notes

SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah men's basketball returns home to the friendly confines of the Jon M. Huntsman Center this weekend to kick open a four-game homestand. The Runnin' Utes will first take on Oregon State this Wednesday, Jan. 6, for a 9 p.m. (MT) on ESPNU.
 
Roxy Bernstein will guide fans through the game while Richie Schueler serves as the analyst in the annual match-up between Larry Krystkowiak and his former teammate and colleague Wayne Tinkle. The Utes look to snap a two-game losing-streak at home and snap a two-game skid against the Beavers as well.
 
MOVING ON UP
After scoring 5 points against USC, Timmy Allen now has 992 career points. He's now just 8 points shy of becoming the 40th player in Utah basketball history to record 1,000 career points and the 21st Ute to do so as a junior.
 
As of 2:30 p.m. (MT) on Jan. 4, 2021, there are 177 active players at the Division I level with at least 1,000 career points and 13 of them reside in the Pac-12 while only two of the 13 are forwards. In addition, only Matt Bradley (Cal) and Eric Williams, Jr. (Oregon) are juniors – the rest are seniors. In total, only 26 of those 177 active players with 1,000 career points are juniors.
 

  
SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
Oregon State enters Wednesday's contest 5-4 on the year and 1-2 in Pac-12 after falling to Stanford 81-71 in a make-up game against Stanford at home on Monday, Jan. 4. The Beavers were on a three-game winning-streak heading into Monday's game against the Cardinal. Jarod Lucas, who hit the game-winning three against Utah in the Pac-12 Tournament before COVID-19 shut everything down, had 22 points off the bench for OSU on 5-of-10 from deep with a perfect 7-of-7 afternoon from the line.
 
Ethan Thompson has been a rock for the Beavers, averaging 16.3 points, 3.6 rebounds and 4.0 assists while also being 1-of-4 players with 10-plus 3-pointers on the year. Lucas is averaging 12.3 points for OSU off the bench, knocking down a team-high 19 triples while shooting a near perfect .950 clip from the charity stripe.
 
Junior Warith Alatishe is nearly averaging a double-double for Oregon State. The 6-7 forward is averaging 9.7 points and 8.9 rebounds (team-high) while also leading the team in blocks with 18. Zach Reichle is also nearing the double-figures range, averaging 9.0 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.8 assists to go with his .417 shooting clip – which is second-most among his teammates with 50-plus field-goal attempts.
 
The Beavers have had only one true road game this year, a 59-55 loss to Washington State back on Dec. 2. A game that was decided at the free throw line. OSU was just 6-of-12 from the line while WSU knocked down 14-of-19 attempts in a four-point game.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Despite erasing a 22-6 deficit in the from the first half, a long scoring lull in the second-half and poor shooting doomed Utah in its game at USC, 64-46. The Utes managed to knock down just four field goals in the second frame of play in the loss. Utah had clawed back to take a short 27-26 lead before heading into the locker room down 32-28 and kept it a two-possession game until the final 9:22 minutes of action where it was outscored 20-8.
 
Ian Martinez was the lone double-digit scorer for Utah, registering a season-high 10 points for the young freshman. Timmy Allen led the Utes on the glass with eight rebounds to go with his five points. As a team, Utah shot just 27.9-percent (17-of-61) from the field with a meager 13.6-percet (3-of-22) from down range.
 
UP NEXT
Utah will get a couple extra days to prepare for #17/15 Oregon after its game against the Beavers with the Utes and Ducks scheduled to tip off at Noon (MT) on Sunday, Jan. 10, on Pac-12 Networks.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
The Runnin' Utes remain at home for another week as they welcome in Stanford (Jan. 13) and Cal (Jan. 16). The Utes and Cardinal will face off in another 9 p.m. (MT) broadcast ESPNU while it takes on the Golden Bears at 8 p.m. on the ESPN linear network to be determined.
 
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