Off to Austin! Utes head to the NCAA Tournament
THE GAME
On Friday afternoon, the University of Utah women's basketball team faces the Razorbacks of Arkansas in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Tip-off is set for 3:30 p.m. MT from the Frank Erwin Center.
FRIDAY'S MATCHUP
Date | Time: Friday, March 18 | 3:30 p.m. (MT)
Utah (20-11) vs. Arkansas (18-13)
Location: Austin, Texas | Frank Erwin Center
Live Stats: Click Here
Live Audio: Click Here
TV/Stream: Click Here
HOW TO TUNE IN
The game against the Razorbacks will be aired on ESPN700 with Tyson Ewing calling the shots, or you can find the game on ESPNews with Angel Gray and Chelsea Gray on the call. Live stats can be found at UtahUtes.com.
UTES OFFENSE
The Utes are the highest-scoring team in the Pac-12 (18th NCAA), averaging 76.0 points per game, and on pace for the third-highest figure in school history and highest since 1980-81. The school record is 78.5 (1978-79), and No. 2 is 78.2 (1980-81).
LEADING THE PAC-12
Utah also leads the Pac-12 in three-pointers made (7th NCAA; school-record 291), three-point attempts (9th NCAA; 825), assists (34th NCAA; 473), three-pointers made per game (9th NCAA; 9.4), assists per game (45th NCAA; 15.3), free throws made (14th NCAA; 452) and free throw attempts (43rd NCAA; 578).
UTES IN THE NCAA TOURAMENT
For the first time since 2011, the Utah Utes made the NCAA Tournament. The first time Utah made the NCAA Tournament was during the 1983 season. The first win for the Utes in the Big Dance was on March 17, 1997, with a 66-57 win over Iowa State. The last tournament victory for Utah came during the 2009 NCAA Tournament when they defeated Villanova, 60-30, on March 22. This will be the Utes' 18th overall appearance in the NCAA Tournament and first under Roberts.
TEAM NOTES
• Before the Pac-12 Tournament Freshman, Gianna Kneepkens was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Year. She becomes just the second player since joining the Pac-12 to earn this honor. The only other time Utah won this award was in 2019.
• For the first time in program history, the Utes earned All-Tournament honors at the Pac-12 Tournament. Gianna Kneepkens and Jenna Johnson became the first Utah players to earn this honor. The duo was the top two scorers for the Utes in the Tournament. Johnson or Kneepkens led the team in scoring in three of the four games.
• In the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 Tournament against Washington State, the Utes broke a Pac-12 record for most points scored in a quarter. The Utes came out on fire in the first quarter and scored 29 points.
• Utah has hit eight or more threes in 86 games under the direction of Lynne Roberts, going 62-25 in those games. Utah has made 8+ threes in 16 games this season, including five with 10+ (19 vs. Lipscomb, 11/10, 14 vs. Xavier, 11/13, 12 at Hawaii, 11/27, 16 vs. Eastern Illinois, 11/28, 12 vs. BYU, 12/4, 15 vs. Cal State Fullerton, 12/10, 12 vs. UC Riverside 1/14, 11 vs. #2/#3 Stanford 1/16, 14 vs. USC 2/9, 10 at UCLA 2/20).
• In the Pac-12 Tournament Championship game, junior Brynna Maxwell scored her 1,000th-career point. She became the 30th player in program history to join the 1,000-point club at Utah. Maxwell has tallied 1,013 points in her career, the 29th most in Utah history. She is seven points away from tying for 28th.
• The freshman class of Gianna Kneepkens, Jenna Johnson, and Inês Vieira have led the scoring charge for this season. The Utes freshman class has scored 851 points, 36 percent, of the Utes, points this season.
• Sophomore Kennady McQueen shined against the Ducks in the Pac-12 Tournament Semifinals. In the win over the Ducks, McQueen filled the stat sheet as she had 13 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, and one block. This was the first double-double of her career, and she set a career-high with those 11 rebounds.
• Before the Pac-12 Tournament, the Pac-12 Conference announced its end of the year Coaches Awards. Utah's Gianna Kneepkens was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and All-Pac-12 selection. Kennady McQueen was a Pac-12 Honorable Mention selection, and Kneepkens and Jenna Johnson earned Pac-12 All-Freshman honorees.
• Utah opened the season with back-to-back 100-point games. This was the second time in program history that Utah scored 100 or more in back-to-back games. The first time this happened was during the 1978-79 season.
• Throughout the Pac-12 Tournament, the Utes had three players lead the Pac-12 in statistical categories. Gianna Kneepkens led the Pac-12 Tournament in scoring as she scored 56 points over the Utes four games. She averaged 14.0 points per game over the Tournament. She was not alone, as Kelsey Rees led the Tournament with 31 rebounds. Rees closed out the Tournament with a 10-rebound performance in the Championship game. She averaged 7.8 rebounds per game over the Utes four games. Dru Gylten dished out 18 assists during the Tournament, the most by any player. She averaged. 4.5 assists per game.
NEXT UP
The winner of the Utah vs. Arkansas will advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The winner will take on the winner of the second-seeded Texas and 15th-seeded Fairfield contest.
FOLLOW THE UTES!
Fans can follow along during the 2021-22 season on social media (Twitter: @UtahWBB | Instagram: @UtahWBB | Facebook: Facebook.com/UtahWBB).