Weber St. @ Utah preview
Delta Center
Last Meeting ( Dec 22, 2011 ) Utah 51, Weber St. 80
The calendar will only read Dec. 14, but Utah is putting the wraps on the home-state portion of its non-conference schedule. To do that, the Runnin’ Utes will move across town Saturday afternoon to take on Weber State in the Beehive Classic at Vivint Smart Arena in Salt Lake City.
It will be the first of three straight neutral-site games for Utah, which also will play No. 9 Kentucky in Las Vegas (Dec. 18) and No. 24 San Diego State in Los Angeles (Dec. 21). Then comes a 12-day break between games, covering Christmas week, before Pac-12 play tips off Jan. 2. The Beehive Classic, an annual one-day showcase featuring northern Utah’s Division I teams, concludes Saturday with BYU facing off with Mountain West Conference-favorite Utah State. The Wildcats, of the Big Sky Conference, bring a two-game win streak into the matchup with the Utes, but are 3-5 overall with a 1-5 mark against Division I foes.
TV: 4 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Network
ABOUT UTAH (7-2): Coach Larry Krystkowiak’s Utes have won three straight since a 1-2 showing in the Myrtle Beach Invitational in South Carolina and have scored a total of 200 points over their last two outings – home wins over BYU (102-95 in overtime) and Central Arkansas (98-67). Sophomore forward Timmy Allen led the way in both wins, averaging 25.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and five assists to earn his first Pac-12 Player of the Week award. Allen (20.8 points per game) and fellow forward Riley Battin (10.6) are joined in double figures by guards Both Gach (12.1 points) and Rylan Jones (11.7, team-leading 5.2 assists) for Utah, which is averaging 85.6 points and shooting 51.5 percent from the field to rank sixth and seventh nationally, respectively.
ABOUT WEBER STATE (3-5): Senior guard Jerrick Harding averages a Big Sky-best 20.1 points after scoring a season-high 36 and accounting for half of the Wildcats’ points Dec. 4 in a 72-67 road win over Utah Valley. Senior and backcourt mate Cody John (10.9 points) is the only other Weber State player averaging double figures. Guard Kham Davis (8.4 points) and forward Tim Fuller (7.1) are averaging a team-leading 4.4 rebounds apiece with the latter shooting an even 70 percent from the field.
TIP-INS
1. Utah owns a 26-14 advantage in the series, but this will be their first meeting since 2011 and their first neutral-site clash.
2. Allen (7.4), Battin (5.3) and Michael Jantunen (5.2), a freshman forward from Finland, are the leading rebounders for the Utes, who boast a plus-7.7 rebound margin on the season.
3. Weber State has averaged only 56.8 points in its five losses and has had 11 more turnovers (111) than assists (100) on the year.
PREDICTION: Utah 84, Weber State 62