LONG BEACH -- It's been a long three weeks since the Utah basketball team played a home game.
The Utes played at Utah State because it was the Aggies' turn to host the annual in-state contest. They played at the Maui Invitational because it's likely the best in-season college tournament and is, after all, played at Maui. Earlier this week they played at the Great Eight tournament in Chicago thanks to their finish in last year's NCAA basketball tournament.The Utes' long and winding road trip continues tonight when they take on Long Beach State at the Pyramid (8 p.m. MST, KJZZ-TV).
So what's the occasion for Utah's latest venture on the road?
This one's for Andre.
Just like he did for Keith Van Horn, Utah coach Rick Majerus tries to get a game in the L.A. area every year for his star guard Andre Miller, who prepped at Verbum Dei High School. Last year it was Loyola Marymount.
"This is the only team we could get to play us down here," said Majerus. "And this was the only date available."
Miller expects to have a good following on hand for the game. When asked how many friends and family he expected to be at the game, he didn't miss a beat. "A thousand," he said with a smile as he walked through the Marriott Hotel with teammate Tyson Johnston.
Actually he expects to have around 50 or 60 friends and relatives cheering him on, and who knows, perhaps they'll sound like a thousand in the arena that really is shaped like a pyramid.
Miller is coming off a fine performance, albeit in a losing cause, against Rhode Island Wednesday night when he tied career highs with 28 points and six steals. He also was named tournament MVP over players such as Duke's Trajan Langdon, Connecticut's Richard Hamilton, Kentucky's Wayne Turner and Rhode Island's Lamar Odom, who all played for winning teams in the tournament.
How valuable is Miller to the Utes right now? Consider this: Miller leads the team in seven categories including scoring average (17.6), rebounds (5.8), assists (6.0), steals (3.0), field-goal percentage (.529), 3-point percentage (.471) and minutes played (34.2).
Majerus said after the loss Wednesday that he's going to employ some new ideas for the Ute offense that will get Miller the help he's been lacking. The Utes practiced the past two days at a local gymnasium with the same resolve they had after the shocking loss to Utah State.
In Long Beach State, the Utes will be facing an opponent they should beat. Like Utah, the 49ers come into the game with a 3-3 record, but their strength of schedule has been nowhere near Utah's.
The 49ers have lost to Cal State Northridge, Pepperdine and USC (by 26 points), while their wins have all been close, over Loyola Marymount in overtime, over San Diego State by five and over Cal State Dominguez Hills (who?) by only three last Tuesday.
Long Beach is led by Mate Milisa, a 6-11 junior center from Croatia, who averages 14.2 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. Junior forward Richie Smalls averages 10.5 points and 6.8 rebounds.
GAME NOTES: Ute guard Jeremy Killion should also have a good following since he hails from nearby San Diego . . . After scoring in double figures the first three games, Alex Jensen has scored just 21 points in three games and fouled out of each contest . . . Hanno Mottola's shooting percentage has fallen to 43 percent, way down from his 58-percent shooting as a freshman . . . The Utes finally play at home when they meet Weber State Wednesday at the Huntsman Center.