AUSTIN, Texas — By now, the Utah basketball team has learned a lot about Kentucky, the team it plays in an NCAA third-round game at 7:40 p.m. Friday at the Frank Erwin Center.
They've learned that the Wildcats like to pressure their opponents on defense. Kentucky ranks 25th in the country in steals and 31st in field-goal percentage defense.
They've learned that the Wildcats are one of the deepest teams in college basketball, using at least 10 players per game and often 12 or 13. Thirteen players have played in at least 24 games this year (compared to nine for Utah), and nine Wildcats average at least 11 minutes per game.
"When you haven't seen a team all year, just about anything you see is brand new," Utah coach Ray Giacoletti said. "But I didn't realize they were that deep. I didn't realize they started two freshmen."
The Utes have also learned that the Wildcats have a different way of double-teaming the post, which is significant since the Utes' hopes for an upset will rest on the man who is being double-teamed, all-American Andrew Bogut. Since studying the films, the most significant thing Giacoletti and his assistants have discovered is the Wildcats' "unorthodox" way of using double teams.
"Most teams double from big to big or the person on the help side," Giacoletti explained. "Theirs is different in that it's from the perimeter up on top. It's an NBA rotation rather than a college rotation, something we've never seen before."
While the Ute coaches have been learning things like how their opponent might double-team Bogut, we've been learning a few things about the Wildcats also. Such as:
The Wildcats have not made it to the Final Four since 1998, the year they broke the Utes' hearts by coming back from a 10-point halftime deficit to win the national title.
The Wildcats have made it to the Elite Eight twice — in 2003, when they lost to Marquette, and 1999, when they lost to Michigan State. Kentucky also lost in the second round in 2000, the third round in 2001 and 2002, and last year in the second round, to UAB.
The Wildcat starters don't have a height advantage over Utah at any starting position.
At center, it's 6-10 Randolph Morris going against the 7-foot Bogut. UK's Chuck Hayes and Utah's Bryant Markson are both 6-6 and the U.'s Justin Hawkins and UK's Kelenna Azubuike are both 6-5. On the guardline, it's Utah's 6-3 Tim Drisdom and 6-1 Marc Jackson against Kentucky's 6-1 Rajon Rondo and 6-foot Patrick Sparks. The Wildcats do have a couple of 7-footers, but both play less than nine minutes a game.
The Wildcats are a lousy free-throw shooting team, averaging just 66.5 percent from the line on the season, putting them among the bottom half of all Division I teams. The Utes don't foul much (No. 2 in the nation in fewest fouls per game), but it's nice to know your opponent isn't that great at the line. The best guys to foul are the freshmen, Morris (60.2 percent) and Rondo (60.6 percent).
On the other hand, the Utes shoot 72.3 percent from the foul line, just out of the top 50 in the nation, led by Richard Chaney (86.8 percent) and Marc Jackson (85.8 percent).
The Wildcats aren't a great 3-point shooting team at 34 percent, but they have attempted nearly 200 more treys than the Utes this year with 603 tries. Sparks is the top 3-point threat (76 for 37.1 percent). Utah's Jackson has twice as many makes (60) as the next Ute (Tim Drisdom with 26), but he makes 46.2 percent of his tries, on pace for a school record.
Rondo has already broken the school record for steals with 82 on the season, which is 21st best in the nation. He also led the SEC this season. Utah's top "stealer" is Tim Drisdom with 37, followed by Bogut with 33 and Jackson with 32.
Morris, the 6-10 freshman center, got his first career double-double in Kentucky's last game against Cincinnati with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Bogut leads the nation with 25 double-doubles this year.
The Wildcats aren't a run-and-gun team. Considering that Kentucky ranks 35th in the nation in scoring defense (61.9 ppg) and Utah is seventh (57.1 ppg), expect this game to stay in the 50s.
The Wildcats have a player on their roster who was apparently recruited by Utah.
The biography of 7-foot sophomore center Lukasz Obrzut (don't ask how to pronounce it) in the UK media guide says he chose Kentucky over Utah. While the Poland native has played in 26 games this year, he averages just 1.2 points and 0.5 rebounds per game.
The Utes aren't crying about the one that got away, however. They are more than happy with the 7-foot center they have.
The Utes and Wildcats are playing near their 1998 encounter in the NCAA Finals. Austin is just 80 miles up I-35 from San Antonio. Kentucky coach Tubby Smith said there are no comparisons between 1998 and 2005, but he did say "it's kind of eerie" that the Utes and Wildcats are playing each other again in southern Texas in an NCAA game.
GAME NOTES: The Utes practiced Wednesday before taking off for Austin on a charter with band members, cheerleaders and others from the university in the late afternoon . . . If the Utes should win, they would play the winner of the Duke-Michigan State game, which will be played at 5:10 p.m. . . . CBS-TV's top announcing team of Jim Nantz and Billy Packer will broadcast the three games from Austin . . . The Utes and Wildcats have two common opponents this season. Kentucky beat Coppin State in preseason 77-46, while Utah beat the same team 66-37. Utah beat LSU 65-54, while Kentucky beat the Tigers 89-58 at home and 79-78 in the SEC Tournament.
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