Thanks to an update in the NCAA rules, Alex Jensen’s first basketball team at the University of Utah will have two exhibition games against Division I opponents to get ready for the quickly approaching season.
The first of those exhibitions comes Friday night at the Huntsman Center, when the Runnin’ Utes host Nevada (7 p.m. MDT, ESPN+).
In a week, Utah will travel to Oregon to face its former Pac-12 rivals, the Ducks, on Oct. 24, before the regular-season opener on Nov. 3 against San Jose State.
Eighty percent of Utah’s 15-man roster is new to the program this season, and the pair of exhibition contests will allow Jensen the opportunity to test out personnel groupings.
“I’m excited to see us play against somebody besides each other, which I think we’re due for,” Jensen said. “And I’m excited to just see different combinations of our guys together, because I think they’re getting a feel for each other still and coaches are doing the same thing, trying to get a feel for it all because it takes time, because we’re all new, so I think that’ll be a good step in that direction.”
In January, the NCAA voted to ease its preseason exhibition rules. Beginning this season, universities could schedule up to two exhibition games against any four-year institution, including Division I schools.
Previously, exhibitions had to be approved through a waiver process, and those preseason scrimmages weren’t open to the public. Proceeds from the games were also donated to charity.
Now, fans are allowed to be in attendance, and in a sign of keeping up with the new revenue sharing era of college sports, schools can decide how to allocate revenue generated from these games.
Utah’s game against Nevada will be free to the public.
These exhibition contests allow the Utes to work out some of the bugs, all in a game-like atmosphere. Forward Seydou Traore, an Iowa transfer, is embracing the opportunity to facing someone besides his own teammates and playing in front of the home crowd.
“I think just going out there ... playing against each other, empty gym (in practice), just getting out there and finally playing against other people, I think just having fun, that’s the main thing,” he said.
Terrence Brown, a transfer guard from Fairleigh Dickinson, is looking forward to further developing chemistry with his teammates in these exhibition contests.
“(In practice) you’re playing with each other, but you’re also playing against each other, so going out against another team and playing all as one, and being able to know what you’re bringing to the team and you guys have to put into to win (is important),” Brown said. ”And be a team together, as coach says, and just playing for everybody obviously.”
Utah is taking advantage of the new situation by facing a pair of western Division I schools that have recently played in the NCAA Tournament.
Though Nevada went 17-16 last season, the Wolf Pack made the NCAAs the two years prior to that. In the 2023-24 season, Nevada even briefly entered the Associated Press top 25 rankings.
Wolf Pack coach Steve Alford is a familiar name in Utah circles. He previously coached at New Mexico and UCLA and has faced Utah State in Mountain West Conference play over the past six years as coach at Nevada.
Oregon, meanwhile, has made the NCAA Tournament each of the past two seasons under longtime head coach Dana Altman, advancing to the second round both years.
The Ducks have made the NCAAs in nine of Altman’s 15 seasons at the helm.
With a nonconference schedule wherein Utah’s biggest challenges come away from the Huntsman Center prior to the start of Big 12 play, though a neutral-site game against Mississippi State at Delta Center will be in front of a pro-Utah crowd, these early exhibition opportunities allow the Utes to face stiff competition without worrying about stacking any losses.
“They’re two colleges that..., they’ve had success. The (opposing) coaches have won a lot more games than I have, and it’s a great test for us to see where we are,” Jensen said of facing Nevada and Oregon in the preseason. “And again, playing against somebody else, I think it’ll help direct us where we want to go. I’m excited for them.”
How to watch both of Utah basketball’s exhibition games
Both of Utah’s exhibition contests will be livestreamed.
The Utes’ game against Nevada, which tips at 7 p.m. MDT Friday, will be streamed on ESPN+. Bill Riley, the voice of the Utes, and Sean Mooney will be on the call. A subscription is required — a one-month subscription to ESPN+, which can be cancelled at any time, costs $11.99.
In addition to Friday’s matchup being free to attend, Utah players will also sign autographs following the game on the Huntsman Center floor.
Utah’s game at Oregon, which tips at 8 p.m. MDT, will be streamed on B1G+. A subscription is required — a one-time pay-per-view pass to watch the Utah-Oregon contest on B1G+ costs $8.99.
For those who are in the area and would like to attend Utah’s game vs. Oregon at the Matthew Knight Arena, tickets cost $5 for the upper bowl and $10 for the lower bowl.
Roster breakdown, aka ‘the cheat sheet’
There are a lot of new faces not just in the coaching room but on the roster as well.
Here’s a look at the 15-man roster for the Utes this season.
Number — Name — Position — 2024-25 team — 2024-25 season averages
- No. 0 — Seydou Traore — Forward — Iowa — 5.9 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.4 assists
- No. 1 — Elijah “Choppa” Moore — Guard — Syracuse — 5.2 points, 1.5 rebounds, 1.0 assists
- No. 2 — Terrence Brown — Guard — Fairleigh Dickinson — 20.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists
- No. 3 — Don McHenry — Guard — Western Kentucky — 17.0 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists
- *No. 5 — Babacar Faye — Forward — Western Kentucky — 15.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, 0.7 assists
- No. 6 — Jacob Patrick — Guard — MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg (Germany) — 9.0 points, 2.1 rebounds, 0.6 assists
- No. 7 — Josh Hayes — Forward — Northwest Florida State College — 9.9 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.0 assists
- No. 8 — Keanu Dawes — Forward — Utah — 8.3 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.0 assists
- No. 9 — Jerry Huang — Guard — Utah — 0.6 points, 0.2 rebounds, 0.1 assists
- No. 10 — Jahki Howard — Forward — Auburn — 4.2 points, 1.1 rebounds, 0.1 assists
- No. 13 — Kendyl Sanders — Forward — IMG Academy — 14.2 points, 8.1 rebounds
- No. 15 — Alvin Jackson III — Guard — Salt Lake Community College — 6.4 points, 2.1 rebounds, 0.9 assists
- No. 21 — Obomate “Elmeri” Abbey — Guard — Jyväskylä Basketball Academy (Finland) — 19.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, 5.1 assists
- No. 31 — Ibi Traore — Forward — Utah — DNP, suffered season-ending injury
- No. 32 — James Okonkwo — Forward — Akron — 6.9 points, 7.2 rebounds, 0.5 assists
*Suffered season-ending injury during practice