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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Rick Majerus has a singular message for his team, for reporters, for Utah fans, for anyone who can hear his voice: the Utes are not as good as their preseason accolades.
Phil Cullen had 14 points and 11 rebounds, and Jeff Johnsen scored 14 points as Utah (No. 16 ESPN/USA Today, No. 12 AP) survived a late rally to beat Idaho State 71-65 on Friday night in the opener for both schools.
"I don't care who you're playing," Majerus said after giving
the Utes a 30-minute lecture. "We could have played an intramural
team or we could have played Duke. We should have tried to be
better ourselves, at least be unselfish."
Utah extended the nation's longest homecourt winning streak to
53 games and improved to 12-0 in openers under Majerus. The Utes
also made the closing minutes interesting after blowing a 42-20
halftime lead.
"We played one good half, then we let down," Cullen said.
The Bengals cut it to 66-61 with 1:02 remaining when former Utah
point guard Jordie McTavish drove for a layup.
McTavish, who played behind All-American Andre Miller on the
Utah team that reached the 1998 NCAA title game, scored eight of
his 15 points in the last two minutes to keep the Bengals within
striking distance.
But junior college transfer Kevin Bradley made a free throw with
12.4 seconds to play and Travis Spivey, who started all but one
game three years ago as a Georgia Tech freshman, hit two more with
3.1 seconds left.
Utah fans are excited about the Utes, who added Spivey and Duke
transfer Chris Burgess. There's also Britton Johnsen and Trace
Caton, who played on Utah's Final Four team in 1998 then departed
for two years on Mormon missions.
Throw in Bradley to bolster Spivey at the point and it's easy to
see why reporters picked Utah to win the Mountain West.
Majerus tried to convince them otherwise. All he sees right now
is one returning starter in center Nate Althoff and a bunch of guys
who can't seem to work together.
"We have three variables that stop us from being cohesive,"
Majerus said. "Number one, they're all new to each other. Number
two, they're all new to me. Number three, they're all new to a
system and style of play."
It was clear Majerus hasn't been sandbagging when, after holding
the Bengals to 30 percent shooting in the first half, the Utes made
a series of defensive lapses to let Idaho State back.
"In the second half, we broke up into individuals," Cullen
said. "Overall, our cohesion is getting better every day. We're
searching for roles, but we realize we won't be successful if we
let up defensively like we did tonight."
Spivey scored 11 and Bradley had 10 for the Utes.
With only one starter returning, Majerus has complained that his
team was messy in practice. Judging by Spivey's six turnovers and
three assists in 27 minutes, the coach wasn't kidding.
"I can understand being out of sync with the plays, but I can't
understand not sharing the ball," Majerus said.
The Utes shot 66 percent in the first half, with veterans Cullen
and Johnsen leading the way. Burgess, who picked up a foul only a
few seconds into his Utah career, saw only two minutes before
halftime.
It was an awkward homecoming for McTavish, who left Salt Lake City when Majerus decided not to renew his scholarship. Still, McTavish was cheered by Utah fans when the starters were announced.
"It would have been nice to win but the way we played in the
first half, shooting 30 percent, you're not going to beat anybody
like that," McTavish said.
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ALSO SEE
Mens College Basketball Scoreboard
Idaho State Clubhouse
Utah Clubhouse
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