SALT LAKE CITY-Saturday, Utah men’s basketball (10-3, 1-0 in Pac-12 play) hosts Oregon (11-3, 0-1 in Pac-12) as the Ducks are No. 4 in The Associated Press poll and No. 6 in the coaches poll.
The Utes are 10-35 (.222) all-time against teams ranked in the Top 5 in the AP poll and 3-9 (.250) against squads ranked No. 4 or higher by the AP.
Utah head coach Larry Krystkowiak (165-114, .591; 207-134, .607 as a collegiate head coach) continues to excel in his ninth season at the helm of the Utes’ program.
The Utes score 79.4 points per game, ranking them 40th nationally in scoring offense.
Sophomore forward Timmy Allen leads the Utes in both scoring and rebounding (21.3 points, 7.6 boards per game).
Sophomore guard Both Gach (12 points per game) and freshman guard Rylan Jones (11.3 points per game, team bests in assists [60] and steals [16]) also score in double figures on-average for the Utes.
Freshman center Branden Carlson leads the squad with 10 blocked shots on the season.
Utah surrenders 69.3 points per game, ranking the Utes 190th nationally in scoring defense.
The Ducks come into the Huntsman Center Saturday having lost 74-65 to Colorado Thursday.
Oregon is coached by Dana Altman (246-99, .713 at Oregon; 656-342, .657 as collegiate head coach) who is in his 10th season at the helm of the Ducks’ program.
The Ducks score 79.2 points per game, ranking Oregon 46th nationally in scoring offense.
Senior guard Payton Pritchard leads the Ducks in scoring (18.6 points per game), assists (84) and steals (25).
Dominican national, junior guard Chris Duarte (12.1 points, 5 rebounds per game), redshirt senior guard Anthony Mathis (10.5 points per game) and sophomore guard Will Richardson (10.1 points per game) all score in double figures on-average for the Ducks.
Nigerian national, sophomore forward Francis Okoro is tied for the team lead in rebounds (6.2 per game) with redshirt senior forward Shakur Juiston. Okoro also has a team-best 10 blocked shots on the season.
The Ducks surrender 66.6 points per game, ranking them 129th nationally in scoring defense.
The Utes lead the Ducks 22-10 all-time and 6-5 at Salt Lake City in the all-time series.
