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Show 6 SPORTS New facility Utes get big win over Griffins Wednesday December 10,2008 www.doilyutahchronicle.com WOMEN'S BASKETBALL MEN'S BASKETBALL in the works for basketball Whitney O'Bannon STAFF WRITER Although Westminster is close to the U in proximity, its women's basketball team could not have been farther from stealing a victory Tuesday when the Utes blew them away 69-49. Jumping out to a 8-0 run in the first five minutes, Utah never let the Griffins back in the game. The Utes had an impressivefirsthalf, holding Westminster to a mere 16 points and 19.2 percent field goal percentage. Marco Villano STAFF WRITER Athletic director Chris Hill and head coach Jim Boylen are continuing to make changes with the Runnin' Utes basketball program. Their newest project is a practice facility for the men's and women's basketball teams that will cost approximately $14 million. The decision to build a new practice facility comes after years of the men's and women's teams sharing the samefloor.As of now, both teams are practicing in the Huntsman Center and working out in the HPER West. The new facility, expected to be finished in three years, will provide full-sized courts for both teams, offices for the coaches and training facilities. Boylen said he feels the addition of a practice facility will help the Utes' recruiting process. Although the idea is still fresh, the plan is to build the three-story building between the two HPER West buildings, overlooking the valley. The first floor will have locker rooms and a player lounge. The second floor will have conference and weight rooms. Administrative offices will be on the third floor. The conference room will overlook the courts with a giant window that can be transformed into a movie screen for viewing game film. Fundraising for the project has been scheduled to begin immediately. Hill said the completion of the project depends on the fund raising. In addition to the new basketball facility, the Utes' athletics program plans to build a new women's Softball field, a track and improve the Smith Athletic Center. The track is scheduled to be the first of the four to be built. m.villano@chronicle.utah.edu TYLER COBB/Tkt Dolly Utah Chronicle Morgon Warburton led the Utes in scoring with 23 points. The Utes beat Westminster 69-49 at the Hunstman Center on Tuesday night. Utah only had five turnovers in the first half and 14 assists. It was a tale of two quarters, though. Although itsfirsthalf performance was impressive, Utah came into the second half unprepared. The Utes led by as many as 31 points early in the second, but their lackadaisical attitude accompanied ,by a fighting Westminster team was disappointing despite their eventual large victory. "We played with interest in the first half and then I thought they played with more interest in the second half," said head coach Elaine Elliott. "It's what you bring to the court to start. We started well in the first half and I think then we had the lead and they came with a lot more drive than we did in the second." Getting the lead early proved to be important, but the Utes know letting up should never be an option in any game, regardless of the caliber of the opponent. "We just have to keep the same intensity no matter who it is," said Morgan Warburton, the game's leading scorer. "We just got too comfortable. You can't always be comfortable with where you are, you have to always want to progress. We can't just settle for what we already are, we have to keep working towards something better." The careless second half consisted of turnover after turnover, which has been the name of the game for Utah all season. The Utes finished the game with 19 turnovers and 19 assists. "We have to do better taking care of the ball," said starting-forward Halie Sawyer. Sawyer had an all-around game with her first doubledouble of the season, scoring 11 points and grabbing 11 boards. Westminster never gave Utah a break as it pressed full-court every time possession. However, the press gave the Utes the opportunity to run and get easy baskets inside. They had 42 points in the paint versus the Griffins' 14. Westminster had a good turnout from its bench with 21 of its total points. Utah's bench went scoreless during the game. Although it dug itself into a hole early, Westminster never went away. The Griffins had a 10-0 run early in the second half and continued to improve until the final buzzer. "They came at us, they didn't quit," Elliott said. "They made a great adjustment. I thought they looked very good in the second half and we just went to sleep." Coming off the confidence-building win over Westminster, the Utes look to Saturday when they take on Santa Clara at home in the Huntsman Center. w.obannon@ chronicle.utah.edu MEN'S BASKETBALL Utah looks to bounce back against Cal Marco Villano STAFF WRITER Round two of the Fab Four starts tonight for Jim Boylen's Runnin' Utes. After losing to a 1-5 Idaho State squad, the 5-2 Utes look to rebound against the California Golden Bears, who are coming off a tough loss themselves. Cal Is one of the four teams dubbed as Utah's Fab Four non-conference opponents, which also includes Oregon—which Utah beat 95-81 on Dec. 3—Gonzaga and LSU. Both Cal and Utah are coming off their second loss of the season. The Utes failed to complete a secondhalf comeback against Idaho State, losing 72-68, while Cal bowed to the Missouri Tigers in an unimpressive 93-66 loss. "We get to kind of redeem ourselves a little bit from the loss that we just had," said Ute forward Shaun Green. "It's another big team, another big game coming into our arena and we just need to try to get the winning tradition back." The Utes will go without starting point guard Luka Drca, who is expected to miss 10 days after spraining his ankle in Utah's loss to the Bengals on Saturday. Head coach Jim Boylen has decided to give freshman guard Jace Tavita the nod to start against Cal on Wednesday, leaving senior scorer Tyler Kepkay in his role coming off the bench. "It's tough, (Drca's) a great player," said center Luke Nevill. "He's big for his position, he can see the floor, he can handle the ball, so it's a tough loss. But we have guys that can step up, guys that can fill his shoes till he comes back." The Utes and Golden Bears had a similar box score in their losses. The Bears shot 35 percent from the field, were outrebounded and couldn't come back from an n-point first-half deficit. The Utes were also down by 11 at the half, were outrebounded and shot a mere 40 percent from the field. Last year, the Utes stunned the Golden Bears by giving them their first loss at home. Shaun Green made the game-winning basket with 1.4 seconds left on the clock to steal the game for the Utes, 67-65. You can bet that Cal will be looking for redemption on the Utes' home floor. "This is a team that is going to come in here with a lot of confidence," Boylen said. "We beat them last year, so obviously they know that. A lot of those players are back and they'll be ready for us." The Golden Bears feature a talented trio of players who will each bring his own dose of athleticism against Utah. Jerome Randle, Patrick Christopher and Theo Robertson are three of the best players the Pac-10 features this season, and head coach Mike Montgomery has used his plethora of talent fairly well this season. See BASKETBALL Page 7 TYLER COBB/ftr Doily Utah Chronide Jim Boylen and the Utes take on the California Golden Bears this week. The Golden Bears are one of Utah's Fab Four non-conference opponents. The Great Debate Which college team will win the national championship? Bob Stoops' Oklahoma squad will break out of its slump Florida will take home the national trophy I ith the national championship game set between Florida and Oklahoma, there should be no doubt in anyone's mind that Florida will come out on top. In this game, the big matchup is going to be Oklahoma's offense vs. Florida's defense, which will ultimately be won by the Gators. While Oklahoma has been impressive with its recent string of dominating victories, accumulating the No. 1 offense in the nation along the way, it has not dominated on defense the way Florida has. The Sooners have given up an average of 24.5 points per game while the Gators have only given up 12.8 points per game. Besides having a dominating defense, Florida's offense isn't anything to sniff at. Although Tim Tebow doesn't have the offensive numbers that Oklahoma's Sam Bradford has, he has proven himself against some of the toughest defenses in the SEC by n the 1800s, land was given away at the sound of a gun. Settlers lined up with covered wagons and raced to NICOLAS the spot they would call home. A sneaky few left at night and PAPPAS claimed their land before the race r\ began. These scoundrels would be known as "Sooners," because, well, they got there sooner. fans know all too well the droopy Strange that years later, a unifeeling of wearing the colors of versity would name its team after their team in hostile territory at a bunch of cheaters, though it's least once in their life. Imagine worked for Oklahoma so far. Other wearing the gear of a team you universities should follow its lead. couldn't care less about. Imagine watching a dancing masWest Virginia beat up Oklacot in pinstripes for the University homa without its head coach. Rich of Chicago Capones. Rodriguez bailed early to start digWhen Oklahoma and Florida ging the hole that would become take the field for the Bowl Champi- Michigan football. The loss would onship Series National Champion- make it four in a row for "Bigship Game, both teams will begin Game Bob." One more this year at zero, but Oklahoma should and it might be time to think of a sneak ahead quickly after the coin new nickname. is flipped. My point? Bob Stoops is due, A coach of his caliber can't I personally witnessed Oklahopossibly losefivein a row, can ma's humiliation in last year's Fihe? Year after year, Stoops has esta Bowl. A die-hard Sooner fan rebounded with a strong regular gave me a ticket and dressed me season, and this year he has a in Oklahoma gear as though I was squad without manyflaws.The a mannequin in Norman. True SEC has produced the past two national champions. No conference has crowned three in a row since the 1940s. This is the best offensive team Oklahoma has ever put on thefield,and is arguably the best offensive team to ever play college football. The Sooners broke the NCAA record this year with 702 regular-season points, beating Hawaii's two-yearold record of 656. Sam Bradford is No. 3 in the nation with 4,464 passing yards, and the team boasts two 1,000yard rushers in Chris Brown and DeMarco Murray. Florida's defense is undersized, and will be facing the giants of Oklahoma's wide receiver corps, led by Juaquin Iglesias—a senior who has caught a touchdown pass in five straight games. Wi VS See OKLAHOMA Page 7 JAMES BOEHLY throwing for 2,515 yards and 28 touchdowns. In addition to the passing game, Florida is helped by its running game. Although Oklahoma's running backs have more yards individually, Florida still has a higher rushing average overall against higher-ranked defenses. Speaking of defense, both Alabama's and Tennessee's defenses ranked in the top five this season, and Florida was able to get by both of them. The Gators have also played four additional teams this season with defenses ranking in the Top 25, including their one loss to Mississippi. By comparison, Oklahoma's win against TCU is the team's only win against an opponent with a defense ranking in the Top 25. Cincinnati was the See FLORIDA Page 8 |
