RENO, Nev.-Tuesday, Utah men’s basketball commences their season by meeting the Nevada Wolfpack of the Mountain West Conference at Lawler Arena.
The new-look Utes for head coach Larry Krystkowiak feature 11 newcomers.
Utah’s leading returning starter is sophomore forward Timmy Allen, netting 12.2 points and five rebounds per game last season.
Krystkowiak is 197-131 (.601) in 10 seasons as a college basketball coach at his alma mater Montana (2004-06) as well as Utah (2011-present).
The Utes are 83-27 (.755) all-time in regular season openers and 7-13 (.350) in said games on the road.
The Wolfpack, which is celebrating a whiteout Tuesday evening, are coming off a 29-5 (15-3 in Mountain West play) season which saw standouts Caleb Martin, Cody Martin and Jordan Caroline all have a chance at NBA careers.
In a pair of exhibition games, Nevada, now coached by former Missouri State, Iowa, New Mexico and UCLA coach Steve Alford, defeated NCAA Division II foes Cal State East Bay (81-52) and Colorado Christian (86-55) earlier this season. Alford is 509-269 (.654) all-time in 24 seasons as a head coach.
The Wolfpack’s returning standouts are senior guard Jazz Johnson (11 points, 1.8 rebounds last year) and senior guard Nisre Zouzoua (1.3 points, 1 rebound last season).
The Utes lead Nevada 10-1 all-time with the Wolfpack’s only win in the series coming last season, 86-71 at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City.
