Utah faces Butler in the opening round of the inaugural College Basketball Crown amid major changes to the basketball program.
Earlier in March, Utah athletic director Mark Harlan hired Dallas Mavericks assistant Alex Jensen to be the Utes’ new head coach. Jensen replaced Craig Smith, who was fired in late February in his fourth season with the program. He signed a six-year deal with a minimum annual salary of $3.6 million per season.
The coaching change has already led to significant roster upheaval with seven players entering the transfer portal. Among the players hitting the portal are starters Lawson Lovering and Jake Wahlin and key reserves Keanu Dawes, Hunter Erickson, and Miro Little.
Still, Utah (16-16) is one of five Big 12 teams who accepted a bid to the first-ever College Basketball Crown — a new 16-team postseason tournament in Las Vegas spearheaded by FOX Sports. Interim head coach Josh Eilert, Smith’s lead assistant until his firing, will guide the Utes in Vegas while Jensen finishes out the current NBA season with the Mavericks before fully taking over the program.
“I’m 100 percent all in,” Eilert told KSL.com. “I’m excited about it. I know players have to make decisions, but I think it would be special to have another opportunity to battle with these guys.”
Butler faces less uncertainty than the Utes going into Vegas. The Bulldogs have had only one player enter the transfer portal so far — walk-on guard Ryder Cate.
The Bulldogs (14-19) have lost five of six games entering the CBC. A nine-game losing streak following a 7-1 start essentially derailed Butler’s hopes of being competitive in Thad Matta’s third season of his second stint with the school.
Butler shood get a big boost from Jahmyl Telfort, who is shooting 53 percent and averaging 16.8 points over the past 10 games. Utah’s fortunes will ride on the perimeter shooting prowess of Gabe Madsen, who averages three made 3-pointers per game. Madsen is scoring 15.1 points per game while shooting 32.0 percent from outside.
Butler leads the all-time series with Utah 3-1. The lone loss came in the team’s first meeting in 1964.
–Field Level Media
