2019–20 Utah Utes men's basketball team

The 2019–20 Utah Runnin' Utes men's basketball team represented the University of Utah during the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by ninth-year head coach Larry Krystkowiak. They played their home games at the Jon M. Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City, Utah as members of the Pac-12 Conference. They finished the season 16–15, 7–11 in Pac-12 play to finish in a three-way tie for eighth place. They lost in the first round of the Pac-12 tournament to Oregon State.

2019–20 Utah Utes men's basketball
Conference	Pac-12 Conference
Record	16–15 (7–11 Pac–12)
Head coach	Larry Krystkowiak (9th season)
Assistant coaches	Tommy Connor Andy Hill Henry Martinez
Home arena	Jon M. Huntsman Center
Seasons ← 2018–19 2020–21 →

2019–20 Pac-12 Conference men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 13 Oregon	13	–	5		.722			24	–	7		.774
UCLA	12	–	6		.667			19	–	12		.613
USC	11	–	7		.611			22	–	9		.710
Arizona State	11	–	7		.611			20	–	11		.645
Arizona	10	–	8		.556			21	–	11		.656
Colorado	10	–	8		.556			21	–	11		.656
Stanford	9	–	9		.500			20	–	12		.625
Oregon State	7	–	11		.389			18	–	13		.581
Utah	7	–	11		.389			16	–	15		.516
California	7	–	11		.389			14	–	18		.438
Washington State	6	–	12		.333			16	–	16		.500
Washington	5	–	13		.278			15	–	17		.469
Note: The 2020 Pac-12 Tournament was canceled prior to the quarterfinals due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rankings from AP poll

Previous season

The Utes finished the 2018–19 season finished the season 17–14, 11–7 in Pac-12 play to finish in third place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 tournament to Oregon.^[1]

Off-season

On August 6, 2019, the NCAA placed the Utes on two years probation due to impermissible recruiting activities in April 2018.^[2]

Departures

Name	Num	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for Departure
Naseem Gaskin	0	G	6'3"	175	Freshman	Oakland, CA	Transferred to Montana
Charles Jones Jr.	1	G	6'2"	200	Junior	Portland, OR	Transferred to Portland State[3]
Sedrick Barefield	2	G	6'2"	190	Senior	Corona, CA	Graduated
Donnie Tillman	3	F	6'7"	225	Sophomore	Detroit, MI	Transferred to UNLV
Parker Van Dyke	5	G	6'3'	185	RS Senior	Salt Lake City, UT	Graduated
Christian Popoola	10	G	6'4"	190	Sophomore	Las Vegas, NV	Transferred to Salt Lake CC
Novak Topalovic	13	F	7'0"	230	RS Senior	Niš, Serbia	Graduated
Vante Hendrix	14	G	6'5"	190	RS Freshman	Woodland Hills, CA	Mid season transferred to New Mexico
Kevin Kremer	15	G	6'4"	190	Freshman	Chico, CA	Walk-on; transferred to Chaminade
Beau Rydalch	25	G	6'6"	205	Junior	Oakley, UT	Walk-on; left the team for personal reasons
Brandon Morley	31	F/C	7'0"	235	Junior	South Jordan, UT	Walk-on; graduate transferred to Utah Valley
Jayce Johnson	34	F/C	7'0"	235	RS Junior	Mission Viejo, CA	Graduate transferred to Marquette

Incoming transfers

Name	Num	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous school
Alfonso Plummer	25	G	6'1"	175	Junior	Fajardo, PR	Arizona Western College

2019 recruiting class

College recruiting information

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Rylan Jones PG	Logan, UT	Logan High School	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	150 lb (68 kg)	Aug 8, 2017
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 83
Matt Van Komen C	Lehi, UT	Pleasant Grove High School	7 ft 4 in (2.24 m)	150 lb (68 kg)	Jul 30, 2018
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 82
Mikael Jantunen PF	Helsinki, Finland	Helsinki Basketball Academy	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Oct 8, 2018
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN: N/A   ESPN grade: NR
Brendan Wenzel SG	Helotes, TX	O'Connor High School	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Apr 18, 2019
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN: N/A   ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2019 Utah Basketball Commitment List". Rivals.com. "Utah Utes 2019 Player Commits". ESPN.com. "2019 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

2020 recruiting class

College recruiting information (2020)
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Ian Martinez SG	San Juan Capistrano, CA	J. Serra Catholic High School	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	May 29, 2019
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN: N/A   ESPN grade: 0
Mason Falslev SG	Smithfield, UT	Sky View High School	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Jul 28, 2018
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN: N/A   ESPN grade: 0
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2020 Utah Basketball Commitment List". Rivals.com. "Utah Utes 2020 Player Commits". ESPN.com. "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

Regular season

On November 8, the Utes defeated Mississippi Valley State 143–49 to set an NCAA record for largest margin of victory (94 points) over a Division I opponent.^[4]

Roster

2019–20 Utah Utes men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown F 0 Luc Krystkowiak (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Bingham HS Salt Lake City, Utah F 1 Timmy Allen 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) So Red Mountain HS Mesa, Arizona C 2 Matt Van Komen 7 ft 4 in (2.24 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Fr Pleasant Grove HS Pleasant Grove, Utah G 5 Jaxon Brenchley 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Ridgeline HS Providence, Utah G 10 Brandon Haddock (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Fr Carroll HS Southlake, Texas G 11 Both Gach 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 195 lb (88 kg) So AZ Compass Prep School Austin, Minnesota G 13 Elias Ballstaedt (W) 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Wasatch HS Heber City, Utah G 14 Brooks King (W) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) RS So Centennial HS Boise, Idaho G 15 Rylan Jones 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Fr Olympus HS Salt Lake City, Utah F 20 Mikael Jantunen 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Fr Helsinki Basketball Academy Helsinki, Finland F 21 Riley Battin 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) So Oak Park HS Oak Park, California G 25 Alfonso Plummer 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Jr Arizona Western College Fajardo, Puerto Rico G 30 Brendan Wenzel 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr O'Connor HS San Antonio, Texas F 32 Lahat Thioune 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 210 lb (95 kg) RS Fr Florida Prep Dakar, Senegal F 35 Branden Carlson 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr Bingham HS South Jordan, Utah F 40 Marc Reininger (W) 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Sr Regis Jesuit HS Monument, Colorado G 45 Ben Bittner (W) 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) So Copper Hills HS West Jordan, Utah	Head coach Larry Krystkowiak (Montana) Assistant coach(es) Andy Hill (Eastern Washington) Tommy Connor (Utah) Henry Martinez Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
October 30, 2019* 6:30 pm, P12N		UT Tyler	W 88–47		Jon M. Huntsman Center (7,994) Salt Lake City, UT
Non-conference regular season
November 5, 2019* 8:30 pm, CBSSN		at Nevada	W 79–74	1–0	Lawlor Events Center (8,324) Reno, NV
November 8, 2019* 7:00 pm, P12N		Mississippi Valley State	W 143–49	2–0	Jon M. Huntsman Center (9,926) Salt Lake City, UT
November 15, 2019* 7:00 pm, P12N		Minnesota	W 73–69	3–0	Jon M. Huntsman Center (12,760) Salt Lake City, UT
November 21, 2019* 5:00 pm, ESPNews		at Coastal Carolina Myrtle Beach Invitational quarterfinals	L 57–79	3–1	HTC Center (2,269) Conway, SC
November 22, 2019* 5:30 pm, ESPNews		vs. Ohio Myrtle Beach Invitational 2nd round consolation	W 80–66	4–1	HTC Center (1,921) Conway, SC
November 24, 2019* 8:30 am, ESPNU		vs. Tulane Myrtle Beach Invitational 5th place game	L 61–65	4–2	HTC Center (3,212) Conway, SC
November 29, 2019* 7:00 pm, P12N		UC Davis	W 77–73	5–2	Jon M. Huntsman Center (10,546) Salt Lake City, UT
December 4, 2019* 6:00 pm, P12N		BYU Rivalry/Old Oquirrh Bucket	W 102–95 OT	6–2	Jon M. Huntsman Center (11,565) Salt Lake City, UT
December 7, 2019* 3:00 pm, P12N		Central Arkansas	W 98–67	7–2	Jon M. Huntsman Center (9,888) Salt Lake City, UT
December 14, 2019* 2:00 pm, P12N		vs. Weber State Old Oquirrh Bucket/Beehive Classic	W 60–49	8–2	Vivint Smart Home Arena  Salt Lake City, UT
December 18, 2019* 9:00 pm, ESPN2		vs. No. 6 Kentucky Neon Hoops Showcase	W 69–66	9–2	T-Mobile Arena (5,507) Paradise, NV
December 21, 2019* 4:30 pm, P12N		vs. No. 20 San Diego State Basketball Hall of Fame Classic	L 52–80	9–3	Staples Center (8,296) Los Angeles, CA
Pac-12 regular season
January 2, 2020 6:30 pm, P12N		Oregon State	W 81–69	10–3 (1–0)	Jon M. Huntsman Center (9,579) Salt Lake City, UT
January 4, 2020 3:00 pm, P12N		No. 4 Oregon	L 64–69	10–4 (1–1)	Jon M. Huntsman Center (13,104) Salt Lake City, UT
January 12, 2020 4:00 pm, ESPNU		at No. 25 Colorado	L 52–91	10–5 (1–2)	CU Events Center (8,017) Boulder, CO
January 16, 2020 6:30 pm, P12N		at Arizona	L 77–93	10–6 (1–3)	McKale Center (13,549) Tucson, AZ
January 18, 2020 7:00 pm, P12N		at Arizona State	L 64–83	10–7 (1–4)	Desert Financial Arena (9,608) Tempe, AZ
January 23, 2020 6:00 pm, P12N		Washington	W 67–66	11–7 (2–4)	Jon M. Huntsman Center (9,396) Salt Lake City, UT
January 25, 2020 5:00 pm, P12N		Washington State	W 76–64	12–7 (3–4)	Jon M. Huntsman Center (9,807) Salt Lake City, UT
January 30, 2020 7:30 pm, FS1		at USC	L 52–56	12–8 (3–5)	Galen Center (4,478) Los Angeles, CA
February 2, 2020 1:00 pm, FS1		at UCLA	L 57–73	12–9 (3–6)	Pauley Pavilion (4,497) Los Angeles, CA
February 6, 2020 8:00 pm, P12N		Stanford	W 64–56	13–9 (4–6)	Jon M. Huntsman Center (10,049) Salt Lake City, UT
February 8, 2020 6:00 pm, P12N		California	W 60–45	14–9 (5–6)	Jon M. Huntsman Center (10,766) Salt Lake City, UT
February 13, 2020 7:00 pm, P12N		at Oregon State	L 51–70	14–10 (5–7)	Gill Coliseum (4,118) Corvallis, OR
February 16, 2020 7:00 pm, FS1		at No. 17 Oregon	L 62–80	14–11 (5–8)	Matthew Knight Arena (8,542) Eugene, OR
February 20, 2020 8:30 pm, FS1		UCLA	L 58–69	14–12 (5–9)	Jon M. Huntsman Center (9,815) Salt Lake City, UT
February 23, 2020 4:00 pm, ESPNU		USC	W 79–65	15–12 (6–9)	Jon M. Huntsman Center (9,765) Salt Lake City, UT
February 26, 2020 8:00 pm, P12N		at Stanford	L 62–70	15–13 (6–10)	Maples Pavilion (2,978) Stanford, CA
February 29, 2020 4:00 pm, P12N		at California	L 79–86 OT	15–14 (6–11)	Haas Pavilion (6,420) Berkeley, CA
March 7, 2020 12:30 pm, P12N		Colorado	W 74–72 OT	16–14 (7–11)	Jon M. Huntsman Center (10,886) Salt Lake City, UT
Pac-12 tournament
March 11, 2020 1:00 pm, P12N	(9)	vs. (8) Oregon State First round	L 69–71	16–15	T-Mobile Arena (8,048) Paradise, NV
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Mountain Time.

Source^[5]

References

1. "Utes will open the 2019-20 men's basketball season at Nevada and host BYU on Dec. 4". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
2. Schlabach, Mark. "Utah on NCAA probation for recruiting issues". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on August 6, 2019.
3. "Report: Charles Jones Jr. is transferring from the Utah men's basketball program". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
4. Norlander, Matt (November 8, 2019). "Utah beats Mississippi Valley State by 94, setting the record for largest margin of victory vs. a D-I team". CBSSports.com. Retrieved November 10, 2019.
5. "Utah's men's basketball schedule is done. There's one Sunday home game, and the Beehive Classic format is changed". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved September 17, 2019.