Utah (30-3) vs. Kentucky (34-4); Alamodome, San Antonio; Today; 6:15 p.m., Ch.2

UTAH

THE STARTERS

34: Drew Hansen

24: Andre Miller

13: Hanno Mottola

51: Michael Doleac

50: Alex Jensen

* About Utah: The Utes can now be called the surprise team of the tournament. Sure, they were seeded No. 3 in the West Regional and ranked seventh in the country, but they have upset perhaps two of the three most talented teams in the country. They will meet the third tonight in Kentucky, a team that has knocked them out of the tournament the last two years and three out of the last five. This season, few, if anyone, gave the Utes a chance at getting past Arizona, and they slaughtered the Wildcats. Fewer thought the Utes could handle North Carolina’s athleticism and depth and they dismantled the Tar Heels. People are coming around to the fact that the Utes can run and jump well enough to beat the best teams in America without a superstar. Utah makes up for its lack of speed and quickness with smarts. The Utes are almost always in the right position on defense and rarely force bad shots.

KENTUCKY

THE STARTERS

5: Wayne Turner

3: Allen Edwards

15: Jeff Sheppard

34: Scott Padgett

13: Nazr Mohammed

* About Kentucky: How dominant has Kentucky been in the last three years? For the third season in a row, Kentucky will play in the NCAA championship game. Kentucky won the championship in 1996 and was runner-up last season. The Wildcats have won 16 of their last 17 tournament games, they have won more games in college basketball (1,716) and are second to only UCLA in the number of championships, 11-6. This season, six players average eight points or more, so the Wildcats are more balanced on offense with first-year Coach Tubby Smith, than they were under former coach and current Boston Celtic Coach Rick Pitino. Junior center Nazr Mohammed, who is 60 pounds lighter since first arriving at Kentucky, scored 18 points against Stanford on Saturday. In the backcourt, senior Jeff Sheppard, who led the Wildcats with 27 points Saturday, is a threat from three-point range.

* Keys to the game: Utah, which has led at the half in all five of its tournament games, needs to again jump out to an early lead against the Wildcats. Kentucky can produce a lot of firepower in a hurry and come from behind in a hurry. But as tough as they are chasing you, the Wildcats would be tougher to chase. Kentucky needs Mohammed, who scored one first-half point against Stanford, to play well in both halves. Utah needs Andre Miller to do it all again.

UTE STATISTICS

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No. Player Pos. FG% FT% Reb. Ast. Pts. 51 Michael Doleac C .491 .809 7.0 0.5 16.2 24 Andre Miller G .557 .729 5.4 5.2 14.2 13 Hanno Mottola F .492 .741 5.2 0.8 12.4 50 Alex Jensen F .443 .739 5.9 2.3 6.6 34 Drew Hansen F/G .451 .630 3.0 2.1 5.6 21 Trace Caton F/G .465 .833 1.1 0.7 4.2 3 David Jackson G .420 .773 1.5 1.4 3.4 31 Britton Johnsen F .434 .515 1.5 0.5 3.3 11 Jordie McTavish G .361 .724 0.8 0.9 2.8 40 Jon Carlisle F .565 .618 2.1 0.3 2.4 52 Nate Althoff C .667 .462 1.8 0.1 1.8 45 Greg Barratt F .306 .500 1.9 0.1 1.8 Totals .482 .729 34.2 14.6 70.1

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WILDCAT STATISTICS

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No. Player Pos. FG% FT% Reb. Ast. Pts. 15 Jeff Sheppard G .442 .697 4.0 2.7 13.6 13 Nazr Mohammed C .599 .652 7.4 0.7 12.1 34 Scott Padgett F .474 .847 6.6 2.1 11.4 5 Wayne Turner G .482 .625 3.1 4.4 9.4 3 Allen Edwards G .449 .639 3.3 3.2 9.4 14 Heshimu Evans F .532 .619 5.4 1.6 8.7 42 Jamaal Magloire C .484 .656 4.3 0.3 5.1 21 Cameron Mills G .415 .952 1.5 0.6 4.3 11 Saul Smith G .360 .600 1.1 1.3 2.6 33 Michael Bradley F-C .667 .514 1.7 0.4 2.5 25 Myron Anthony F .397 .615 1.2 0.2 2.3 22 Ryan Hogan G .269 .400 0.6 0.4 1.1 4 Stephen Masiello G .400 .500 0.2 0.1 0.6 Totals .481 .671 38.9 17.7 80.1

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