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News ReleaseSALT LAKE CITY - The University of Utah men's basketball team (14-7, 5-2 MWC) will face the challenge of staying atop the Mountain West Conference standings while playing back-to-back road games this week. Utah will take on TCU in Fort Worth, Texas Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. MT, then head to Laramie, Wyo. for a 2 p.m. MT tipoff against Wyoming Saturday.
The Utes are coming off two straight emotional victories, beating New Mexico, 69-68 at home last Saturday, and capturing a 94-88 overtime against BYU last Tuesday to snap a four-game skid against their biggest rivals.
TCU enters Wednesday's contest looking to snap a two-game losing skid after falling to New Mexico at home, 69-52, and San Diego State on the road, 67-50. The loss to the Lobos was their only home loss in conference play, as they have posted a 3-1 league mark at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum.
Utah is led by 7-2 senior center Luke Nevill, who is making a strong case for All-American and MWC Player of the Year honors. He is also the reigning MWC Co-Player of the Week, sharing the honor with Lorenzo Wade of SDSU. Nevill leads the Utes with 17.6 points per game to go with 8.3 rebounds and 2.67 blocks.
TCU senior forward Kevin Langford is the Frogs' leading scorer with 14.0 points per game and has blocked 12 shots, while junior center Zvonko Buljan is the Frogs' top rebounder with 7.3 boards per contest.
Utah holds a 9-4 advantage in the all-time series against the Horned Frogs. The two teams split last year's meetings, each winning on their respective home floors. In their last matchup in Fort Worth, Utah fell by a 67-61 margin.
Utah has already played the home end of the Wyoming series this year, taking a 91-67 victory against the Cowboys, in Salt Lake City. Before the Utes head to Wyoming for the return visit, the Cowboys will face New Mexico in "The Pit", UNM's home arena, Tuesday.
