Junior center Jason Washburn posted his third career double-double and junior guard Chris Hines knocked down four 3-pointers, but it was not enough to lift the Utes past Colorado at the Huntsman Center Saturday as the Buffaloes captured a 55-48 defensive affair.

Washburn poured in a game-high 16 points on 8-of-15 from the field and collected 10 rebounds to complete his first double-double in Pac-12 Conference play. He also blocked a pair of shots to reach 92 for his career, tying Nate Althoff (1997-2001) for ninth all-time at Utah.

Hines’ four 3-pointers tied his season high as he scored double digits for the seventh time in his last eight games. Junior guard Cedric Martin was also influential on the offensive end for the Utes (5-21, 2-12 Pac-12), recording a game-high five assists with zero turnovers, to go with five points and three rebounds.

Andre Roberson led the Buffaloes (18-8, 10-4 Pac-12) with a double-double of his own as he scored 12 points and grabbed a game-high 16 rebounds. Austin Dufault nearly had a double-double as well, finishing with 11 points and nine boards.

Both teams set the tone for a staunch defensive battle at the beginning of the game as the two squads combined for an 0-of-11 start (Colorado 0-of-7, Utah 0-of-4), before the Utes got on the board with the game’s first field goal at the 14:30 mark.

Colorado led by as many as nine points in the second half but the Utes kept the game within reach, then made a 14-5 run of their own to tie the game at 40-40 with 6:25 remaining. Utah was never able to wrestle the lead away from the Buffaloes, but tied it up at 42-42 and 44-44 before CU went on a 6-0 run to take the lead for good.

Utah shot 35.7% (20-of-56) from the field, including 6-of-19 from 3-point range. Colorado finished the game at 35.8% (19-of-53) including 2-of-11 from 3-point range, but shot 19 free throws to only three for the Utes. The Buffaloes were 15-of-19 from the charity stripe while Utah was just 2-of-3. Colorado also dominated the boards, grabbing 46 rebounds, the most by any Utah opponent this year, while holding the Utes to just 28 on the glass.

The game capped off Utah basketball’s Alumni Weekend which included a halftime celebration of the Utes’ 1976-77 WAC championship team.

Utah is back in action Thursday, Feb. 23, as the Utes stay home to host California at 7 p.m., followed by Stanford on Saturday, Feb. 25, at 6:30 p.m.

There’s no sugarcoating this season, the University of Utah Men’s Basketball program is suffering through a historically bad season. At 5-20 coming into today’s contest, with fellow Pac 12 newbie Colorado, the Utes have suffered their first 20 loss season in more than 100 years of playing Dr. Naismith’s game. A minimum of 6 games remain for Larry Krystkowiak’s team this season, then the rebuilding project begins with his first “real” recruiting class coming in next season, along with a pair of talented transfers (Glen Dean and Aaron Dotson) sitting out and ready to play next season.

Today at the Huntsman Center, Utes fans will get a chance to forget this season’s struggles for just a little while and remember fondly one of the great seasons in Utah Basketball History. Today Utah will honor the 1976-77 Men’s squad, coached by Jerry Pimm and led by Jeff Jonas and Jeff Judkins. The team that went 22-7 won the WAC Championship and advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament. That season was highlighted by an early season wins over national powers UNLV and at Rupp Arena against Kentucky.

I had dinner last week in Arizona with Jeff Jonas and then spoke with him again on Thursday on my radio show. The one thing that shines through when talking to Jonas or any of his teammates from that team and era of Utah Basketball is the pride in the program and love of the school. It’s something the Krystkowiak and his staff are trying to build once again with the players in the program. Names like Buster Matheney, Greg Deane, Tony Hodges, Michael Dunn and more were key players on the 1976-77 Utah squad, but also key names in Utah Basketball History.

I’m looking forward to meeting the man that put that team together, Head Coach Jerry Pimm. I’ve been around Utah Basketball for more than 10 years now and I don’t recall a time when Coach Pimm came back to a game. He’s living and retired in Santa Barbara, after 15 very successful seasons as Head Coach of the Gauchos. Pimm was 173-86 in his nine seasons as the bench boss at Utah and had a number of very good teams, winning 3 WAC Championships. You can make a case (and those being honored today probably will) that the 76-77 team was Pimm’s best at Utah.

So in a season, where things haven’t gone the way that Utah fans have grown accustomed over the years, today will be a nice chance to reflect on the good times, honor those who brought them and look forward to a time when Utah Basketball is great once again.

If you can’t make it to the Huntsman Center this afternoon, join us on the radio. Jimmy Soto joins me on today’s broadcast on the Flagship Home of the Utes, ESPN 700. Pre Game coverage begins at 2:30 and tipoff at 3pm.

Jason Washburn and Cedric Martinhad 15 points each for the Utes, who lost at Arizona 70-61 on Saturday.

Utah (5-11, 2-11) hit 9 of 18 from the arc against the Pac-12′s best team at defending 3-pointers, but didn’t hit a shot from anywhere over the final 5:42.

Coming off three solid wins, Arizona (18-8, 9-4 Pac-12) came out flat against Utah, falling into a 13-point first-half hole.

Nick Johnson hit a 3-pointer with just over a minute left and had 18 points, Kyle Fogg added 17 points and Arizona overcame an ugly first half to beat Utah.

The Wildcats rallied in the second half behind the 3-point shooting of Fogg and Brendon Lavender, then held on after Johnson’s 3-pointer to win their fourth straight game. Solomon Hill had 14 points and Lavender hit four 3-pointers for all of his 12 points.

The University of Utah will induct two former Ute athletes and a pair of former coaches into the Crimson Club Hall of Fame on Monday, April 23 at Energy Solutions Arena. Honored at the 2012 Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be Norma Carr (softball and volleyball coach/administrator), Bente Dahlum (skiing), Ron McBride (football coach) and Keith Van Horn (basketball). 

Ute senior student-athletes will also be honored. Tickets to the banquet, which starts with dinner at 7 p.m., are available to the public for $75. For more information and reservations, call Tracey in the Crimson Club office at 801-581-8519. 

Norma Carr

Instrumental in the implementation of the women’s varsity athletics at the University of Utah, Norma Carr was the school’s first head coach in both softball and volleyball. She was also an assistant women’s athletics director during her career at Utah from 1975-1989. 

The winningest softball coach in school history, Carr had a 372-244-3 (.603) record in 14 seasons. She led the Utes to the AIAW College World Series in 1976 and the NCAA College World Series in 1982 and 1985. The Utes were frequently ranked among the top 15 teams in the country from 1982-89, and won five High Country Athletic Conference titles. Carr was named the region coach of the year once and the conference coach of the year twice. 

As the women’s volleyball head coach from 1975-79, Carr led Utah to a 77-58 (.570) overall record—including a pair of 20-win seasons—and a 39-22 (.639) mark in conference play. She was a two-time conference coach of the year. 

Carr left the U. in 1989 to become the athletics director at Salt Lake Community College, becoming the first woman in the state to oversee both men’s and women’s programs. She was named NACWAA’s National Administrator of the Year in 2009. Among her other roles in athletics, Carr has officiated and supervised officials on the high school and college levels. 

Bente Dahlum

One of the most decorated skiers in Norweigan and University of Utah history, Bente Dahlum was a two-time individual NCAA champion and led the Utes to back-to-back national titles in 1983 and 1984. 

The Lillehammer, Norway, native earned All-America honors in the alpine events all three years of her Utah career from 1982-84. She captured a pair of individual national titles as a senior, sweeping the women’s slalom and giant slalom events in 1984. 

Before coming to the United States, Dahlum was a seven-time Norwegian national champion from 1975-81 and the overall winner of the 1979 Europa Cup. As a member of Norway’s national team from 1974-81, she helped lead Norway to a World Championship in 1978. She was also a member of Norway’s Olympic Training Squad in 1976 and 1980. 

Following her career at Utah, Dahlum returned to Europe and competed on the Women’s Professional Ski Racing Tour for three years. She earned Ski Racing Magazine Rookie of the Year honors in 1985. Dahlum coached club teams from 1996-2007. 

Ron McBride

As the Utes’ head football coach from 1990-2002, Ron McBride turned a program that had enjoyed only sporadic success during its history into a consistent postseason qualifier and a conference contender. In 13 seasons, McBride directed the Utes to 88 wins—the second-most in school history—six bowl appearances and a pair of conference championships. 

After working at Utah twice as an assistant coach in the late ‘70s to mid ‘80s, McBride was hired as Utah’s head coach in 1989. He was charged with revitalizing a program that had played in just two bowl games in 97 years. 

In his third season in 1992, McBride led the Utes to their first bowl appearance since 1964. His 1994 team was one of the best in school history, finishing with a 10-2 record and a No. 8 ranking in the coaches poll following a Freedom Bowl win over Arizona. McBride led the Utes to a share of the WAC championship in 1995—the school’s first league title in 31 years—a piece of the Mountain West Conference title in 1999, and Las Vegas Bowl victories in 1999 and 2001. 

Most recently, McBride served as the head coach at Weber State from 2005-11, leading the Wildcats to the 2008 Big Sky Conference title and a pair of appearances in the NCAA FCS Playoffs, before retiring at the end of this past season. His career record in 20 years as a Division I head coach was 131-101. 

Keith Van Horn

A runner-up for National Player of the Year honors in 1996-97 and a two-time All-American, Keith Van Horn finished his career as the all-time leading scorer and second-leading rebounder in Utah basketball history. 

Van Horn scored 2,542 points and grabbed 1,074 rebounds from 1993-97. He led the Utes to 98 wins and three NCAA Tournament appearances, including the Sweet 16 in 1996 and the Elite Eight in 1997. Utah won Western Athletic Conference regular-season titles in 1995, ’96 and ’97, and captured league tournament crowns behind MVP performances from Van Horn in 1995 and 1997. 

Van Horn became the first player in WAC history to be named player of the year three times in 1995, ’96 and ’97. He was one of only two four-time first team all-WAC selections in league history. As a senior, Van Horn was named a consensus All-Americans and was the runner-up to Tim Duncan for the Wooden, Naismith and RCA National Player of the Year awards. 

Van Horn was the No. 2 overall pick in the 1997 NBA Draft by the Philadelphia 76ers and was traded immediately to the New Jersey Nets. He played five seasons with New Jersey and spent three more years in the NBA with Philadelphia, New York, Milwaukee and Dallas. Van Horn averaged 16.0 points and 6.8 rebounds over the course of his career, and played in the NBA Finals with New Jersey in 2002 Dallas in 2006.

Carrick Felix scored 15 points, including a pair of critical free throws with 11.7 seconds to play, and Arizona State held off Utah 57-52 on Thursday night, sending the Utes to their fifth straight loss and 11th in 12 games.

Their lone victory in that span was a 64-43 rout of Arizona State in Salt Lake City on Jan. 21. Trent Lockett had 12 points, along with an assist on Felix’s dunk with 47 seconds remaining, in his first game back after missing six games with a sprained right ankle. The Sun Devils had gone 1-5 in Lockett’s absence.

Chris Hines was the only player in double figures for Utah (5-19, 2-10) with 10 points, but he made just 3 of 15 shots.

Former Ute Arnie Ferrin, a four-time All-American and member of Utah’s 1944 NCAA champion and 1947 NIT champion men’s basketball teams, will become the first Ute inducted into the Pac-12 Basketball Hall of Honor, the conference announced this week. Ferrin joins 11 other incductees, one from each Pac-12 school, including 10 other players and one coach. 

Ferrin and the 11 other honorees will be inducted during the 2012 Pacific Life Pac-12 Men’s Basketball Tournament in Los Angeles. Ferrin will be joined by Richard Jefferson (Arizona), Kurt Nimphius (Arizona State), Lamond Murray (California), Burdette Haldorson (Colorado), Jim Barnett (Oregon), A.C.Green (Oregon State), George Selleck (Stanford), EdO’Bannon (UCLA), Sam Barry (USC), George Irvine (Washington) and Steve Puidokas (Washington State). 

Ferrin is one of the most decorated players in Utah men’s basketball history. The only four-time All-American in Utah’s storied basketball heritage, he received the honor in 1944, ‘45 (Consensus), ‘47 and ‘48. 

As a freshman, Ferrin led the Utes to the 1944 NCAA Championship, scoring 22 points in the final game against Dartmouth, including four in overtime, and became the first freshman ever to be named MVP of the Final Four. That team was recently dubbed “The First Cinderella” in a March 2010 article in Sports Illustrated. As a senior, Ferrin helped the state of Utah celebrate its centennial as he led the Utes to the 1947 NIT Championship. 

Ferrin’s number 22 is one of seven retired jerseys hanging from the rafters of Utah’s current home, the Jon M. Huntsman Center, and was the simplest of choices for Utah basketball’s All-Century Team, unveiled in February of 2008. 

After graduating from the U. in 1948, Ferrin was named the MVP of the annual East-West All-Star game. He was then selected by the Minneapolis Lakers in the 1948 BAA (later the NBA) Draft and played three years (1949-51) for head coach John Kundla. The team won the BAA championship in 1949 and the NBA championship in 1950. 

In 1969, Ferrin became the Director of Regional Programs for the University of Utah Alumni Association. He served in that position until 1971 when he left to become the General Manager of the ABA’s Utah Stars. He returned to the U. in 1974 as an Assistant to the Vice President for University Relations. He held that position until May 1, 1976, before he accepted the job as Utah’s Athletics Director. Ferrin was Utah’s A.D. for nine years before retiring in 1985. 

In 2009, Ferrin was inducted into the National College Basketball Hall of Fame. 

Ferrin’s full name is Chariton Arnold Ferrin Jr. He was born in Salt Lake City on July 29, 1925, and played high school basketball in Ogden, Utah. He was first married to the former RoLayne Rasmussen and they had four children: Tres, Bard, Louanne and Shawn. Both RoLayne and Bard are deceased. Ferrin is remarried to Pat Panos. He now splits his time between his condo in Salt Lake and a home in Palm Springs.

Junior center Jason Washburnblocked a career-high eight shots, but the University of Utah men’s basketball team (5-18, 2-9 Pac-12) could not avoid a 76-58 loss to Oregon State (15-8, 5-6 Pac-12) Saturday at the Jon M. Huntsman Center.

Utah turned the ball over a season-high 20 times, which Oregon State converted into 19 points off turnovers. The Utes were at a 39-30 disadvantage on the backboards as the Beavers grabbed 18 offensive rebounds.

Washburn blocked a career-high eight shots by the Beavers. His previous best was four, which he set three times, most recently at Utah State on Nov. 14, 2010. His eight blocks was the third-most ever in a single game by a Ute. Offensively, he recorded 15 points on a 5-of-8 effort from the floor. He has turned in double-digits 25 times over his career and 13 times in 2011-12. The Battle Creek, Mich., native also grabbed six rebounds.

Junior wing Cedric Martin tied his career high with 19 points on a 5-of-11 shooting afternoon. He made four of his eight 3-point field goal attempts. Martin has scored 10 points or more nine times this season.

Kareem Storey scored eight points and dished out a team-high six assists, while Dijon Farr grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.

The Beavers scored eight of the first 11 points of the contest, but a pair of 3-pointers by Dijon Farr and Martin brought the Utes within a pair, 8-6. The Utes countered with four straight to tie the game for the first time at 10 points apiece. OSU grabbed a slight 14-13 lead before going on a 15-2 run for its largest lead to that point, 29-15. The Utes managed to pull within 10 (31-21), but were at a 38-25 deficit at halftime. Utah limited OSU to a 39.5% from the floor, but were outrebounded 22-15. Martin led the way offensively with nine points, while three others grabbed three rebounds apiece.

The Utes took five of the first seven points of the second half to cut the margin to eight (42-34) before the Beavers raced out to a 54-37 lead via a 12-3 run. Utah could get no closer than 11 (68-57), but Oregon State came away with a 76-58 victory.

Oregon State was led by 20 points from Jared Cunningham, while Devon Collier turned in 14 points.

Utah’s next game will be on Thursday at Arizona State. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. MT.

The Utes put together three unanswered runs of 10 points or more and freshman guard Kareem Storey turned in his first career double-double with 11 assists and 10 points, but the University of Utah men’s basketball team (5-17, 2-8 Pac-12) fell to Oregon (16-6, 7-3 Pac-12) by a 79-68 score Thursday at the Jon M. Huntsman Center.

Storey handed out a career-high 11 assists, which was the most by a Ute since Luka Drca against Colorado State on March 4, 2008. Storey only committed one turnover and is the only Ute other than Jason Washburn to produce a double-double this season. He also became the first Ute to log a double-double with points and assists since Mark Jackson posted 11 points and 10 helpers against Air Force on Feb. 24, 2005.

Utah turned in a 41.7% from the floor and the Utes also connected on 9-of-19 3-point attempts for a 47.4%.

Junior guard Chris Hines turned in a team-high 20 points for his second career 20-point effort. He was just one point shy of his career high, a 21-point effort came at Stanford on Jan. 12. It was his 18th career double-figure game and ninth this season.

Junior wing Cedric Martin poured in 15 points on a 4-of-7 effort from the floor and also corralled six rebounds. It was his eighth game of 10 points or more this season.

Sophomore forward Javon Dawson tied his career high with eight points after connecting on three of his four field goal attempts. He also grabbed six rebounds and was 2-of-3 from the foul line.

Washburn climbed the boards for a game-high nine rebounds in addition to five points.

In a back-and-forth first half, the Utes fell behind 7-3 early in the first half before launching a 5-0 run to take their first lead of the contest, 8-7. The Ducks fought back with a 7-0 stretch before a Hines’ 3-pointer brought Utah back within four, before Utah returned the favor with a 10-0 to regain an 18-14 advantage. Oregon answered with eight straight points to assume a 22-18 edge, but Utah then ripped off 11 straight to grab their largest lead to that point, 29-22. But with Utah holding a 36-30 advantage, the Ducks countered once more with a 6-2 spurt to tie the game for the fourth time at halftime, at 36 points apiece. The Utes connected on seven of their first eight field goal attempts and wound up with a 52.5 shooting percentage. Hines led the way with a game-high-tying 12 points, while Martin poured in seven. Storey tied his career high with seven assists, compared to just one turnover.

The Ducks scored five of the first seven points of the second half and led 41-38 before another 11-0 Utah run gave the home team a 49-41 lead. Unfortunately with Utah holding a 52-49 edge, Oregon came back with an 11-3 stretch to take the lead back, 58-55. UO built its lead to nine, 68-59, via a 10-0 run en route to a 79-68 victory.

Utah hosts Oregon State on Saturday. Tip-off from the Huntsman Center is set for 3 p.m. MT. Listen to the game on ESPN 700 AM or visit www.UtahUtes.com/allaccess to watch the game via live streaming.

- UU -

Garrett Jackson scored a career-high 16 points and Southern California led all the way in beating Utah 62-45 Saturday night to win its first Pac-12 game and snap a nine-game losing streak.

Maurice Jones added 16 points and Greg Allen and freshman Byron Wesley had nine points each for the Trojans (6-16, 1-8), whose skid was the school’s longest since it dropped 13 in a row during the 1989 season. Wesley added seven assists.

Dijon Farr led the Utes (5-16, 2-7) with 12 points and eight rebounds. Chris Hines and Jason Washburn added 10 points each in the matchup.

Coming off a 27-point loss to UCLA two days ago, Utah fell to 0-11 on the road this season, although the Utes remain ahead of last-place USC in the conference standings.

Joshua Smith scored 14 points, David Wear added 13 and UCLA pulled away with a 20-6 run over both halves to rout Utah 76-49 Thursday night.

The victory restored the Bruins (11-9, 4-4 Pac-12) to .500 in league play after they were swept at the Oregon schools last week. Jerime Anderson also had 13 points and Tyler Lamb scored 10.

Chris Hines was the only Utah player in double figures with 13 points. The Utes (5-15, 2-6) have lost five of their last six and dropped to 0-4 on the road in Pac-12 play and 0-6 overall away from home.

It was the first meeting between the schools since the 1983 NCAA tournament, when the Utes won a second-round game.