Jerome Tang, Bill Self Showed Appreciation For Utah’s Home, The Jon M. Huntsman Center
Feb 18, 2025, 3:04 PM
Bill Self and Jerome Tang raved about Utah's Jon M. Huntsman Center
SALT LAKE CITY—Utah welcomed two storied basketball programs to Salt Lake City, ultimately coming away with two big wins over those programs.
The first-ever trip to the Jon M. Huntsman Center was a special opportunity for Kansas’ Bill Self and Kansas State’s Jerome Tang.
After each contest, the two head coaches raved about the venue and its meaning to college basketball.
FINAL: Utah 74, Kansas State 69
Two HUGE wins for the Runnin' Utes! Offensive rebounding and free throws were the difference.
Ezra Ausar was a man amongst boys with 21 points and 8 boards, and 7/7 from the line.https://t.co/O5LN55icBi
— Steve Bartle (@BartleKSLsports) February 18, 2025
Jerome Tang waxed poetic about the Huntsman Center
“I told the guys during shootaround that this used to be called The Special Events Center,” Jerome Tang shared. “The 1979 national championship game was played here, and that’s really special to me because that was the first college basketball game I ever watched.”
Tang continued, “I fell in love with college basketball, even though I knew nothing about it, and that’s why I’m a college coach right now.”
Beyond the national championship game, Tang recognized the connection between the two programs, which only added to his appreciation for the venue.
“There’s just so much history, and then there’s a plaque out there for Jack Gardner, who coached two stints at Kansas State, he’s a legend,” he said. “Man, just a beautiful city, beautiful arena, great place, and I was honored to be on a court with Jack Gardner’s name, and Magic and Larry played on.”
Bill Self wanted to play better but appreciated the setting
“Oh, I like the building, I liked the lighting, the building itself,” Bill Self said. “We didn’t exactly have Bird or Magic playing on the court from our perspective, but it’s great.”
Obviously, referring to the 1979 national championship game between Michigan State and Indiana State. Self continued on about how Salt Lake City hasn’t been too kind to his program but that he truly appreciates the setting in the Wasatch Valley.
Saturday was a barn burner 🔥
Let's do it all again tonight, Ute Fans‼️See you at 7pm at the Huntsman! #GoUtes pic.twitter.com/KpKtJEhwn1
— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) February 17, 2025
“I haven’t been here enough; the three times we’ve been here, we haven’t performed well in Salt Lake one time,” he said. “It’s great, certainly the city and the views, everything, that I think it would make for a good away trip, but we’ve got to play better than we did to enjoy it.”
Utah at the Jon M. Huntsman Center
The Utes have done well to protect their home floor this season. With the wins over the Wildcats and Jayhawks, the Runnin’ Utes improved to 14-3 at home.
These two victories are, without question, two of the most valuable wins Utah has earned under Craig Smith. Getting the surprising upset bid and building on it with back-to-back success is a big positive for the program.
With five games left, the Utes will be on the road for three of them and two on their home floor.
UP NEXT – Utah vs UCF
Utah will now get to enjoy some time off. They will head to Orlando this weekend for a Sunday afternoon tilt. The Runnin’ Utes will try to get a road win inside Addition Financial Arena. Drew Fellios will have the action alongside former UCF Knight BJ Taylor on ESPN+ starting at 2 p.m. (MST).
