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PROVO, Utah _ The University of Central Arkansas Bears will face Round 2 of their Power 4 Utah slate on Thursday night when they take on the Utah Runnin' Utes at the Jon M. Huntsman Center.

The Bears (0-1) and the Utes (1-0) will tip-off at approximately 9:30 (CST), following the Utah-Weber State women's game.

UCA dropped its season opener at Brigham Young on Tuesday night in the first game of the Coach John Shulman era. The Bears played 11 players in the opener, including eight newcomers. UCA's lone senior, Elias Cato, led the Bears in scoring with 21 points, hitting 9 of 13 from the field and 3 of 6 from three-point range.

UCA and Utah will be meeting for the second time. The Utes won the previous meeting 98-67 in 2019, also at the Huntsman Center. Utah connected on 11 three-pointers and had six players in double figures in that matchup.

A year ago, the Utes finished just 22-15 overall but were 17-2 at home. They put together a nice run in the National Invitational Tournament (NIT), winning three games over UC-Irvine, Iowa and VCU before losing to top seed Indiana State in the semifinals.

Utah beat Alcorn State 100-59 in its season opener on Monday night, dropping 19 three-pointers and shooting 50 percent (19 of 38) from beyond the arc. The Utes, under the direction of fourth-year head coach Craig Smith, shot 56 percent overall from the field and held the Braves to 36.4 percent.

The Utes were picked 16th out of 16 teams in the Big 12 preseason poll.

UCA makes its home debut next Wednesday, hosting Randall University. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m. on Scottie Pippen Court.