Huskies a bit unknown for Cowboys

By Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org

Late Monday morning, the three Wyoming seniors -- Brandon Ewing, Sean Ogirri and Tyson Johnson -- were asked during a teleconference what they knew about their College Basketball Invitational opponent, Northeastern.

They could have answered in unison with a big, “nothing.”

Now, later on in the day, they were able to watch some film of the Huskies, who will travel across the country from Boston to face the Cowboys Tuesday night at 7 p.m. in the Arena-Auditorium.

There’s not much in common with the teams from the Colonial Athletic Association and the Mountain West Conference. In fact, this will be the first meeting ever between the two schools.

What did Wyoming coach Heath Schroyer know about Northeastern by late Monday morning?

More than the players, but he too was waiting to watch more film on the Huskies later in the day.

What Schroyer said he did know was that the Huskies defensively are similar to Utah State.

“They try to slow you down with a three-quarter press and then back to a zone,” Schroyer said.
On offense, Schroyer said that Northeastern is deliberate.

“They’re kind of an inside-out team,“ Schroyer said. “They are a lot like Boston College. Their head coach (Bill Coen) was an assistant at Boston College, so they are very similar to them and play a very similar style.”

In preparation for the Huskies, the Wyoming offense will once again run trough Ewing (18.4 ppg, 5.1 apg), Ogirri (14.8 ppg) Johnson (13.3 ppg) and freshman Afam Muojeke (13.7 ppg).

“In one day’s prep, we’re going to do what we do,” Schroyer said. “Those three (seniors) are a big part of what we do.”

Northeastern, 18-12, finished 12-6 in conference play, tied for third (out of 12 teams) with Old Dominion. The Huskies lost to 11 seed Towson 58-54 in the conference tournament.

Northeastern is led by guard Matt Janning at 14.1 points a game, followed by forward Manny Adako at 11.3 points and guard Chaisson Allen at 9.7 points per contest.

To no one’s surprise, Ogirri and Ewing said the Cowboys will try to get out and run against the Huskies, who are not only traveling a great distance, but playing at much a higher altitude that they are accustomed to.

“I doubt they have played at altitude this high,” said Ogirri. “I know when I first did, I couldn’t even run after the first two trips. We’ll have to do that and use it to our advantage.”

“I’m sure they will try to find a way to suck it up,” added Ewing. “They want to win, just like we want to win.”

For the Cowboys, it’s also another home game. Wyoming finished 12-3 in the A-A this season.

“We’re pretty good at home. Obviously, I am excited to play at home and excited to give the fans another opportunity to play at home,” Schroyer said. “I know our seniors didn’t like losing our last home game (74-73 to New Mexico). This is an opportunity to remedy that and win a game at home in the postseason.”

With a win and a good crowd, the Cowboys could get another chance to play at home and would face the UTEP-Nevada winner at a site to be determined on March 23.

All Schroyer said they want to do is keep winning and keep playing.

“First and foremost, we want to extend our season. Our main goal is to try to win this tournament,” he said. “Obviously, it starts with game one and we’re playing a very good team. There is nobody in this tournament that is not good. Northeastern beat a lot of teams on the road. They beat Providence on the road, beat Indiana on the road. They’ve good and have had a lot of success on the road.”