Cowboys to host Utes

by Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org

The Wyoming Cowboys A-A (After Afam) season begins Wednesday night in the A-A (Arena-Auditorium), when the Cowboys host Utah at 7 p.m.

Afam Muojeke, last year's Mountain West Conference Freshman of the Year, was second in the league in scoring at 17.9 points a game before seeing his season come to an end last Wednesday against BYU. Muojeke ruptured the patellar tendon in his left knee.

After dropping their last three Mountain West Conference games, the Cowboys will enter Wednesday with an 8-11 overall record and a 1-4 conference mark. Utah is currently 10-9 overall and 3-2 in league games.

The Cowboys are returning to action after having this past weekend off, which was their first off weekend since taking a six-day break during the Christmas holiday.

Wyoming coach Heath Schroyer thought things went "fine" in the first practices in preparation for the Utes.

"I thought everybody had a great mindset and went after it. Business as usual," Schroyer said. "Obviously, not having Afam has been talked about a lot, but there is a lot of season left, there's a lot of basketball to be played. This is a very gutty group."

As of Monday Schroyer hadn't settled on a starter for Muojeke, but said it would likely be between sophomore A.J. Davis or freshman Desmar Jackson.

"They have to really step up and give us good minutes, and I think both of those guys will," Schroyer said. "I think Ryan Dermody will play more and Daylen Harrison will get into the rotation. The biggest thing they have to understand is, it has to be a collective effort. It's not just one person, it has to be two or three guys."

About Utah

Utah is led by three players who are scoring in double figures. Junior guard Carlon Brown leads the team in scoring at 12.9 points per game and is followed by freshman guard Marshall Henderson (11.2 ppg) and senior guard Luka Drca (10.9 ppg). Senior forward Kim Tillie leads the Runnin’ Utes in rebounding with 6.1 per game and sophomore center David Foster leads the team and is tied for fourth in the nation with 4.4 blocks per game.

Schroyer said the Utes space the floor as well as anybody.

"I think their post guys are getting better and better," he said. "I think Carlon Brown is really good, especially in transition. I think Darca is really good because he can hit threes; he's so darn big and he can see over people. They are good. I also think they are very good defensively. They don't give up easy baskets. They are big and long and very active."

Wednesday’s game will not be televised, but can be heard on the radio through the 25-station Cowboy Sports Network beginning with a 6:30 p.m. pregame show.

UW-Utah series

The Wyoming-Utah series dates back to Jan. 23, 1925, when Wyoming defeated Utah 31-29 in Salt Lake City. This week’s meeting will be the 167th meeting in basketball, with Wyoming trailing 74-92. In Laramie, the Pokes have posted a record of 48-32.

The recent series has been dominated by the home teams. Wyoming has won 10 of the last 14 meetings in Laramie. Utah has won 12 of the last 14 games in Salt Lake City.

Rankings

The Cowboys currently rank second in the nation in made free throws and fifth in attempts. Through their first 19 games of 2009-10, the Pokes have made 409 of 570 free throws, which is 71.8 percent. Last season, Wyoming led the nation in makes and ranked second in attempts.

In this week’s NCAA statistics, the Wyoming Cowboys are ranked No. 11 in the nation with 9.7 steals per game. That average is also the best in the Mountain West Conference.