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Show GAME GUIDE Utah v. Wyoming SATURDAY, JAN. 15 4 p.m. at the Arena-Auditorium Laramie, Wyo. TV: KJZZ 14 Radio: Hot Ticket 700 AM Utah v. Colorado State SATURDAY JANT17 6 p.m. at Moby Arena Fort Collins, Colo. TV: KJZZ 14 Radio Hot: Ticket 700 AM Utah Schedule Stony Brook W 72-63 Washington (G.A.S) L 78-71 High Point (G.A.S.) W 78-69 Furman (G.A.S.) W 62-50 Southern Utah W 65-45 @ Utah State L 71-45 Montana-Western W 98-63 @ Arizona L 67-62 Northern Colorado W 81-66 Coppin State W 66-37 @Cat Poly W 92-76 Weber State W 51-40 Colorado W 80-48 LSU W 69-55 WhitworthW 81-60 Bryant Markson soars over LSU's Brandon Bass as Utah defeats the Tigers in the Huntsman Center earlier in the month Away on the range Utes start off conference road slate Joe Beatty Sports Editor It will be a chance for payback as the Runnin' Utes ride an eight-game winning streak into Laramie on Saturday afternoon. The Cowboys knocked off the Utes in Wyoming last season, and have proven to be a tough team when playing in the Arena-Auditorium. "It's a hassle getting there, it's a hassle getting out of there," Ute center Andrew Bogut said. "[Because of] the altitude, [and] the fans [yelling] all sorts of obscenities, it's a tough place to play." While Bogut had 14 points in the last meeting, he attributes his wearing down to Wyoming pulling out the win. "I was dead. I didn't do the things I had to and I was worn out," Bogut said, confident that this season he will be in the shape necessary to maintain himself during the rigors of conference play. While Bogut will certainly be the focus of Wyoming coach Steve McClain, the Utes have their eye on one Cowboy in particular. "Jay Straight is the guy that makes them go," Ute coach Ray Giacoletti said. "Everything goes through him. We need to extend our defense to stop him." Straight, a 5-foot-n-inch point guard has given the Cowboys some senior leadership and most importantly, 18 points and 5.2 assists per game. The Chicago native has spurred the Cowboys to an 8-6 overall record, including a loss at New Mexico in their conference opener. Giacoletti is confident that if the Utes can stop Straight, they can stop the Cowboys. However, using the same strategy with Bogut might not work for Wyoming. Over the course of the winning streak, the sophomore center has gotten increasingly better help, so much so on Monday against UNLV that Bogut only scored 10 points. The Utes still won by 18. The upswing in contributors has been a bit surprising, as usual starters Richard Chaney and Justin Hawkins have both been battling injuries. Chaney will be out for another couple of weeks with a broken hand. The junior met with doctors on Thursday and Giacoletti reported things are moving forward. Hawkins has recovered from a herniated disc in his back, and says he is ready to be back in the starting lineup. The injuries to Hawkins and Chaney may have been a blessing in disguise. Since giving junior Bryant Markson more playing time, he has not only responded, but has given the Utes a big boost on both ends of the court. "With (Chaney) out, I've had to step up," Markson said. "Once I got comfortable in the new offense, it got a lot easier." The swingman has scored in double figures the last five games, including a career high of 17 in the UNLV game. Markson has also been big around the rim, averaging nearly seven rebounds over the last four games. "People ask what the difference has been over the last three weeks," Giacoletti said. "And the answer is Bryant." The road trip continues Monday, when the U visits Colorado State (8-6). It will be a big game for Bogut, as he squares off against the MWC's other dominant big man, Matt Nelson. "It will be a challenge," Bogut said. "I didn't have a good game last time we played there." Nelson, a senior 7-footer, is the key cog in CSU's vaunted "28 feet of post players" quartet that includes Nelson, 6-foot-io-inch Stephen Verwers, 7-foot Jason Smith and 7-foot Stuart Creason. The senior center averages 15.8 points per game and 5.7 rebounds, and appears to have recovered from a knee injury that hampered him most of last season. The Utes swept the season series with CSU last season, including an 80-70 victory in Fort Collins. jbeatty@>chronicle. utah. edu 1/10 1/15 1/17 1/22 1/24 1/31 2/5 2/7 2/12 2/14 2/19 2/21 2/26 3/5 UNLV W 70-52 @ Wyoming @ Colorado State New Mexico Air Force @BYU @ San Diego State @UNLV Colorado State Wyoming @ Air Force @ New Mexico BYU San Diego State Starters Utah F "20 Bryant Markson Jr. 6'6 190 lbs 9.4 ppg 4.1 rpg F a4 Andrew Bogut So. 7'0 240 lbs 19.6 ppg 11.8 rpg C "30 Chris Jackson Jr. 6'11 245 lbs 2.2 ppg 1.7 rpg G "11 Time Drisdom Jr. 6'3 203 lbs 4.9 ppg 3.5 apg G "2 Marc Jackson Sr. 6'1 175 lbs 12.5 ppg 3.4 rpg Wyoming Colorado State F a13 Alex Dunn Sr. 7'0 240 lbs 11.1 ppg 8.8 rpg F "54 Derek Wabbington Jr. 6'9 235 lbs 7.4 ppg 4,4 rpg G *0 Dion Sherrell Sr. 6r4 210 lbs 10.8 ppg 2.1 rpg G n1 Steve Leven So. 6'5 190 lbs 13.4 ppg 2.4 rpg G a3 Jay Straight Sr. 5'11178 lbs 180 ppg 5.2 apg F C14 Jason Smith Fr. 7'0 225 lbs 9.5 ppg 5.1 rpg 7 "34 Stephen Verwers So. 610 245 lbs 3.1 ppg 2.9 rpg C "45 Matt Nelson Sr. 7'1 265 lbs 15.8 ppg 5.7 rpg G "10 Jon Rakiecki Sr. 6'3 205 lbs 8.06 ppg 2.9 rpg G "32 Michael Morris Jr. 6'3 210 lbs 7.9 ppg 3.3 rpg Mountain West Conference roundup Tye Smith Asst. Sports Editor New Mexico (14-2, r-o MWC) Conference Rank—No. 1 With a relatively light nonconference schedule, the question on everyone's mind is, "How good are these guys?" They skated through their non-conference games with only two losses to the likes of No. 4 Wake Forest and Oregon. The Lobos are led by senior forward Danny Granger. Granger is second behind Utah's Andrew Bogut in the Mountain West Conference in both scoring and rebounding with averages of 19.1 points and 8.9 rebounds. He leads the MWC in steals. Granger was recently sidelined with torn cartilage in his right knee, but he is expected to return sometime next week. Best Wfn New Mexico 77—Tennessee 58 Dec. 18, 2004 Granger made 17 of his 20 points in the second half to stave off a late comeback by the Volunteers. The win proved that the Lobos were for real, as they defeated a legitimate Southeastern Conference opponent. Toughest Loss Oregon 79—New Mexico 75 Nov. 23, 2004 The Lobos came very close to defeating a solid PAC-10 team on the road. Granger's 19 points and 15 rebounds weren't enough to get the job done in the end as the Ducks rallied for the victory in the waning minutes of the game. Air Force (10-6,1-0) Conference Rank—No. 3 After a miracle conference championship last year, and losing head coach Joe Scott to Princeton during the offseason, the ^ffi Falcons came into ^' this season as a huge question mark. With games against several top 25 teams during its non-conference schedule, Air Force has yet to score a big win. Thus far, the Falcons have suffered losses to No. 8 Georgia Tech, No. 22 Marquette, and No. 24 Iowa. Air Force plays a unique brand of defensive basketball, as evidenced by the team's statistics. The Falcons lead the MWC in scoring defense, but rank dead last in scoring offense. SEE MWC PAGE 14 v |
