University of Utah Student Newspapers | 2008-01-25 | Page 8

JTttE DAILY UTAH CHRONICLE 8 Up next;"/Utah 1/26 The Horned Frogs have shocked a lot of people thus far, but until they beat some quality competition, they will remain out of the top three. Still, you can't help but be impressed with the vast improvement inTCU's backcourt.The Horned Frogs'duo of. Henry 5alter and Brent Hackett has accounted for 26.8 points and 6.9 rebounds per game this season. New Mexico (16-4,3-2 MWC) Upnext:v'BVU 1/26 The good news: New Mexico was able to squeak out an overtime win over Utah on Tuesday night.The bad news:The Lobos face a murderers' row of sorts over the next week First, they travel to Pfovo on Saturday to take on BYU at the Marriott Center where the Cougars have won A1 consecutive games. Then the Lobos will try their luck in Las Vegas against the Rebels the following Saturday. San Diego State (14-5,4-1 MWC) uPnext:UNiv 1/26 The Aztecs'narrow loss to BYU was probably a tough one for head coach Steve Fisher to stomach.Down the stretch, SDSU had multiple chances to hit the game-winning shot but, like Utah before themjust couldn't find the bottom of the bucket against BYU. Still, SDSU is in the driver's seat for the conference title as BYU will have to travel to San Diego on Feb.23. Up next::-' SDSU 1/26 Up next: BYU 1/30 Air Force (117,3-2 MWC) The Air Force Academy's three wins this year have been over CSU, Wyoming and New Mexico, who have three conference wins combined.The Falcons will need a big effort from guard Andrew Henke if they are going to get by BYU next Wednesday.BYU's Lee Cummard has been killing teams with his scrappy play and Henke will likely draw the defensive assignment. TexasChrlstlan (11-6,3-1 MWC) Briqham Young (14-5,3-1 MWO Up next: New Mexico 1 /26 The defending MWC Champion Cougars showed exactly what they were capable of during their last two conference games, edging out a close win over pesky Utah on the road, then snagging a nail-biter against previously undefeated SD5U at home. What's more impressive is the way they are winning. Against Utah, star center Trent Plaisted scored six points. Against the Aztecs,only six players scored. UNLV (14-4,3-1 MWC) Friday, January 25, 2008 8 Colorado State (6-12,0-4 MWC) Up next: @ Wyoming 1/26 What can you say about the Rams that hasn't already been said? Yes, they suck. Yes, they have underachieved. Yes, center Stuart Creason was once mistaken for a flagpole...Ba-doom-pish.OK, that joke was horrible, but now you understand the level of awful the Rams are this season.They are as bad as that joke. Utah (10-7,1-3 MWC) Upnoxt: ICU 1/36 The Utes have lost their last three games by an average of seven points, but two of the losses came in overtime and the other was a buzzer-beater. Still, Utah needs to start picking up wins if it wants to be near the top of the conference come tourney time. Johnnie Bryant's play off the bench has been huge as of late, but the Utes will need some big-time contributions from guys like Luke Nevillif they want to start racking up wins. [ The Rebels have been extremely impressive at home lately, but still haven't proven themselves on the road. UNLV's drubbing of BYU and close win over Wyoming at home earned it a respectable third place. But the Rebels have their work cut out for them in the coming week, facing both SDSU andTCU on the road. Wyoming (6-11,0-5 MWC) Up next: CSU 1/26 Th-? Cowboys are rejoicing! They may finally get their first win of the year tomorrow when they play host to CSU. Wyoming has proved more than capable in Laramie, losing two conference games by an average of 4.5 points. However, Wyoming has lost its three MWC road games by an average of 20.3 points per game. Still, they have talent. Against UNLV Compiled by Cody Brunner Expires 1/31/08 Star DVD Rentals Free DVD Rental Available at the following locations: s«v"rcn Chevron: 61 ON 300 W Free DVD Code: 321321321 Tesoro: 1689 S 1300 E Free DVD Code:123123123 o TESORO (Free Movie Rental with major credit or debit card (or authorization. It not returned by 9pm tho next day. will start accruing additional charges ol $1.49 per day. As long as you turn in by 9pm the next day, there will be no charge. Must be 18 yrs to rent movie.) Basketball Bids explanation Due to a communication error within the Sports Section, Basketball Bids from the week of Jan. 14 to Jan. 19 listed several games that were incorrect. That week's contest has been thrown out. This week, space restrictions have caused us to postpone this popular weekly contest until next week. Look for Basketball Bids to reappear on its regular scheduled day, Tuesday, starting Jan. 29. Tony Pizza UTE BRIEFS continued from Page 6 will lead the Utes into Eugene, Ore. this weekend to take on No.~45 Oregon, Cal Poly and San Francisco. Ferris recently knocked off the No. 1 women's tennis player in the nation, Aurelija Miseviciute (6-2, 3-6, 7-5), when the Utes took on Arkansas. The MWC named Ferris its Player of the Week for her efforts. This weekend, Ferris and the Utes have a new challenge in front of *«?fl Rankings by Sports staff them. Oregon junior Carmen Scrometa and the Ducks are nationally ranked, and Cal Poly has experience against some of the better competition in the country. "Last weekend in Salt Lake was a step in the right direction when we played Arkansas," Utah head coach Mat Iandolo said. "I am looking forward to seeing how we compete on the road and against two very strong opponents." c.brunner@ chronicle.utah.edu UTAH TO FACE HORNED FROGS continued from Page 5 reason for the Utes to veer off course—yet. With six teams already having three wins, the most improved defensive team (Utah) and the two teams with the top-two leading scorers in the MWC (Wyoming and Colorado State) still underachieving, parity in the MWC seems to be as prevalent as ever. That said, Utah can't afford to squander its chance for a win the way it has in the past three games. Against San Diego State on Jan. 16, then against BYU on Jan. 19, and then again when facing New Mexico on Tuesday, the Runnin' Utes had chances to take a late lead. All three times, Utah failed to execute on offense and either settled for a 30-foot shot (New Mexico), a rushed floater that over-sailed its mark (BYU), or another missed 3-point attempt (San Diego State) when Utah only needed two. In hindsight, if Utah had a 30-second chunk of time back at the end of each of those games, it could be 4-0 in conference play. As it stands now, though, Utah needs a win over TCU to prevent falling into a 1-4 hole that could be very difficult to dig out of with the way the MWC is shaping up this season. [e-mail] m m&FA** ?m% m IRONING OUT ANXIETY WOES continued from Page 5 SAVE YOUR MONEY FOR A NEVA/ WINTER WARDROBE. ym Now through Feb. 14th, you and a friend can get 2 lift tickets, 2 burgers, and 2 domestic beers or soft drinks for only $99.90 with The Canyons Pair Pass. Only available at pairpass.com. For more information, call [phone]. © 2009 Tha Canyons. AH rights reserved. The Canyons and The Canyons mountain logo are registered trademarks of ABC Utah. Inc. the judges." Now Megan Marsden is trying to pass her mental tricks on to Deetscreek. One thing that seems to be working is performing the routine mentally before performing it in reality. Deetscreek scored a 9.750 on bars against Nebraska and followed it up with a career-high 9.825 on beam. "I told her this week when we met that she shouldn't expect miracles in one week and I was pleasantly surprised that she made huge strides," Megan Marsden said. Although Megan Marsden stressed that there will be some fine-tuning involved, Deetscreek is confident that things are coming together. "I work hard at practice, I make my routines at practice," Deetscreek said. "I just have to get my brain right when it comes time, with the pressure on, to make it." [e-mail]