Utah Utes basketball: U. aims to hand Cowboys first home loss of season

LARAMIE — Only one team in the Mountain West Conference has yet to lose a home game this season, and it's not one you'd expect.

The Wyoming Cowboys (14-8, 3-5) are undefeated at Arena-Auditorium with a perfect 10-0 record, which hasn't gone unnoticed by Utah basketball coach Jim Boylen.

"They're undefeated at home and it's a very difficult place to play," Boylen said.

Coming off a 62-54 road victory Wednesday night at TCU, the Utes would like to add a road win today and spoil the unblemished home mark when they take on the Cowboys at 2 p.m.

The Utes (15-7, 6-2) will be trying to stay atop the Mountain West Conference standings along with San Diego State, which plays at home tonight against league bottom-dweller Air Force.

The Cowboys are led by senior guard Brandon Ewing, a four-year starter who averages 18 points and 5.4 assists per game. Other starters include newcomer Afam Muojeke (15.5 ppg), Tyson Johnson (15.0 ppg), Sean Ogirri (14.7 ppg) and Adam Waddell (5.3 ppg).

"They have athleticism and great guard play," said Boylen. "Their speed and athleticism are difficult for us."

The Cowboys don't have a lot of help off the bench as four of the starters average more than 30 minutes per game, including Ewing at 38. Djibril Thiam, who has played in 15 games, is the only reserve to average as many as 20 minutes per game.

Last year the Cowboys led from start to finish and took a 72-64 victory in a game remembered most by Ewing's lob to Joseph Taylor for a slam dunk just before the final buzzer and Boylen's reaction to it.

Boylen had words with Cowboy coach Heath Schroyer in the post-game hand-shake line and was later reprimanded by the Mountain West Conference for it. Boylen thought it showed a lack of respect, while Schroyer claimed it was an "instinctive" play by his players.

Both coaches have since downplayed the incident and say they are friends. But you can bet Boylen won't get a warm reception today from Cowboy fans.

When they played earlier in the season at the Huntsman Center, the Utes cruised to a 91-67 victory. In that game, the Cowboys declined to double-team Ute center Luke Nevill, who dominated play with 29 points on 11-of-16 shooting and 13 rebounds.

Don't be surprised if the Cowboys try a different tack today after seeing what recent teams have done to Nevill.

Both New Mexico and TCU decided to swarm Nevill with double- and triple-teams and he has scored just 11 and 12 points, respectively, in the two games.

However, when a defense puts an extra guy on Nevill, it opens things up for Utah's 3-point shooters, Lawrence Borha and Shaun Green, or for Carlon Brown to drive the middle as he did against TCU.

Following today's contest, the Utes return home for a pair of games next week against co-league-leader San Diego State Wednesday night and Air Force Saturday afternoon.

On the air

Utah (15-7, 6-2))

at Wyoming (14-8, 3-5)

Today, 2 p.m.

TV: The mtn. Radio: 700 AM

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E-mail: sor@desnews.com