Utes Facing Good Test in Missouri State
Coach Jim Boylen calls Missouri State -- today's opponent at the Huntsman Center -- the best team the Utes have faced at home this season.
But the Bears figure to have a lot of obstacles to overcome.
For starters, they're undersized, and will be pitting 6-foot-9 senior center Drew Richards against Utah's Luke Nevill. Not only that, but they're not a great rebounding team, having won the battle of the boards only once in seven games while the Utes have done so seven times in eight games and rank second in the Mountain West Conference in rebounding margin.
What's more, the Bears are playing their first game in 10 days (at altitude), and have guards Spencer Laurie, Justin Fuehrmeyer and Shane Laurie playing major minutes because of an injury to teammate Lamont Austin.
"We're about to find out a lot about our basketball team," coach Barry Hinson said.
The Utes, too.
Boylen said the Bears would be an "upper-echelon team" in the Mountain West, and present a challenge because they're tough and physical. Their biggest weapon is 6-5 senior forward Deven Mitchell, their leading scorer and rebounder at 16.7 points and 6.6 rebounds per game whom Utah's Shaun Green and Kim Tillie will have the responsibility of guarding.
"They're just really solid," Boylen said.
The RPI ratings certainly suggest as much. Though the Bears are not especially heralded, they rank an impressive 38th in the ratings, mostly because of a schedule that has included Toledo, Winthrop and Arkansas. The Bears beat only Winthrop among that group, however.
But the Bears figure to have a lot of obstacles to overcome.
For starters, they're undersized, and will be pitting 6-foot-9 senior center Drew Richards against Utah's Luke Nevill. Not only that, but they're not a great rebounding team, having won the battle of the boards only once in seven games while the Utes have done so seven times in eight games and rank second in the Mountain West Conference in rebounding margin.
What's more, the Bears are playing their first game in 10 days (at altitude), and have guards Spencer Laurie, Justin Fuehrmeyer and Shane Laurie playing major minutes because of an injury to teammate Lamont Austin.
"We're about to find out a lot about our basketball team," coach Barry Hinson said.
The Utes, too.
Boylen said the Bears would be an "upper-echelon team" in the Mountain West, and present a challenge because they're tough and physical. Their biggest weapon is 6-5 senior forward Deven Mitchell, their leading scorer and rebounder at 16.7 points and 6.6 rebounds per game whom Utah's Shaun Green and Kim Tillie will have the responsibility of guarding.
"They're just really solid," Boylen said.
The RPI ratings certainly suggest as much. Though the Bears are not especially heralded, they rank an impressive 38th in the ratings, mostly because of a schedule that has included Toledo, Winthrop and Arkansas. The Bears beat only Winthrop among that group, however.
posted by www.sltrib.com @ 10:04 AM |
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