1. How bad will it get? Hate to sound like a pessimist here, but the Cowboys have lost six straight, 10 straight to BYU, it’s snowing all over the state and the game is on TV (for those interested). There won’t be many fans at the Arena-Auditorium and, by the way, the Cougars are No. 16 in the nation and playing for a lot more than UW. I think we all assume UW will lose. How bad is the question?
2. Jackson bounce back: Teams are beginning to figure out that true freshman guard Desmar Jackson is UW’s best offensive option right now. No. 12 New Mexico did a good job of taking a lot of Jackson’s dribble-drive away Wednesday and held him to nine points. As more scouting reports come in on Jackson, how does he and UW counter that? Is Jackson’s game developed enough at this point to counter what defenses do?
3. Bueno Bouedo: It may have come in trash time, but sophomore guard Arthur Bouedo scored 17 points and made 3 of 5 3-pointers against New Mexico. UW shoots just 27 percent from 3-point range. Perhaps Bouedo can be the guy that gives the Cowboys at least a consistent threat of making an outside shot down the stretch. It probably won’t be enough to win, but every little bit helps.
4. Pick your poison: This is what UW coach Heath Schroyer said you can do when trying to figure out who to defend and concentrate on for BYU. Junior guard Jimmer Fredette leads the MWC in scoring and is a player of the year candidate in the nation. Yet he had just 11 against the Cowboys last month. With UW’s depleted roster maybe all of BYU’s big guns will go off. It will be interesting to see if UW tries to take at least one of their top scorers away.
5. Rally on the road: I’m delving over to the Cowgirls here. They’re in the thick of a hotly contested MWC race and playing at BYU today. UW has won just once on the road in league play. The men haven’t won on the road at all this season so I don’t mean to be picky here, but the Cowgirls needs a big road breakthrough to not just contend for a league title, but to vie for a top three finish and a bye in the confernece tournament. BYU is a tough place to play, but the women don’t draw at the Marriott Center like the men. A win today for UW would be huge.
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