1. Not forgetting Marshall Henderson: The Utah true freshman guard has emerged as a go-to guy. He can really shoot from the perimeter, but Wyoming did a good job on him in the last game as he had 13 points on 5 of 12 shooting. The Cowboys must know where he is at at all times and not let him get hot. Problem is, Henderson can get hot in a flash. “He has great ability to go through adversity in a game and bounce back,” Utah coach Jim Boylen said … He’s got guts.” (Boylen wanted to say something else).
2. More than one: The Cowboys need to have more than one guy play well offensively. True freshman Desmar Jackson has been the most consistent over the last eight games, and junior forward Djibril Thiam has been decent. But UW needs three or four guys to play well for it to have a chance. Who those other guys will be is the big question. During the seven-game losing streak the team has had problems finding just one guy to be consistent offensively.
3. Back to his old form:“If Adam can get 22 rebounds again we have a pretty good chance,” said UW coach Heath Schroyer about sophomore center Adam Waddell and his 13-point, 22-rebound game last time against Utah. Waddell sprained and bruised his left ankle in that game and hasn’t been the same since. Waddell said he feels the best this week since the injury. Against Utah’s two 7-footers in David Foster and Jason Washburn, UW needs a healthier Waddell to play and play well.
4. What can Brown do for you? Utah junior guard Carlon Brown came off the bench and scored 31 against UW last month. He averaged 12.7 points against the Cowboys in three games last season. “We have to do a better job on Brown. He’s a tough match up for us. The three perimeter players we start are not that big and not that physical. He’s a big, physical guard (6-5, 205). When he gets that jump shot going he’s as anyone in the league.”
5. Good starts: The Cowboys have fallen behind 11-0 and 10-0 at the start of their last two games. For a team that struggles to score and defend to begin with, those kinds of starts are too much to recover from.
See Saturday’s paper for more on this game, along with a ton of other sports from a busy night of high school action.
