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The Pioneer men’s basketball team (10-10, 6-1) ended its eight-game winning streak Saturday when DU fell on the road to Middle Tennessee 59-49, following a mid-week blowout victory over Arkansas State in Magness Arena.
In the loss, the Pioneers committed 20 turnovers and allowed the Blue Raiders to grab 16 offensive rebounds, all of which totaled to 38 points, which was too much to overcome.
“Twenty turnovers and 16 offensive rebounds. I don’t need to say much more than that,” head coach Joe Scott said after the loss. “We battled and put ourselves in position to win, but we didn’t execute in the last four minutes. We’ve got to give Middle Tennessee credit because they are a good team and did what they needed to. We need to go back this week and work hard to prepare for North Texas next week.”
DU returns home this weekend to host the Mean Green (16-4, 5-2) in what is arguably the biggest game of the regular season. The last time the DU men’s basketball team took on North Texas, the team’s season ended in humbling fashion.
After advancing to the Sun Belt Conference semi-finals last March, the Pioneers were pushed out of the tournament by eventual SBC-champions North Texas, losing 63-56 and being out-rebounded 36-27.
Denver will be looking to avenge that loss as well as recover from last weekend.
“We will have another bye week without a game until Saturday,” said Scott last week. “We have to validate our home court advantage, and this is a critical home game to do that.”
Like last season, the stakes are high as both teams contend for the top of the SBC’s West Division. Denver held claim of the top spot after a 5-0 spot, and still do. However, UNT sits a game back poised to take the No. 1 spot if they can edge the Pioneers once again.
The Pioneers will need to stop the No. 9-ranked team in field goal percentage this weekend and one key to that part of the game is altering shots, which freshman forward Chris Udofia has proven he can do.
Udofia is averaging a team-high of 1.2 blocks, including a trio of three block performances in conference play thus far.
“Everyone knows who he is now, and what we need to do is make sure he doesn’t hit the wall,” said Scott. “He has the mental framework to get through the season, and you can see that attitude after he scores – he keeps his focus and he continues to be aggressive on both sides of the ball.”
Rebounding will be a crucial factor in the game. The Pioneers struggled in the low post in their final game last season against the Mean Green. Last weekend, in their first loss of 2011, the team struggled again in the paint.
Currently, DU is No. 346 in the nation in rebounding, averaging less than 23 team boards a night, while North Texas grabs over 35 a night led by senior George Odufuwa, who is averaging 10.2 rebounds per game this season.
Another key component to the Pioneers success is sophomore guard Chase Hallam, who currently leads the team in points, assists, rebounds and steals.
“He is the extension of the coach,” said Scott. “And he is beginning to display that leadership on the court consistently for us.”
Scott says he is especially impressed with Hallam’s rebounding, a component of his game that the coach has challenged.
As for the rest of the Pioneers, Scott says the team must continue to approach every game like it has been in recent weeks – one at a time.
“What I am telling our guys at this point is that every game is its own season,” said Scott. “So right now, we are playing a one game season and every game gets bigger because how we have played early on.”
They won’t be looking past North Texas until Sunday; however, the future schedule holds games against three of the conference’s best six teams.
“What is important is that our players understand every game is winnable and every game is losable,” said Scott.
