Monday was a big day for Larry Shyatt.
The University of Wyoming men?s basketball coach looked forward to something he and his staff have not been able to do much through the team?s first 24 days of the season: practice.
UW (8-1) plays its 10th game in those 24 days at 9 tonight at California (7-1), and during that stretch, there hasn?t been much time for practice. Most of that time has been spent getting ready for the next game.
?There hasn?t been time to add and work on some new things, but I think (the schedule) has been healthy for us,? Shyatt said.
?We could have had more practice time, and perhaps that would have made us a little better, but nothing replaces game experience. So far, I have not seen any game where we didn?t have effort, but also didn?t have some intellect on defense. Whether we win a game or lose a game, are we playing with a high intellect??
Based on UW?s first road game, it needs to find a way to finish on the offensive end.
The Cowboys led at SMU 44-40 with 9 minutes, 16 seconds to play last Friday, but didn?t make another basket until the 1:36 mark and lost 66-53.
?We just have to finish,? said senior forward Larry Nance Jr., UW?s leading scorer, who was held to four points on 1-of-4 shooting at SMU.
?That game was on our side for the first 30 minutes and then kind of slipped away from us. If we can stay with teams and finish toward the end, whether it is a four-point run here or there, that?s what we need to do.?
UW is fifth in the nation in scoring defense (50.3 points per game), but will have its hands full as California has four players who average in double digits in points.
Junior point guard Tyrone Wallace, at 6-foot-5, averages 19.3 points, 8.9 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game. He was the Pac-12 Conference Player of the Week and is the only player in the conference to rank in the top eight in scoring, rebounding and assists. The Bears also have a big front court, led by 6-10 senior David Kravish (12.3 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.1 blocked shots per game), and they should get 6-6 guard Jabari Bird (11.7 ppg) back from an injury tonight.
California averages 40.8 rebounds per game. UW averages 29.9 and was outrebounded 35-16 at SMU.
?Anytime somebody has a lot of (offensive) options instead of one, that presents a lot of defensive dilemmas,? Shyatt said.
Free throws
UW also is fifth in the country in terms of field-goal percentage offense (52.8 percent). However, California has held teams to 36.3 percent shooting this season. ... According to RPIForecast.com, the Cowboys? RPI this week is 65. California is 46. ... UW has lost five consecutive road games going back to last season. ... Shyatt said the team is healthy physically going into tonight?s game.
The University of Wyoming men?s basketball coach looked forward to something he and his staff have not been able to do much through the team?s first 24 days of the season: practice.
UW (8-1) plays its 10th game in those 24 days at 9 tonight at California (7-1), and during that stretch, there hasn?t been much time for practice. Most of that time has been spent getting ready for the next game.
?There hasn?t been time to add and work on some new things, but I think (the schedule) has been healthy for us,? Shyatt said.
?We could have had more practice time, and perhaps that would have made us a little better, but nothing replaces game experience. So far, I have not seen any game where we didn?t have effort, but also didn?t have some intellect on defense. Whether we win a game or lose a game, are we playing with a high intellect??
Based on UW?s first road game, it needs to find a way to finish on the offensive end.
The Cowboys led at SMU 44-40 with 9 minutes, 16 seconds to play last Friday, but didn?t make another basket until the 1:36 mark and lost 66-53.
?We just have to finish,? said senior forward Larry Nance Jr., UW?s leading scorer, who was held to four points on 1-of-4 shooting at SMU.
?That game was on our side for the first 30 minutes and then kind of slipped away from us. If we can stay with teams and finish toward the end, whether it is a four-point run here or there, that?s what we need to do.?
UW is fifth in the nation in scoring defense (50.3 points per game), but will have its hands full as California has four players who average in double digits in points.
Junior point guard Tyrone Wallace, at 6-foot-5, averages 19.3 points, 8.9 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game. He was the Pac-12 Conference Player of the Week and is the only player in the conference to rank in the top eight in scoring, rebounding and assists. The Bears also have a big front court, led by 6-10 senior David Kravish (12.3 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.1 blocked shots per game), and they should get 6-6 guard Jabari Bird (11.7 ppg) back from an injury tonight.
California averages 40.8 rebounds per game. UW averages 29.9 and was outrebounded 35-16 at SMU.
?Anytime somebody has a lot of (offensive) options instead of one, that presents a lot of defensive dilemmas,? Shyatt said.
Free throws
UW also is fifth in the country in terms of field-goal percentage offense (52.8 percent). However, California has held teams to 36.3 percent shooting this season. ... According to RPIForecast.com, the Cowboys? RPI this week is 65. California is 46. ... UW has lost five consecutive road games going back to last season. ... Shyatt said the team is healthy physically going into tonight?s game.
