The struggling University of Denver men’s basketball team hopes to regain its confidence tonight in the annual “Pack the House” nonconference game at Magness Arena.
Stuck in a five-game losing streak, all on the road, DU returns home to face Wyoming. The Pioneers (5-6) have not won, or played at home, since a Dec. 3 victory against Montana State.
“Five road games, and none of them have gone as we wanted,” said DU senior center Yemi Nicholson, who is averaging team highs in points (17.8) and rebounds (9.9).
“We’ve had problems with new players trying to fit into the new system, and getting a full understanding of how we have to play. And I don’t think our chemistry is there yet. But I like how we’ve prepared for (tonight’s) game.”
The Pioneers, who have played before more than 6,000 spectators in the past two Pack the House games, are averaging 16.6 turnovers a game.
“We have had trouble putting 40 minutes on the floor,” DU coach Terry Carroll said. “We’ve had two opportunities (last) month, both in overtime games, where we’ve had leads with 30-40 seconds to go and lost.
“Our mental toughness has to improve. We have to take care of the basketball in critical situations. Until we get that stuff out of our game, we’re going to continue to struggle.”
Tonight begins a three-game homestand for DU, which plays its next five games in Colorado.
The Pioneers – 3-1 on neutral courts, 2-0 at home and 0-5 on the road – begin defense of their Sun Belt Conference West Division championship Thursday against visiting New Orleans, then entertain Louisiana-Lafayette on Saturday.
Wyoming (7-5) is 0-2 on the road and won 58-48 over visiting Weber State on Saturday. The Cowboys begin Mountain West Conference play Wednesday against visiting UNLV.
“Every game, you try to get better before conference,” Carroll said. “This is one more opportunity.”
Footnotes
For the third consecutive game, Carroll is scheduled to start sophomore point guard Steve Wetrich over junior college transfer Alex Cox, and sophomore power forward David Kummer over junior Antonio Porch. Nicholson, junior DaShawn Walker and senior Andrew Carpenter have started every game. …
DU beat Wyoming 63-62 in the Pack the House game Jan. 6, 2004, but the Cowboys beat the Pioneers last season in Laramie, 78-72.
Mike Chambers can be reached at 303-820-5453 or mchambers@denverpost.com.
