Joe Scott knew it was going to happen. He just didn’t know if it would happen this season.
The end of DU’s road losing streak, that is.
So, how exactly does one celebrate the end of a 43-game losing streak?
“There was this big-time 1950s custard joint right outside the arena,” Scott said. “I pulled the bus in there and let the guys get whatever they wanted. A good, old-fashioned Miller Lite was all right for me.”
The end came Saturday night at Arkansas State: DU 73, ASU 53. It was a reflection of how competitive DU has become with Scott on the sidelines.
In 2007-08, the Pioneers lost their eight conference roadies by an average of almost 15 points a game. This season, they’ve lost one by one point, two others by two and another by four. Six times, they’ve led with four minutes to play.
No, they haven’t arrived — far from it — but they’re on the move. Which is more than the rest of Our State’s Division I programs can say.
“It’s proof we’re growing up,” Scott said. “I sort of knew, at some point, we would break through. We’ll see what happens now. Once you get one, there’s just something that happens. For the future, we’ve got every one of these guys back next year. But I thought it was important that we do it this year.”
The streak-snapper got the Pioneers even at 8-8 in the Sun Belt, 13-14 overall. That’s parade-on-Tuesday material considering how the rest of the local Division I teams are going. Air Force is 0-13 in the Mountain West. The last time a team didn’t win a conference game? Would have been last season, when CSU went 0-fer.
CU, meanwhile, is 1-11 in the Big 12, 9-17 overall. And Northern Colorado is 6-8 in the Big Sky, 12-17 overall. Add it all up and the five teams are 19-49 in their conferences, 52-83 overall.
It’s not about the numbers, though. For DU, it’s all about the momentum. After winning six out of nine and 12 out of 20, Scott is starting to think his team can make some noise in the conference tournament. That’s a far cry from last season, when the Pioneers had virtually no depth and hit the wall in February.
“We’re hanging in there,” Scott said. “We’re not dragging, which is a good sign for a team as young as us. We’re playing our best in late February, going into March.”
March? As in madness? Typically, we might as well jump from February to April in Colorado. But not this year.
“March exists,” Scott said.
And for at least one Front Range team, so does something else.
Hope.
Jim Armstrong: 303-954-1269 or jmarmstrong@denverpost.com
