Wyoming next stop for m. basketball

The men's basketball team may be making its first ever trip to Wyoming, but head coach Joe Scott '87 is plenty familiar with Laramie, Wyo.

Over the previous four seasons at Air Force, Scott coached against the Cowboys nine times, including two victories last year. So when Scott's Tigers (1-1 overall) return to action Monday night after more than a week off, they'll be prepared.

Scott knows that Wyoming (1-0) — which opened its season with a 77-63 victory over Alcorn State on Friday night — is tough to beat at home. He's heard the sound of 12,000 screaming fans packed into Arena Auditorium, seen just how "huge" and "physical" the Cowboys are.

But Scott and his team also know Wyoming is quite beatable. The Cowboys return just two starters from a team that went 11-17 (4-10 Western Athletic Conference) a year ago.

The two returning starters are dangerous, however. Point guard Jay Straight averaged better than 15 points per game last year, and dished out seven assists in this season's debut. He's complemented by center Alex Dunn, who provides a burly presence down low. Dunn chipped in nine points and 12 rebounds against Alcorn State.

Wyoming has the advantage of being familiar with the Princeton offense, after having played against Scott's Falcons for four years. Scott expects them to mainly play man-to-man defense.

"They never played zone against us at Air Force," he said. "On their home court, they'll come out and try to guard us, try to play the way they normally do."

Yet, much of the Tigers' practice time this week was spent working on their zone offense. After No. 6 Syracuse thoroughly confused Princeton with its sagging 2-3 zone, Scott admitted that future opponents — including Wyoming — would be tempted to copy the strategy, at least until the Tigers prove they can handle it.

Scott said he was pleased by the progress his team made this week, noting the importance of simply becoming comfortable with the system — especially for the freshmen, who looked particularly confused against the Orange.

Princeton's zone offense "goes against a lot of our man-to-man principles," he said. "You've sort of got to calm down, be really relaxed, and find holes. Being relaxed is hard for a freshman."

All three freshmen who played last weekend — forwards Noah Savage and Kyle Koncz and guard Matt Sargeant — should see time against the Cowboys. Savage is expected to start in place of injured senior forward Andre Logan for the third straight game.

Scott remained hesitant to project an exact date for Logan's return, saying he hopes to start practicing in mid-December. Depending on how things go, he could take the court versus Temple on Dec. 20 or versus Tulane on Dec. 27.