by Michael Beniash
Daily Lobo
The trek north to the state of Utah has never been a fun trip for the University of New Mexico men's basketball team.
This year should be no different, as the Lobos travel to play Brigham Young University and University of Utah this weekend in what should be their toughest road swing of the Mountain West Conference schedule.
UNM is searching for momentum as it heads into the thick of the conference schedule. It is coming off a devastating defeat to the hands of San Diego State. In that game, the Lobos watched a comfortable lead dissipate and then disappear, as they struggled to finish.
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Saturday afternoon, UNM (7-10, 1-3 MWC) will have to battle a fantastic BYU team and 18,000 rambunctious fans. The Lobos are also trying to shake off a lingering 12-game road losing streak. BYU on the other hand, owns a 41-16 all-time record versus UNM in Provo.
The BYU Cougars (13-5, 2-1 MWC) were left with a bitter taste in their mouths after watching their 44-game home winning streak end at the hands of Utah last week. Although their phenomenal streak is over, the Cougars still sit perched in a three-way tie for second place in the MWC with Utah and Colorado State.
BYU head coach Steve Cleveland took over the struggling program five years ago and turned it into one of the elite in the conference. The Cougars return three starters and eight lettermen from a team that went 18-12 and went to the second round of the NIT just a year ago.
Senior forward Travis Hansen leads the Cougars while two outstanding juniors, forward Rafael Araujo and guard/forward, Mark Bigelow help carry the load. The three combine consistently for nearly 45 points and 20 rebounds a game.
While Hansen is the leader, Araujo and Bigelow have come up big of late. Araujo, a junior transfer is a big time inside presence and will give the Lobos young front line fits. At 6-feet-11-inches and 260 pounds, he can hit the boards and score when needed. Araujo is averaging 12.3 PPG and 9.1 RPG. Bigelow, a 6-foot-7-inch swingman is averaging 19.3 points in his last three games.
To counter the Cougar attack, the Lobos will count on MWC scoring leader Ruben Douglas. In his four conference games thus far, he has dropped 35, 34, 21 and 40 points respectively, the latter coming against the University of Nevada-Las Vegas on Monday.
For the Lobos to scrap out a victory, double-digit scoring must come from at least two other players. UNM will look to sophomore forward Jamaal Williams, freshman guard Mark Walters, or junior point guard Javin Tindall for the contribution.
Tindall had a nightmarish game against UNLV going 1-9 from the field and must bounce back and continue the hot shooting that led them to victory over SDSU. Freshman big man David Chiotti and sophomore forward Mike McCowan will have the responsibility of blocking out the BYU's big man and keeping the inside game from exploding.
The Lobos split their series last year with the Cougars, but BYU has won five of the last six meetings. Three of the last four matchups have been decided by six points or less.
The tip is scheduled for Saturday, at 1 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN-PLUS and broadcast live on 770 KKOB.
