Know thy enemy

Photo by Brigham Berthold

After all UVU teams spent several weeks on the road, the basketball teams will be back in the state for the week. However, not all games will be played at home. The women’s basketball team heads south to Cedar City, Utah while the men head up to Salt Lake City. Meanwhile, the wrestling team spends one more week on the road before opening its home slate in the renovated P.E. Gym.

The women’s basketball team opens the week Tuesday at Southern Utah at noon. The Wolverines are 5-13 all-time against the Thunderbirds and have not won in Cedar City since a 75-55 victory in 2007. SUU started the season 3-0 with wins over Antelope Valley, CS Bakersfield and Utah State. Despite its success, SUU is a young team with just two seniors and one junior.

The Wolverines then host Denver on Friday at 7 p.m. in the P.E. Gym. Senior guard Jacqlyn Ross leads the Pioneers with 10.5 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. Denver finished the 2015-16 season second to last in the Summit League with an overall record of 5-25. UVU is 1-1 all-time against Denver, with the win coming at home in 2009.

The men’s basketball team will make the short trip up Interstate 15 to Utah on Tuesday at 6 p.m. The Utes have lost 7-footer Jakob Poeltl to the NBA, but retain forward Kyle Kuzma, who was averaging 16.6 points through five games. This will be the first-ever meeting between the two teams.

The men then come home to host Utah State on Saturday at 4 p.m. The Aggies pasted Idaho State 85-51 just three days after UVU downed the Bengals at home. UVU is 0-11 all-time against USU, including an 81-55 loss in Logan, Utah at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum in 2015.

The Wolverines will face a somewhat familiar foe this week when they head to Boise, Idaho for a dual meet with Pac-12 opponent Boise State on Saturday, Dec. 10. Both schools participated in the prestigious Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational last weekend as well as the Cowboy Open in Laramie, Wyoming earlier this season.

Boise State features redshirt freshman Demetrius Romero who wrestles at 165 pounds. At the Cowboy Open earlier this season, Romero earned a second-place finish after an overtime loss in the title match. The freshman earned a podium spot again at the Roadrunner Open where he recorded a 5-1 record and a third-place finish.

The Wolverines feature junior heavyweight Dustin Dennison, who placed first at the Harold Nichols Cyclone Open.

The Broncos are 0-1 on the season in dual meets after dropping a heartbreaker to Purdue, while the Wolverines are 1-1.

Reporting by: Brad Curnow, Devin Olsen