UW heading on road for first time

Dec 3, 2009, 12:00 AM

Maybe it's a good thing that the Washington men's basketball team's last game against Montana didn't go so smoothly. Head coach Lorenzo Romar compared the 63-59 win to a road game, citing some of the Huskies' early struggles as things that might happen in a tougher environment away from home. Because of that, they might be a little more prepared now for today's task: a trip to Lubbock, Texas, for a game against Texas Tech that is the Huskies only true non-conference road game. The rest of their non-conference schedule is played either at home or at neutral sites. "I think we have some players that have played in some tough environments before, and we've got players that have played in a couple NCAA tournament games, so I would hope that we would do OK in that environment," Romar said. "But that is one of the reasons we are anxious to see how we are in that environment." The Red Raiders were picked to finish ninth in the Big 12 this season, but have yet to face any real tests and remain undefeated. They beat Oregon State 64-60 on Nov. 15 and beat Samford 74-53 on Saturday. So while Texas Tech might not be the best team the Huskies are going to play this year, there's little question that they're headed into the toughest non-conference environment they're going to see this season. And the Red Raiders are coached by Pat Knight, the son of legendary coach Bob Knight, something else that catches UW's attention. "I think we're targeted at every game we play, especially being a top-10 team," said senior Quincy Pondexter. "Especially a team like Texas Tech who's really good - I know they're 7-0, and they've got a great coach in Mr. Knight, and his dad was a very terrific coach. I know he had to pass down a lot of great basketball. I know they're going to be ready to go after us, and it's going to be an exciting game to play." That's what made the Montana game so valuable, Romar said. It was the first time the Huskies trailed for any real length of time all season, and the Grizzlies applied the kind of defensive pressure that the UW will likely see the rest of the season. Montana played a packed-in zone, forcing the Huskies to settle for outside shots and not giving anything in the post. "They put us in a position where we really had to find a way to win that ballgame, and our guys didn't quit at all," Romar said. "I think we were frustrated to the point where we couldn't get out and run, and we couldn't make shots, but it didn't cause us to start going crazy with everyone playing on their own. Sometimes you can do that. Our team kind of stayed together." Reach Sports Editor Christian Caple at sports@dailyuw.com.

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