Just two days after their euphoric 38-point home win over Arkansas State, the Denver Pioneers fell back to earth with a 59-49 road loss to Middle Tennessee State, ending their eight-game winning streak and giving them their first loss in Sun Belt play. I wasn’t able to watch the game, but DU committed 20 turnovers and allowed 16 offensive rebounds, which pretty much tells the tale.
Denver is now 6-1 in conference and 10-10 overall, heading into a crucial showdown next Saturday with division rival North Texas, which is 5-2 in conference and 16-4 overall, at DU’s Magness Arena. (The teams will play again in Denton, TX on February 26.) The Sun Belt West appears, for the moment anyway, to be a two-team battle between the Pioneers and the Mean Green, with Arkansas-Little Rock now having 3 losses and everyone else having 4 or more.
Not surprised that DU fell in Murfreesboro – Running the table in any league is tough and that was a very quick turnaround roadie to Tennessee, and even with all that, The Pioneers hung tough and made MTSU work for it.
Now DU has a full week to prepare for UNT, while the Mean Green must jaunt to Louisiana first before heading to Denver. The Hallam boys were heavily recruited by UNT, and I am sure they can’t wait.
Should be a lot of fun, and a good indicator of how DU responds to a league loss.