The committee (of one) realizes Christmas was last week (and we hope all of our readers had a memorable holiday surrounded by loved ones), but we spent Christmas day slaving away at the office. The Christmas spirit was lacking.
But it’s OK because we know Christmas has arrived, just a week late. Big Sky Conference action is here folks. Gone are the days of nonconference matchups between Weber State and St. Katherine, Idaho State and Washington, North Dakota and Wisconsin, Montana State and Walla Walla.
The race for the Big Sky postseason tournament starts now. There are 11 teams and seven spots available.
Without further ado.
1. Northern Colorado 7-3, 1-0
Last week: No. 1
Just like Santa on Christmas Eve, the Big Sky’s opening conference game of the season came and went in the middle of the night.
OK, not really, but the Bears made a loud statement by pounding visiting North Dakota Sunday afternoon in Greeley, Colo., 84-66.
North Dakota, with its uber-athletic senior guard Troy Huff, was a trendy pick to win the league in the preseason. But Huff had 13 against the Bears on 3-of-12 shooting and Northern Colorado led from the 14 minute, 17-second mark of the first half — including a 46-32 halftime lead — and rolled to an easy double-digit, you-had-better-respect-us-now type of victory.
2. Montana 5-4, 0-0
Last week: No. 2
In what might have been the best game of the week, Montana fought back from a double-digit deficit to knock off Idaho 72-71 in Moscow.
Big Sky co-player of the week Kareem Jamar drained two free throws with less than five seconds left to lift the Grizzlies to their fourth straight win.
Jamar finished with 26 points and eight rebounds in 39 minutes. The reigning conference player of the year is so stinking good, the committee (of one) is ready to hand the 6-foot-5 senior his 2013-14 MVP trophy before Montana plays a league game.
3. Eastern Washington 5-6, 0-0
Last week: No. 3
After playing Seton Hall Dec. 22, Eastern Washington stayed back east for the holidays and took on Connecticut last Saturday, falling to the 17th-ranked Huskies 82-65.
For the second game in a row, the Eagles had a great first half before the favorite slowly pulled away as the game progressed. EWU was outscored by Seton Hall and UConn in the second half by a combined 106-76.
And in the New Year, Eastern’s road travels continue when they play at Weber State Thursday and in Pocatello Saturday. Without a senior on the roster, how the young squad handles the beginning of conference play could go a long way in determining if EWU is a true contender for a league championship.
4. Montana State 5-6, 0-0
Last week: No. 6
The committee (of one) is flummoxed. Montana State hasn’t played since Dec. 23 and that was a 15-point loss at UTEP. Since then, the Bobcats have rested in snowy Bozeman, Mont., preparing for their Big Sky opener at home against Sacramento State.
So without doing a thing, Montana State has moved up two spots in the most important rankings in Pocatello (or at least in this paper ... or this sports section). How is that possible? Does the committee (of one) really think the Bobcats are the fourth best team in the conference?
But who does deserve this spot? The No. 4 squad last week (North Dakota) was a mess in its only game last weekend and the No. 5 team (Idaho State) has lost its last four.
Consider Montana State sitting in the four hole as more of a war with attrition than anything else. We’re hopeful that after a week of conference games somebody, anybody shows some life and claims this spot with authority.
5. Weber State 3-5, 0-0
Last week: No. 8
After a sluggish opening 20 minutes, the Wildcats blew out NAIA-foe Northern New Mexico 75-49 last week in Ogden, Utah.
Joel Bolomboy, Weber’s 6-foot-9 sophomore forward, had one field goal in the game, a thunderous dunk. But he pulled down a team-high 12 rebounds and his running mate in the frontcourt, 6-10 Kyle Tresnak, scored 22 points on 8-of-9 shooting. Those two big guys are as good of a reason as any to stick with Weber to live up to preseason projections that heavily favored the Wildcats to run away with the conference this season.
From big picture perspective, Weber’s game with Eastern Thursday night in the Dee Events Center is the matchup of the week. Northern Colorado announced its intentions by beating down North Dakota last Sunday, and we expect Wildcat head coach Randy Rahe to demand the same from his team against Eastern.
6. Portland State 5-4, 0-0
Last week: No. 7
If we’ve learned anything from this past offseason, it’s that Portland State knows how to schedule. The Vikings, off last week, have played seven home games and two away from the friendly confines of the Stott Center.
Idaho State will not have played its seventh game in Pocatello until Jan. 23.
Despite being one of three teams in the league with a winning record, Portland State has the second-lowest RPI in the Big Sky at No. 285, four spots ahead of 1-8 Southern Utah.
But we bring this up only as a conversation topic. The Vikings have experienced (winning) success five times this season. Other programs — perhaps those not in position to schedule near as many nonconference home games — have labored through schedules packed with the BYUs, Utahs and UCLAs of the world.
7. Idaho State 3-6, 0-0
Last week: No. 5
Last week, Idaho State lost to Cal State Bakersfield 61-57 at Holt Arena.
An optimist’s point of view on the Bengals to this point of the season: They’re scoring more while leading the league in forced turnovers and in spite of a four-game losing streak, Idaho State has loads of potential to get better. Tomas Sanchez, Andre Hatchett, Chris Hansen and Jeffrey Solarin (averaging a combined 55.3 points a night) are a deadly foursome who will lead ISU’s charge back to the postseason tournament.
A pessimist’s point of view on the Bengals to this point of the season: Doesn’t matter how good Sanchez, Hatchett, Hansen and Solarin are if the Bengals don’t find a way to climb out of the cellar of the Big Sky in field-goal percentage defense. Bakersfield shot 46 percent from the floor last Saturday night and that’s the lowest mark the Bengals have held anybody to since Carroll College hit 43 percent of its attempts back in early December.
8. Sacramento State 4-5, 0-0
Last week: No. 9
The Hornets lost a 10-point halftime lead but recovered late to hold off UC Riverside 69-67 last weekend in Sacramento, Calif.
It must have been quite the game to watch with 49 fouls and 63 free throws between the two teams, but shooting 33 times from the line (making 25 of them) certainly helped the Bees climb to the 69-point mark, the highest total they’ve reached against Division I competition this season since putting up 73 against UC Davis Nov. 26.
9. North Dakota 3-8, 0-1
Last week: No. 4
The projected high in Grand Forks, N.D., today is 7 degrees below zero, and the men’s basketball team is a mess, even with one of the most talented rosters in the Big Sky.
They’ve been terrible defensively, allowing opponents to shoot 58 percent on 2-point attempts during nonconference play. Then in UND’s league opener, Northern Colorado burned them by nailing 29 of 48 field-goal attempts (60 percent).
There’s plenty of time for head coach Brian Jones and the mascot-less to figure it, but, hey, in frigid Grand Forks hockey is a big deal. UND’s men’s basketball team receives great support but the North Dakota hockey squad takes priority.
And the hockey team is sitting in third place of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference standings with a competitive 9-7-2 record. Whether they figure it out or not, at least there’s hockey.
10. Northern Arizona 3-8, 0-0
Last week: No. 10
Northern Arizona has been off since its 33-point loss to the No. 1 team in the country, Arizona, Dec. 23.
And if the committee (of one) is being honest, we don’t have much to say about the Lumberjacks. They’ve beaten two Division I teams (UTSA and Grand Canyon) who have a combined 10-16 record, but they’ve also played USC, Fresno State and Hawaii tough.
While there’s nothing that sparks our interest in the basketball team, we can confirm that the Beaver Street Brewery & Whistle Stop Cafe is a great stop in Flagstaff for a tasty micro brew and solid food staples like pretzels the size of your face and entrees spilling over dinner plates.
11. Southern Utah 1-8, 0-0
Last week: No. 11
Thankfully for T-bird men’s basketball fans everywhere, Southern Utah took all of last week off, thereby avoiding another double-digit loss to a nonconference opponent.
Last week, the committee (of one) gracefully handed out Christmas gifts to all 11 of the Big Sky’s teams. That meant we took a break from listing reasons why the Thunderbird is the worst mascot in the Big Sky Conference (and possibly the entire country).
Reason No. 2: Thunderbird is three syllables. Mascot-ologoy 101 dictates the best mascots are two syllables and no more. Think Ben-gals, Bob-cats, Vik-ings.
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Sunday, December 29, 2013
Bakersfield at Idaho State postgame blog
CSU Bakersfield 61, Idaho State 57
Star of the game: Tomas Sanchez. Bakersfield outscored ISU 5-0 in the last minute. That wasn’t good. But the Bengals wouldn’t have been in the game if not for their senior guard’s efforts.
Sanchez scored 17 points on 5-of-10 shooting and he drained 7 of 10 free throws. Sanchez’s defense (really the entire team’s) is what sparked Idaho State’s second-half 9-0 run that morphed a 42-39 deficit into a 48-42 lead with just under 10 minutes left.
In the end, of course, that’s a lead that never held. It leads us to the second star of the game.
Star of the game No. 2: Javonte Maynor. The Journal’s game recap recounts Maynor’s success against the Bengals this season. A guy averaging less than nine points a game has racked up 38 against ISU in two games.
Maynor’s 11 second-half points Saturday night helped the Roadrunners find a way to fend off a motivated Idaho State team.
Reason for concern: After holding Bakersfield to 8 of 23 from the field in the first half, the Runners connected on 56 percent of their shots in the second. Field-goal percentage defense continues to be an issue for Idaho State.
But the reason for concern emanating from Saturday night’s game (for me) concerns ISU’s offense. The Bengals have had some great games offensively, the most notable being the 93-90 overtime victory over San Francisco.
Since that game, however, against Division I competition (albeit some of it very good) ISU has scored 66, 66, 65 and 57 points.
Idaho State head coach Bill Evans and his players have placed an emphasis on getting better defensively, but they had better figure out ways to improve on the other end, too.
Saturday, December 28, 2013
Bakersfield (6-7) at Idaho State (3-5)
CSU Bakersfield at Idaho State
Saturday, 7:05 p.m.
Holt Arena
Radio — 930 CBS Sports or Rock 102.5Web — isubengals.com (live stats)
Web — Watch the game online
Records — Idaho State is 3-5. Bakersfield is 6-7.
Last outing — Idaho State lost to Idaho in Boise 69-65. Bakersfield lost in overtime to UT Arlington 79-75.
Up next — Idaho State hosts Portland State Thursday in its Big Sky opener.
Game notes: Idaho State, CSU Bakersfield
Idaho State Journal game preview: An urgency to get better now — Bengal men host Roadrunners in last conference tuneup
Tuesday, December 24, 2013
Watch for the Journal's all-area teams later this week
Compiling all-area teams, it’s the single worst part of my job.
Because it’s always more about who didn’t make it rather than who did. Why is he on the first-team and she’s just honorable mention? And how does one school have six total honorees when another has three?
With 19 high schools, it’s impossible to make everybody happy. If we honor at least one kid from every team in our coverage area (one that stops at Shelley and extends down to Preston), then the value of being tagged as “all-area” is diluted.
But a tight list inevitably leaves kids (and possibly entire schools) off lists. Is that fair? Which method is best?
I have no idea.
After an entire season’s worth of work, the Idaho State Journal (and just about every other paper in the state or even nation) releases lists where we deem Player X or Player Y as our respective players of the year, and attached to that are first- and second-teams of guys and gals whose exemplary efforts deserve recognition.
Finding worthy kids is the easy part. It’s whittling down who shouldn’t be on the lists that’s agonizingly difficult.
Really, it’s just a terrible process. One the Journal sports staff has been spending a lot of time on in the last few weeks. And you can see the ultimate results for yourself soon.
We’re releasing our all-area girls soccer team Thursday, the boys Friday. And we’ll go with volleyball Saturday and Sunday is for football.
Putting together the lists is excruciating, if only because I know the end result is going to disappoint more than it will honor.
But talking to our all-area players of the year is a blast.
Without question, every single kid we’ve chosen as player of the year in soccer, volleyball and football is the right one. We’ve spoken to the coaches, seen them in person, watched them interact with teammates and felt their impact on the end result.
Our players of the year are studs, each one of them.
And there’s major themes that intertwine through the strong footballer to the agile volleyball player. They’re dedicated, humble, committed to the process of getting better, understand the value of teammates and coaches and each has absolutely busted their tails to get where they are today.
When our players of the year were born, they received a bit more “natural” athleticism than the baby in the bassinet next to them, I’ll grant you that. But it’s their devotion to the sport that’s separated them from everyone else.
They’re nice kids with bright futures in whatever the heck they decide to do as adults. They study hard and politely answer any sports reporter’s dumb questions.
But let’s keep this clear. On the athletic field of play, they’ll tear your heart out with no remorse. They fight over single yards and lunge at loose balls like a starving coyote rips at a dead corpse. They’re relentless, ornery and mean to their opponents. Get in their way and they’ll step on your throat.
Then, they’ll look you straight in the eye and say good game afterward.
It’s a heck of a group, a murderer’s row of talent and competitiveness. And they’re just the beginning of the all-area teams. From the guys and gals on the first-teams to the ones sneaking in at honorable mention, everyone who’s made our lists is amazing at what they do.
Which isn’t to say that those who haven’t made it aren’t. But remember how I wrote there's two different ways to compile these lists? We can honor everybody (the all-inclusive method) or we can try and make it a truly special honor by limiting the number that make the cut. We’ve decided on the latter, for better or worse.
So if your daughter, son, grandchild or friend is in the paper Thursday-Sunday, know it’s a true accomplishment. And if they’re not, maybe next year, and if there isn’t a next year, they should be proud of what they achieved and relish in the memories of their high school sports days.
Because it’s always more about who didn’t make it rather than who did. Why is he on the first-team and she’s just honorable mention? And how does one school have six total honorees when another has three?
With 19 high schools, it’s impossible to make everybody happy. If we honor at least one kid from every team in our coverage area (one that stops at Shelley and extends down to Preston), then the value of being tagged as “all-area” is diluted.
But a tight list inevitably leaves kids (and possibly entire schools) off lists. Is that fair? Which method is best?
I have no idea.
After an entire season’s worth of work, the Idaho State Journal (and just about every other paper in the state or even nation) releases lists where we deem Player X or Player Y as our respective players of the year, and attached to that are first- and second-teams of guys and gals whose exemplary efforts deserve recognition.
Finding worthy kids is the easy part. It’s whittling down who shouldn’t be on the lists that’s agonizingly difficult.
Really, it’s just a terrible process. One the Journal sports staff has been spending a lot of time on in the last few weeks. And you can see the ultimate results for yourself soon.
We’re releasing our all-area girls soccer team Thursday, the boys Friday. And we’ll go with volleyball Saturday and Sunday is for football.
Putting together the lists is excruciating, if only because I know the end result is going to disappoint more than it will honor.
But talking to our all-area players of the year is a blast.
Without question, every single kid we’ve chosen as player of the year in soccer, volleyball and football is the right one. We’ve spoken to the coaches, seen them in person, watched them interact with teammates and felt their impact on the end result.
Our players of the year are studs, each one of them.
And there’s major themes that intertwine through the strong footballer to the agile volleyball player. They’re dedicated, humble, committed to the process of getting better, understand the value of teammates and coaches and each has absolutely busted their tails to get where they are today.
When our players of the year were born, they received a bit more “natural” athleticism than the baby in the bassinet next to them, I’ll grant you that. But it’s their devotion to the sport that’s separated them from everyone else.
They’re nice kids with bright futures in whatever the heck they decide to do as adults. They study hard and politely answer any sports reporter’s dumb questions.
But let’s keep this clear. On the athletic field of play, they’ll tear your heart out with no remorse. They fight over single yards and lunge at loose balls like a starving coyote rips at a dead corpse. They’re relentless, ornery and mean to their opponents. Get in their way and they’ll step on your throat.
Then, they’ll look you straight in the eye and say good game afterward.
It’s a heck of a group, a murderer’s row of talent and competitiveness. And they’re just the beginning of the all-area teams. From the guys and gals on the first-teams to the ones sneaking in at honorable mention, everyone who’s made our lists is amazing at what they do.
Which isn’t to say that those who haven’t made it aren’t. But remember how I wrote there's two different ways to compile these lists? We can honor everybody (the all-inclusive method) or we can try and make it a truly special honor by limiting the number that make the cut. We’ve decided on the latter, for better or worse.
So if your daughter, son, grandchild or friend is in the paper Thursday-Sunday, know it’s a true accomplishment. And if they’re not, maybe next year, and if there isn’t a next year, they should be proud of what they achieved and relish in the memories of their high school sports days.
Monday, December 23, 2013
Big Sky Rankings — A time of giving
In the spirit of Christmas Eve, the committee (of one) thought it would bestow gifts to the Big Sky’s 11 men’s basketball teams. Considering how Northern Colorado and Portland State are the lone programs sporting winning records after the first month and a half, it’s the least we could do.
Some squads need sizeable gifts; a couple only minor tweaks. Just know this, we considered everyone with diligent care and feel they’ve received the best of what the holidays are about.
Without further ado.
1. Northern Colorado 6-3
Last week: No. 1
The Bears retain the top of the perch after besting UC Riverside 63-60 and losing to a good Wyoming squad 72-59 in Laramie, Wyo.
The gift: A tougher schedule. We imagine Northern Colorado is enjoying its 6-3 record. They’ve won all their home games (five) to this point. Only Portland State has enjoyed more quality time on its home court than the Bears, who’s strength of schedule is ranked 285th in the country, according to CBSSports.com.
But this gift isn’t really about UNC. It’s about the committee (of one) and its frustration that the No. 1 team in our rankings has the weakest strength of schedule in the conference. North Dakota (No. 9), Eastern Washington (No. 74), Southern Utah (No. 53) and Idaho State (No. 107) have all gone through the rigors of tough road game after tough road game.
UNC has had some of that, but it’s been a dainty schedule overall. So, yeah, we’re one team in, and already we’ve given out more gifts to ourselves than anyone else. We promise to straighten out from here.
2. Montana 4-4
Last week: No. 2
In their third straight game in Missoula, the Grizzlies pulled away late to down UM-Western 91-74.
The gift: Some big men who can rebound. Only Southern Utah has been hammered worse on the boards than Montana. The Grizzlies are at a -9.1 rebounding margin, and when it comes to grabbing rebounds of the offensive variety … well, let’s frame it in perspective. Montana is averaging 5.1 offensive rebounds a game. Idaho State’s Jeffrey Solarin nabs 4.7 a contest by himself.
3. Eastern Washington 5-5
Last week: No. 3
Eastern led at halftime, but Seton Hall recovered to upend the Eagles 92-70 in Newark, N.J., Sunday, the fourth loss in five games for EWU.
The gift: We’re going a little out there, a little make believe with this gift. The committee (of one) is offering the Eastern Washington Eagles a sophomore shooting guard who’s going to average nearly 20 points a game. He’ll be a lefty with a smooth shooting stroke, and through the season’s first 10 games or so he’ll make 15 more 3-pointers than anyone else in the conference.
Best part about this new Eagle guard? Eastern will pick him up with little-to-no competition from anybody else, as he’s a former walk-on from Torrance, Calif.
Wait, you’re saying that sounds exactly like Tyler Harvey, the Eagles leading scorer at 19.3 points a game with a 47.4 shooting percentage from the 3-point line? Yeah, OK, sounds like Christmas arrived early in Cheney.
4. North Dakota 3-7
Last week: No. 5
The mascot-less lost in frigid Grand Forks for the first time this season, falling to South Dakota State 77-70.
The gift: A gigantic cupcake. This cake would be like the size of five or six cupcakes. North Dakota, has the ninth-rated toughest strength of schedule as of Monday. Whether it’s been Wisconsin, Oregon, Butler or South Dakota State, UND hasn’t shied away from a challenging nonconference slate.
The committee (of one) expects this to only prepare North Dakota for the rigors of Big Sky play that starts promptly this week when the mascot-less visit Northern Colorado on Sunday. So perhaps our gift would only serve to fatten them up and slow them down.
Consider it as more of a gift to the rest of the conference.
5. Idaho State 3-5
Last week: No. 4
Idaho State led at half and fell way behind after the break before making a mad dash back late, eventually losing to Idaho 69-65 in Boise.
The gift: Roster depth. This is the easiest gift of them all. The Bengals thought they had Andre Slavik and Ben Wilson rolling into the Gate City ready to rock this year.
Wilson, a 6-5 guard originally from Queensland, Australia, and Slavik, a 6-9 forward out of Ziar nad Hronom , Slovakia (don’t make us pronounce it), are both redshirting this season since the NCAA declared them ineligible because of “amateurism issues” — or something. Really, it’s a bunch of hogwash, and it’s hit Idaho State in the mouth (in terms of roster depth).
The players and coaches will never use it as an excuse, and, in truth, considering ISU’s improvement to this point in the season, the committee (of one) questions how much their absence has hindered the Bengals. But Wilson’s athleticism, leadership and energy off the bench could have been a boost. And Slavik’s size and skill around the basket wouldn’t have hurt.
6. Montana State 5-6
Last week: No. 6
For their last cupcake of the season, Montana State walloped Southwest Christian 109-79 in Bozeman, and fell to UTEP 70-55 last night.
The gift: An entirely different ending to its football season. Look, who said these gifts have to apply to the basketball team? (Oh, that’s right, we did ...) Anyway, the ’Cats have won their last three games. They seem fine.
So we’re delivering a football present instead. Montana State began the year as the clear Big Sky favorites to win the league. Instead, the Bobcats went 7-5 overall, 5-3 in the conference and finished in fifth place.
Star quarterback DeNarius McGhee lost his mantle as the Big Sky’s best quarterback to Eastern Washington’s Vernon Adams, and the ’Cats finished on a three-game losing streak (which included a 28-14 beatdown given by their arch-rival, Montana — at home).
7. Portland State 5-4
Last week: No. 7
The Vikings smacked Evergreen State 98-65 at the Stott Center in Portland, Ore., Monday afternoon.
The gift: Jeffrey Solarin. Yes, taking the Idaho State junior forward from Pocatello and moving him west serves to punish the Bengals, and this newspaper directly resides in Idaho State fan territory. The committee (of one) realizes this but like we said, each gift is individualized to the respective team.
And who wouldn’t want Solarin on theirs? He’s 6-foot-4 but rebounds like a pre-back surgery Dwight Howard, and he’s efficient as all get out. Solarin is fifth in the Big Sky in rebounding (7.7 per), third in field-goal percentage (.600) and first in offensive rebounds (4.7 per).
A terror around the basket, Solarin is one of the best newcomers in the conference. Considering how Portland State came this close to nabbing him away from Northwest College, we just think it’s a nice gesture covering him up in customized Viking wrapping paper and sending him on over.
8. Weber State 2-5
Last week: No. 8
The Wildcats visited UCLA Sunday and fell to the Bruins 83-60.
The gift: An injection of mojo. There’s not many things the committee (of one) thinks Weber State lacks. Considering, though, that the Wildcats are 2-5, we didn’t think it could hurt if we hooked them up with some of the swagger they were strutting around with a year ago when they were rolling to a school-record 30 wins and a second-place finish in the postseason CollegeInsider.com Tournament.
9. Sacramento State 3-5
Last week: No. 9
For the fourth time this season, Sacramento State failed to reach the 60-point mark as the Hornets lost at home to Cal State Fullerton 59-51.
The gift: A marksman. Only Southern Utah is having a harder time than Sac State scoring. The Hornets are shooting 39.3 percent from the field and two guys (junior guards Mikh McKinney and Dylan Garrity) are putting up double figures — 14.9 and 12.0, respectively.
Head coach Brian Katz is doing everything he can. The Hornets have started eight different guys and 10 players are averaging 12.8 minutes a game or more.
10. Northern Arizona 3-8
Last week: No. 10
Northern Arizona lost at No. 1 Arizona on Monday night 77-44.
The gift: Its point guard back. Sophomore DeWayne Russell left Northern Arizona right before the season began. As a true freshman, he averaged 14.4 points, 3.2 assists and helped the Lumberjacks to a surprising seventh-place finish in the Big Sky.
It’s hard to gauge what his absence has meant. The ’Jacks lost an exhibition game to NAIA-opponent Arizona Christian right before Russell departed (he scored 27 points), but he was one of the league’s bright young stars. It stinks he decided to not stay around.
11. Southern Utah 1-8
Last week: No. 11
The Thunderbirds lost by 37 to San Diego State (while scoring 39 total points) and 15 to San Diego, tying SUU’s smallest losing margin of the season.
The gift: In terms of size, this is the biggest gift of them all — an entirely new roster. That comes off as a bit harsh. The committee (of one) means no disrespect to the current crew of Thunderbirds doing their best to compete at the Division I level. But we just feel that in the spirit of giving, we’d go all out for the T-birds.
We also considered handing SUU a new mascot, something like the Coyotes, the Otters or Jackrabbits (all native to southern Utah), but who could we make fun of every week then?
Thursday, December 19, 2013
Idaho (5-6) vs Idaho State (3-4) preview
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Idaho's Perrion Callandret (3) moves the ball during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Boise State in Boise, Idaho, Wednesday, on Nov. 27, 2013. Boise State beat Idaho 98-89. (AP Photo/Otto Kitsinger)
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Check out the Journal's game story of the Bengals and Vandals here.
The Idaho Statesman has a short preview, too, with a few quotes from Idaho head coach Don Verlin.
Game notes: Idaho State, Idaho
Idaho vs. Idaho State
Saturday, 7 p.m., CenturyLink Arena, BoiseRadio — 930 CBS Sports or Rock 102.5
Web — isubengals.com (live stats)
Records — Idaho State is 3-4. Idaho of the WAC is 5-6.
Last outing — Idaho State lost at Washington 85-66 and Idaho beat Portland State on the road 76-75.
Up next — Idaho State hosts CSU Bakersfield Dec. 28 in Holt Arena.
Idaho State head coach Bill Evans on Idaho ...
“They have three guys that can really shoot the basketball," he said. "They’re very well coached. They’re really good offensively. They’ve had a really tough schedule and they’ve been very, very competitive.
“They’re really efficient offensively. I think that’s their trademark, so to speak. They do a really good job on that end of the floor. And they’re good defensively, too, but their strength is on the offensive end.”
More Evans (talking about Idaho State's struggles on the defensive end where Bengal opponents are hitting 48 percent of their shots) ...
"We’re not defending very well, so we’ve spent time this week emphasizing that and watching a lot of tape," Evans said. "If we don’t defend the arc against Idaho, we might as well not go to Boise because they can really shoot the basketball. I don’t think that’s a secret to anybody, so we’re going to have to do a better job. It’s not a secret to Idaho that we’re not doing a very good job defensively.
“We’re going to continue to get better in that area and work really hard.”
More Evans: I asked him earlier this week how the defense will do a better job against Idaho ... greater emphasis?
“I don’t know if I can put any more emphasis on it," Evans said. "They’ve just got to do a better job of getting where they need to be, and I need to do a better job of making sure that they do that. They’re not resistant to it. We just need to do a better job. We need to be more focused, on edge a little bit more and understanding that’s our responsibility to get there.”
ON ANOTHER NOTE. Senior point guard Tomas Sanchez went back home to play a basketball game for the first time in his collegiate career when Idaho State visited Washington Dec. 14.
Sanchez grew up just north of Seattle and played for Shorewood High School, just about nine miles away from the University of Washington's campus. When the Bengals took on the Huskies, Sanchez played in front of family and friends for the first time since he left home for Fresno City College in California.
“I was nervous, honestly. It was probably the most nervous I’ve been for a game in a while," Sanchez said. "Just a little extra pressure playing in front of my family. ... I had like 21 tickets and then I had at least five to 10 people there that I didn’t even know were there."
Against Washington, Sanchez finished with 14 points, six assists, four turnovers and four steals in the Bengals' 85-66 loss.
For more on Sanchez, you can find a story from the preseason here.
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
Idaho high school girls basketball media poll 12-18-13
Idaho high school girls basketball media poll
First-place votes in parentheses
Records are through Tuesday
5A W-L Pts. Pvs.
1. Rocky Mountain (2) 9-0 28 2
2. Lewiston (3) 9-0 27 3
3. Coeur d'Alene (2) 7-1 26 1
4. Centennial 8-1 13 4
5. Lake City 5-2 6 T-5
Others receiving votes: Hillcrest 3, Highland 2.
4A W-L Pts. Pvs.
1. Century (3) 8-1 31 2
2. Skyview (3) 6-1 28 T-4
3. Middleton (1) 8-3 22 1
4. Twin Falls 7-2 16 3
5. Bishop Kelly 7-3 5 4
Others receiving votes: Pocatello 1, Burley 1, Jerome 1.
3A W-L Pts. Pvs.
1. Sugar-Salem (7) 9-0 35 1
2. Filer 8-3 24 2
3. Homedale 8-1 19 4
4. Snake River 4-4 10 3
5. Parma 6-3 8 5
Others receiving votes: Kellogg 4, Marsh Valley 3, Fruitland 2.
2A W-L Pts. Pvs.
1. Firth (2) 7-1 26 T-2
2. Ririe (3) 6-2 25 1
3. North Fremont (1) 3-3 22 T-2
4. Grangeville 7-2 12 4
5. West Jefferson (1) 5-1 9 T-5
Others receiving votes: New Plymouth 7, Soda Springs 2, Valley 2.
1A Division I W-L Pts. Pvs.
1. Lapwai (6) 6-1 34 1
2. Prairie (1) 7-2 27 T-2
3. Hagerman 9-0 19 5
4. Grace 5-2 13 4
5. Genesee 6-1 10 -
Others receiving votes: Rimrock 2.
1A Division II W-L Pts. Pvs.
1. Dietrich (7) 7-1 35 1
2. Richfield 6-0 27 2
3. Kendrick 8-2 14 3
4. Mackay 3-2 8 4
5. Rockland 8-2 7 -
Others receiving votes: Tri-Valley 6, Nezperce 6, Summit Academy 2.
Voters
Mark Nelke, Coeur d'Alene Press
Greg Lee, Spokesman-Review
Matt Baney, Lewiston Tribune
Paul Kingsbury, IdahoSports.com
John Wustrow, Idaho Press-Tribune
David Bashore, Times-News
Kyle Franko, Idaho State Journal
Kyle's poll
5A
1 Lewiston
2 Rocky Mountain
3 Coeur d'Alene
4 Centennial
5 Highland (7-1)
4A
1 Skyview
2 Century (8-1)
3 Middleton
4 Bishop Kelly
5 Twin Falls
3A
1 Sugar-Salem
2 Filer
3 Homedale
4 Parma
5 Kellogg
2A
1 Firth (7-1)
2 Ririe
3 North Fremont
4 Soda Springs (5-5)
5 Grangeville
1A D1
1 Lapwai
2 Prairie
3 Hagerman
4 Grace (5-2)
5 Genesee
1A D2
1 Dietrich
2 Richfield
3 Rockland (8-2)
4 Kendrick
5 Nezperce
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
Big Sky Rankings — A fuzzy mess
Writing the introduction to the weekly Big Sky rankings is our favorite part of the week. It sets the tone for the column and hints at the treasures to come in the following paragraphs.
But try as the committee (of one) did, a proper introduction to this week’s rankings never materialized. So let’s stop wasting time. Without further ado. ...
1. Northern Colorado 6-2
Last week: No. 1
Behind 24 points and 10 rebounds from Tate Unruh, the Bears knocked off UC Riverside 63-60 Monday night in Greeley, Colo.
UNC head coach B.J. Hill called it an ugly win afterward, but it’s their third straight against Division I opponents. The Bears are the lone team in the Big Sky with a winning record (4-2) against fellow D1 teams.
(But the committee (of one) recognizes that those four wins largely consist of Prairie View A&M, Bethune-Cookman and UC Riverside, teams with a combined 7-25 record. UNC has the easiest strength of schedule in the conference to this point.)
2. Montana 3-4
Last week: No. 5
With both games in Missoula, Montana beat Idaho 69-58 last Wednesday and St. Martin’s 73-57 Monday night.
The Grizzlies are still having their issues rebounding the ball, but no team in the Big Sky Conference is shooting a better offensive field-goal percentage. They’ve been particularly deadly from the 3-point line where four different players have hit 10 or more 3s.
With the dynamic Kareem Jamar as their floor leader, the Grizzlies have the offense to contend for a league title.
3. Eastern Washington 5-4
Last week: No. 4
In its only game, Eastern dropped a 70-61 decision to UC Irvine with a whopping 911 fans in attendance at home on Reese Court in Cheney, Wash.
The Eagles have the Big Sky’s No. 1 RPI (using ESPN’s system) and third-toughest strength of schedule. They struggled shooting against UC Irvine — hitting 33 percent from the field — and it only gets tougher from here. Over the Christmas break, EWU is headed east to play at Seton Hall and at No. 10 Connecticut.
4. Idaho State 3-4
Last week: No. 3
Idaho State squandered a 15-point lead and lost to Utah 74-66 in Salt Lake City, Utah, and the Bengals Pac-12 road trip ended in Seattle with a 85-66 loss to Washington Saturday.
I saw the Utah game in person and watched the UW matchup on TV. One major point that stood out: ISU’s depth is a concern in the second half against talented basketball teams. Both the Utes and Huskies wore down the Bengals and pulled away late.
Ajak Magot, the junior center who hurt his foot to start the season, should be back at least by the start of conference play when ISU hosts Portland State Jan. 2. A healthy Magot will make a difference.
Before that, though, the committee (of one) is interested to see Idaho State test its roster depth against Idaho Friday in Boise and Cal State Bakersfield Dec. 28 in Holt.
5. North Dakota 3-6
Last week: No. 6
Last Sunday, mascot-less North Dakota smashed Presentation College 78-32 in frigid Grand Forks, N.D.
The Saints, a member of the NAIA, didn’t score until almost eight minutes into the game. By that time North Dakota already led 18-3. So, yeah, UND inhaled a big cupcake last week.
But consider it a well-earned break from a grinding schedule that’s ranked as the third-toughest in the country.
6. Montana State 3-6
Last week: No. 8
In its best win of the season, Montana State upset Portland on the road 72-69.
The Pilots, out of the West Coast Conference, had already beaten Idaho (88-84), Southern Utah (86-57) and Portland State (92-76) and they led the ’Cats by 11 in the first half.
But with 19 points from Flavien Davis off the bench, the Bobcats recovered by the break and led throughout the final 20 minutes. MSU’s bench outscored Portland’s 34-8.
7. Portland State 4-4
Last week: No. 7
In their third straight loss, the Vikings fell at home to Idaho 76-75. Not a bad loss for PSU, which has accumulated a .500 record to this point of the year by playing the ninth rated toughest schedule in the Big Sky.
Portland State’s RPI, also ranked ninth in the conference, is 295th in the country. That’s what happens when the meat of your schedule includes games against SIU-Edwardsville, UC Davis and Loyola (IL).
8. Weber State 2-4
Last week: No. 2
Weber State lost at Utah Valley 62-59 and whalloped Saint Katherine College 107-36.
The only thing of interest with Saint Katherine is that its the first opportunity this season for the Wildcats to beat up on a lower-level division team.
These standings aren’t about forecasting the best team next week or in a month. They’re meant to reflect who is playing well today. And today, Weber State isn’t very good. Only Southern Utah has a lower RPI than the ’Cats.
WSU is in the bottom third of the league in scoring offense, scoring defense and rebounding margin. It’s systematic of a tough schedule with Utah State, BYU and Colorado State. But we overrated them last week.
The Wildcats have (by far) the most talented roster in the Big Sky, but they’ve earned this week’s No. 8 ranking.
9. Sacramento State 3-4
Last week: No. 9
Sacramento State upended William Jessup 85-54 at home.
From this point forward, the committee (of one) is watching the Hornets very closely. Their last two non-conference games are at Cal State Fullerton and in Sacramento against UC Riverside. Then Sac State plays its first four Big Sky Conference games on the road.
By the time the Hornets host Portland State Jan. 16 they could easily sit at 3-10 or 4-9 overall with three or four Big Sky losses hung on their record.
10. Northern Arizona 3-7
Last week: No. 10
Northern Arizona knocked off Grand Canyon 63-61 last Saturday in beautiful Flagstaff, Ariz.
The Grand Canyon Antelopes, part of the Western Athletic Conference, are the first win for the ’Jacks against a fellow Division I opponent since Nov. 9, and they needed to rebound from a 11-point second-half deficit at home to do it.
Up next for the Lumberjacks, a date with No. 1 Arizona Monday night. Good luck, NAU.
11. Southern Utah 1-6
Last week: No. 11
Listen, Southern Utah isn’t very good. The Thunderbirds are like Tony Romo during the fourth quarter of a football game in December, except they’re that bad all the time.
Now who knows, maybe SUU will get better, you know? Until then, though, let’s use this space to list some reasons why the Thunderbird is the worst mascot in the Big Sky Conference (and possibly the entire country).
This week, we’ll start with the most obvious reason: There is no such thing as a Thunderbird. They could just as easily be the Rainbirds, Tornadobirds or Really-high-windbirds ... wait, let’s not give anyone an idea for a better mascot.
But try as the committee (of one) did, a proper introduction to this week’s rankings never materialized. So let’s stop wasting time. Without further ado. ...
1. Northern Colorado 6-2
Last week: No. 1
Behind 24 points and 10 rebounds from Tate Unruh, the Bears knocked off UC Riverside 63-60 Monday night in Greeley, Colo.
UNC head coach B.J. Hill called it an ugly win afterward, but it’s their third straight against Division I opponents. The Bears are the lone team in the Big Sky with a winning record (4-2) against fellow D1 teams.
(But the committee (of one) recognizes that those four wins largely consist of Prairie View A&M, Bethune-Cookman and UC Riverside, teams with a combined 7-25 record. UNC has the easiest strength of schedule in the conference to this point.)
2. Montana 3-4
Last week: No. 5
With both games in Missoula, Montana beat Idaho 69-58 last Wednesday and St. Martin’s 73-57 Monday night.
The Grizzlies are still having their issues rebounding the ball, but no team in the Big Sky Conference is shooting a better offensive field-goal percentage. They’ve been particularly deadly from the 3-point line where four different players have hit 10 or more 3s.
With the dynamic Kareem Jamar as their floor leader, the Grizzlies have the offense to contend for a league title.
3. Eastern Washington 5-4
Last week: No. 4
In its only game, Eastern dropped a 70-61 decision to UC Irvine with a whopping 911 fans in attendance at home on Reese Court in Cheney, Wash.
The Eagles have the Big Sky’s No. 1 RPI (using ESPN’s system) and third-toughest strength of schedule. They struggled shooting against UC Irvine — hitting 33 percent from the field — and it only gets tougher from here. Over the Christmas break, EWU is headed east to play at Seton Hall and at No. 10 Connecticut.
4. Idaho State 3-4
Last week: No. 3
Idaho State squandered a 15-point lead and lost to Utah 74-66 in Salt Lake City, Utah, and the Bengals Pac-12 road trip ended in Seattle with a 85-66 loss to Washington Saturday.
I saw the Utah game in person and watched the UW matchup on TV. One major point that stood out: ISU’s depth is a concern in the second half against talented basketball teams. Both the Utes and Huskies wore down the Bengals and pulled away late.
Ajak Magot, the junior center who hurt his foot to start the season, should be back at least by the start of conference play when ISU hosts Portland State Jan. 2. A healthy Magot will make a difference.
Before that, though, the committee (of one) is interested to see Idaho State test its roster depth against Idaho Friday in Boise and Cal State Bakersfield Dec. 28 in Holt.
5. North Dakota 3-6
Last week: No. 6
Last Sunday, mascot-less North Dakota smashed Presentation College 78-32 in frigid Grand Forks, N.D.
The Saints, a member of the NAIA, didn’t score until almost eight minutes into the game. By that time North Dakota already led 18-3. So, yeah, UND inhaled a big cupcake last week.
But consider it a well-earned break from a grinding schedule that’s ranked as the third-toughest in the country.
6. Montana State 3-6
Last week: No. 8
In its best win of the season, Montana State upset Portland on the road 72-69.
The Pilots, out of the West Coast Conference, had already beaten Idaho (88-84), Southern Utah (86-57) and Portland State (92-76) and they led the ’Cats by 11 in the first half.
But with 19 points from Flavien Davis off the bench, the Bobcats recovered by the break and led throughout the final 20 minutes. MSU’s bench outscored Portland’s 34-8.
7. Portland State 4-4
Last week: No. 7
In their third straight loss, the Vikings fell at home to Idaho 76-75. Not a bad loss for PSU, which has accumulated a .500 record to this point of the year by playing the ninth rated toughest schedule in the Big Sky.
Portland State’s RPI, also ranked ninth in the conference, is 295th in the country. That’s what happens when the meat of your schedule includes games against SIU-Edwardsville, UC Davis and Loyola (IL).
8. Weber State 2-4
Last week: No. 2
Weber State lost at Utah Valley 62-59 and whalloped Saint Katherine College 107-36.
The only thing of interest with Saint Katherine is that its the first opportunity this season for the Wildcats to beat up on a lower-level division team.
These standings aren’t about forecasting the best team next week or in a month. They’re meant to reflect who is playing well today. And today, Weber State isn’t very good. Only Southern Utah has a lower RPI than the ’Cats.
WSU is in the bottom third of the league in scoring offense, scoring defense and rebounding margin. It’s systematic of a tough schedule with Utah State, BYU and Colorado State. But we overrated them last week.
The Wildcats have (by far) the most talented roster in the Big Sky, but they’ve earned this week’s No. 8 ranking.
9. Sacramento State 3-4
Last week: No. 9
Sacramento State upended William Jessup 85-54 at home.
From this point forward, the committee (of one) is watching the Hornets very closely. Their last two non-conference games are at Cal State Fullerton and in Sacramento against UC Riverside. Then Sac State plays its first four Big Sky Conference games on the road.
By the time the Hornets host Portland State Jan. 16 they could easily sit at 3-10 or 4-9 overall with three or four Big Sky losses hung on their record.
10. Northern Arizona 3-7
Last week: No. 10
Northern Arizona knocked off Grand Canyon 63-61 last Saturday in beautiful Flagstaff, Ariz.
The Grand Canyon Antelopes, part of the Western Athletic Conference, are the first win for the ’Jacks against a fellow Division I opponent since Nov. 9, and they needed to rebound from a 11-point second-half deficit at home to do it.
Up next for the Lumberjacks, a date with No. 1 Arizona Monday night. Good luck, NAU.
11. Southern Utah 1-6
Last week: No. 11
Listen, Southern Utah isn’t very good. The Thunderbirds are like Tony Romo during the fourth quarter of a football game in December, except they’re that bad all the time.
Now who knows, maybe SUU will get better, you know? Until then, though, let’s use this space to list some reasons why the Thunderbird is the worst mascot in the Big Sky Conference (and possibly the entire country).
This week, we’ll start with the most obvious reason: There is no such thing as a Thunderbird. They could just as easily be the Rainbirds, Tornadobirds or Really-high-windbirds ... wait, let’s not give anyone an idea for a better mascot.
Saturday, December 14, 2013
Idaho State at Washington postgame blog
Washington 85, Idaho State 66
For the Journal's game recap, click here.
Find The Seattle Times game recap here.
Get the full box score here.
Star of the game: Jeffrey Solarin. With 14 points and six rebounds in 32 minutes, Solarin continued an excellent junior season. The JUCO transfer from Northwest College is fourth for the Bengals in scoring (12.7), second in field-goal percentage (61.8 percent) and second in total rebounds (48, 8.0 per game).
As I’ve written before on this blog, the Bengals competed hard with Portland State to nab Solarin. He’s a great energy guy, who, despite a listed height of 6-foot-4, is the most natural rebounder I’ve ever seen in person.
Solarin knows exactly who he is. He plants himself under the basket and grabs any loose ball or rebound in his vicinity. His value to the Bengals can’t be overstated.
Reason for concern: Washington shot 55 percent from the floor and 48 percent from beyond the arc.
The Huskies are just the latest Bengal opponent to hit at least 10 3-pointers in a game. Evergreen State (10), Arizona State (12), San Francisco (17), Bakersfield (10), Utah (11) and Washington (10) have all done it.
It’s been a point of emphasis for Evans and the ISU coaching staff. They know they’ll give up some 3s — it’s inherent to playing zone defense. Take the San Francisco game, for example. The Dons had 17 3-pointers but they shot 46 (37 percent) of them. The Bengals can live with that. But a team like Washington hits 10 and only needed 21 attempts to do it.
On another note: Idaho State’s next opponent, Idaho (5-6), beat Portland State Saturday night in Portland 76-75. The Vandals are now 1-1 this season against Big Sky opponents after losing at Montana 69-58 Dec. 11.
Idaho State vs Washington
12/14/13 1:00 p.m. at Seattle, Wash. - Alaska Airlines Arena
At Seattle, Wash. - Alaska Airlines Arena
WASHINGTON 85, IDAHO STATE 66
IDAHO STATE (3-4)
SANCHEZ, Tomas 3-10 7-8 14; SOLARIN, Jeffrey 7-9 0-0 14; HATCHETT, Andre
5-11 2-2 12; HANSEN, Chris 3-12 4-6 11; HALL, Evann 3-6 3-3 9; PREH,
Ayibakuro 3-3 0-0 6; TYLER, Scotty 0-0 0-0 0; SMITH, Justin 0-1 0-0 0;
THOMAS, Clint 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-52 16-19 66.
WASHINGTON (5-4)
Blackwell, Perris 9-11 2-4 20; Wilcox, C.J. 7-12 0-0 19; Andrews, Andrew
6-15 3-3 17; Williams-Goss, Nigel 6-7 0-0 13; Johnson, Darin 1-8 2-2 5;
Taylor, Jahmel 1-2 2-2 5; Kemp Jr., Shawn 2-3 0-0 4; Anderson, Mike 0-0 2-2
2; Sterling, Quinn 0-0 0-0 0; Smith, Connor 0-0 0-0 0; Dierickx, Gilles 0-0
0-0 0. Totals 32-58 11-13 85.
Idaho State................... 35 31 - 66
Washington.................... 46 39 - 85
3-point goals--Idaho State 2-13 (SANCHEZ, Tomas 1-6; HANSEN, Chris 1-6;
HALL, Evann 0-1), Washington 10-21 (Wilcox, C.J. 5-9; Andrews, Andrew 2-6;
Taylor, Jahmel 1-1; Williams-Goss, Nigel 1-1; Johnson, Darin 1-4). Fouled
out--Idaho State-None, Washington-None. Rebounds--Idaho State 21 (PREH,
Ayibakuro 6; SOLARIN, Jeffrey 6), Washington 31 (Blackwell, Perris 7).
Assists--Idaho State 14 (SANCHEZ, Tomas 6), Washington 19 (Williams-Goss,
Nigel 5). Total fouls--Idaho State 15, Washington 17. Technical fouls--Idaho
State-None, Washington-None. A-7256
Friday, December 13, 2013
Idaho State (3-3) at Washington (4-4), Dec. 14, 2 p.m. (MST)
 | |
| Journal File Photo |
Idaho State at Washington
Saturday, 2 p.m. (MST), Alaska Airlines Arena, Seattle
Radio: 930 CBS Sports or Rock 102.5
TV: Pac-12 Network
Web: isubengals.com (live stats)
Records: Idaho State is 3-3. Washington of the Pac-12 is 4-4.
Last outing: Idaho State lost at Utah 74-66. Washington fell to No. 24 San Diego State 70-63.
Up next: Idaho State plays Idaho Friday in Boise at CenturyLink Arena.
TV: Pac-12 Network
Web: isubengals.com (live stats)
Records: Idaho State is 3-3. Washington of the Pac-12 is 4-4.
Last outing: Idaho State lost at Utah 74-66. Washington fell to No. 24 San Diego State 70-63.
Up next: Idaho State plays Idaho Friday in Boise at CenturyLink Arena.
Game notes: Washington ... Idaho State
In a press conference this week, Washington head coach Lorenzo Romar talked a little about Idaho State. Want to watch the video yourself? Check out this link.
Romar told reporters, "Idaho State is a rugged, tough basketball team. Their starting lineup is dominated by juniors and seniors. ... They go into Utah the other night and they don't flinch. They're up 15 and Utah has been playing good basketball, and we know how difficult it is to go to Utah and play.
"They didn't flinch. They have a couple guys in there that can really score the basketball and the other guys are not chipped liver by any stretch of the imagination. They can score also. They just depend on Hansen and Sanchez as their primary guys."
"It presents a really good challenge for us as we're headed into the break."
... On to the story ...
Bengals face Washington today in Seattle
It’s a change of mindset, a new reality — a fresh perspective.
Idaho State sophomore Evann Hall has played as many as 27 minutes in one game this year for the 3-3 Bengals, and as little as nine in another.
It’s a different role for the 6-foot-4 guard from Thousand Oaks, Calif. The last time Hall didn’t start for his basketball team was his sophomore year in high school at Thousand Oaks playing for the Lancers.
Idaho State plays Washington today at 2 p.m. (MST) at Alaska Airlines Arena. It’s the third and final game for the Bengals versus a Pac-12 opponent this season.
ISU dropped an 88-60 decision to Arizona State Nov. 15 and fell 74-66 to Utah this past Tuesday.
Those two games illustrate the best and worst for Hall as the Bengals’ sixth man. Against the Sun Devils, Hall entered off the bench and scored a career-high (and game-high for ISU) 19 points in 24 minutes. On a night when Idaho State shot 37.5 percent from the floor, Hall connected on 5 of 11 attempts and buried 8-of-11 free throws.
Then at Utah, with the starting point guard, senior Tomas Sanchez, having his best game of the season (19 points, five assists, 7-of-10 shooting), Hall played a season-low nine minutes and scored three points.
But that’s the role of a sixth man.
“I just try to be aggressive when I get out there and do the most I can with the time I get,” Hall said.
Like Justin Smith, Scotty Tyler and all of ISU’s backups, Hall’s importance to the Bengals took a different tone after ISU’s depth crumbled away with Ben Wilson and Andre Slavik sitting out this season because of NCAA amateurism issues.
It means a guy like Hall has to embrace the challenge that today, against Washington, he could go into the game for a minute, maybe two before heading right back to the bench. Or he might stay out there for extended periods. He can’t afford working himself into a game. When Hall steps on the floor he has to mold right into the flow.
“I need to embrace it this year because I’m not going to be getting as much time as usual,” Hall said. “I just try to help the team out.”
Which is exactly what he’s doing. Hall is the Bengals’ fifth-leading scorer at 9.2 points a game, and he leads ISU in steals with 14. His athleticism, raw strength and dribble-drive ability is a change of pace from starters like Sanchez and Andre Hatchett.
Hall’s success is a reason why Idaho State, despite having eight players (two of those are freshmen) in its regular rotation, is 3-3 overall and has the second-ranked (106th nationally) RPI in the Big Sky Conference.
Washington will test the Bengals’ RPI (a formula used to rank teams based on their wins, losses and strength of schedule). The Huskies sport a pedestrian 4-4 record, but all four defeats are to Division I opponents, the latest on the road at No. 24 San Diego State.
UW has already knocked off two Big Sky opponents, beating Eastern Washington 92-80 and Montana 83-79. The Huskies are led by senior guard C.J. Wilcox who is averaging 21.9 points a game.
“He’s probably the best pure shooter that we’ve played against this year, and we’ve played against some really good shooters,” said ISU head coach Bill Evans.
Just like with the Utah matchup, Evans is concerned with rebounding against the Huskies. Washington is scoring 81.5 points a game while shooting a combined 42.6 percent from the floor (the second lowest mark in the Pac-12). The Huskies work around a poor field-goal percentage by pounding the offensive glass and playing in an up-tempo style.
“This will be our greatest challenge as a team in regards to rebounding the basketball,” Evans said.
NOTES: Idaho State has lost 20 straight games to Pac-12 opponents. The last victory came in 1986-87 when the Bengals won 62-57 at Oregon.
Thursday, December 12, 2013
Idaho State at Washington (Saturday, 2 p.m. MST) — an early look
Idaho State (3-3) is back in action against its third Pac-12 team of the season Saturday when the Bengals play Washington (4-4) in Seattle at 3 p.m. (MST).
For a game recap of ISU's 74-66 loss to Utah, click here.
Check out the Salt Lake Tribune's photo gallery here.
Here's an early look at the Huskies statistically ....
For a game recap of ISU's 74-66 loss to Utah, click here.
Check out the Salt Lake Tribune's photo gallery here.
Here's an early look at the Huskies statistically ....
- The Bengals are 0-4 all time against the Huskies. Their last meeting, a 82-50 UW victory, was Dec. 31, 2007.
- Washington has already beaten two Big Sky teams this season at home. The Huskies downed Eastern Washington 92-80 Nov. 17 and they squeaked by Montana 83-79 Nov. 26.
- Washington is averaging 81.5 points per game (6th in the Pac-12) and allowing a league-worst 84.1 ppg.
- While UW scores at a high rate, only Washington State has a lower field-goal percentage than Washington's 42.6 percent. And the Huskies have the lowest field-goal percentage defense in the Pac-12 at 50.8 percent.
- C.J. Wilcox, a senior 6-foot-5 guard, is third in Pac-12 scoring, averaging 21.9 points (that's also 17th in the country. Wilcox is projected to go in the second round of the 2014 NBA draft.
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
Idaho State men playing for respect
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| Leah Hogsten/Salt Lake Tribune |
It’s said respect is earned.
That must be right because the Idaho State men’s basketball team doesn’t have any — not from fans, opponents or the media.
Let’s rehash a few quick facts. Last season, Idaho State (3-3) trudged through a 6-24 season and finished last in the Big Sky standings. The Bengals were miserable on the road and struggled to win at home.
Not only did ISU lose but it lost in low-scoring, ugly affairs. Eight teams in the entire country scored fewer points than the Bengals last year.
They were tough defensively but playing at such a slow pace meant a 10-point deficit might as well have been 20 or 30.
The media showed its respect for the Bengals by slotting them dead last in this season’s preseason poll.
Fans, both of the home-team variety and of the opposing flavor have respected Idaho State in the way they’ve shown up (or not) at games.
And how in the world does Idaho State jump up on Utah by 15 points in the first half unless the Utes just assumed all they needed to do to win was show up and run up and down the court?
Senior guard Andre Hatchett is fine with any team taking the Bengals lightly. Actually, he hopes they keep it up.
“I hope teams keep overlooking us so we can get a nice little lead,” he said.
The atmosphere before Idaho State and Utah at the Jon M. Huntsman center Tuesday night better resembled an art gallery showing than a college basketball game. And the tone in the air turned to shock and horror after Idaho State kept hitting jumper after jumper on the way to a big lead.
Utah rallied in the second half, and the best sense of Ute fans afterward was that of relief rather than pure joy for holding off the pesky Bengals.
Consider that game — ultimately a 74-66 loss for ISU — part of a campaign by Idaho State basketball to garner the respect they don’t have.
The Bengals must have earned some after upsetting San Francisco on its home court 93-90 in overtime. But it’s questionable how much. USF head coach Rex Walters said after the game, “We are awful defensively. We're not good on the ball or on the backside. I'm beside myself. At some point we are going to have to take some pride in guarding the basketball."
Walters continued, “For us not to show up tonight is so disappointing."
That’s what happens when teams lose to ISU. It’s not that the Bengals played well or that Chris Hansen, Hatchett or Tomas Sanchez made shots. It’s that opponents think they played poorly — down to “Idaho State’s level.”
Considering how well ISU played during stretches of the Utah game, perhaps the Bengals’ opponent Saturday, Washington, will look at them more seriously?
“Hopefully not,” Sanchez said. “Hopefully they look over us like everybody else does. We’ve kind of embraced that underdog attitude.”
Big Sky Rankings — A miserable week for the league
Since last week’s rankings, Big Sky teams went a combined 3-7 and the three wins came courtesy of a small university in Walla Walla, Wash., an NAIA school from Montana and a Division III school in Colorado.
In response, the committee (of one) considered dropping the entire conference one spot. That would have meant slotting the “No. 1 team” at No. 2 and going from there. Luckily, cooler heads prevailed and decided that was a silly gimmick.
Without further ado.
1. Northern Colorado 5-2
Last week: No. 1
The Bears were one of this week’s wins. Northern Colorado obliterated that previously mentioned Division III team — something called Colorado College — 96-57 at home.
There’s not much to take away from the game. No Bear starter played more than 18 minutes and four UNC players off the bench finished in double figures.
2. Weber State 1-4
Last week: No. 3
The Wildcats game at Texas-Arlington was postponed because of bad weather in Dallas. The committee (of one) can only assume the weather looked something like Ogden does this time of season every day, but that must be frightening for the fair-weather folks of Texas.
Last night, Utah Valley upended Weber State 62-59. The Wolverines, 4-5 overall, are undefeated at home this season. So, yeah, Weber isn’t too impressive with four losses on its record after playing five games. But we’re overwhelmed with their talent.
3. Idaho State 3-3
Last week: No. 4
Four games on the road against quality Division I opponents and Idaho State has played well to really well in three of them.
The Bengals beat San Francisco in overtime, lost by two to CSU Bakersfield and led an 8-1 Utah team by 15 points in the first half. That’s a major improvement from last season’s road woes where the Bengals lost 17 games by an average of 13.8 points.
One more quick note: For chunks of ISU’s game at Utah, Bengal guard Tomas Sanchez was the best player on the floor.
Here’s his points, assists and field-goal percentage this year compared to last.
2013-14: 16.2, 4.7, 49 percent
2012-13: 10.3, 3.9, 43.5 percent
Those numbers show major improvement, and when conference play starts in a few weeks there are few things more valuable than a heady senior point guard.
4. Eastern Washington 5-3
Last week: No. 2
In the Eagles lone game last week, they went to Saint Mary’s of the West Coast Conference and left with a 28-point beatdown (93-65).
Losing on Saint Mary’s home floor — where the Gaels have won 25 straight nonconference games — isn’t a bad thing, and sophomore guard Tyler Harvey had another great game with 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting. Harvey has scored at least 13 points in every game for the Eagles. He’s an emerging star.
Simple math tells the committee (of one) that EWU, with its five wins, should sit at least one spot above Idaho State with its three Ws. But the Eagles have beaten a Division III team, an NAIA program, Boston, LIU Brooklyn and Seattle. None of those were true road wins, so Idaho State’s victory at San Francisco stands as the tiebreaker right now.
5. Montana 2-4
Last week: No. 6
The Grizzlies beat to Idaho 69-58 in Missoula last night.
Before that game, Montana’s Kareem Jamar, the reigning Big Sky player of the year, is averaging 19.6 points, 6.4 rebounds, 5.6 assists a game, leading the Griz in all three categories.
So the good news for Montana is that the conference’s best player resides in Missoula. The bad news is that they look a little thin otherwise. If Jamar suffers any kind of injury (picture me knocking on wood furiously to counteract that thought) the Grizzlies are in trouble.
6. North Dakota 2-6
Last week: No. 5
Mascot-less North Dakota fell to Butler 79-64 last Saturday and Bowling Green 79-69 Wednesday night.
North Dakota is dead last in the Big Sky for scoring defense allowing 83 points a contest (through the Butler game). Even worse, opponents have hit 51.4 percent of their attempts against the porous UND defense.
Granted, some of the teams North Dakota has played (Wisconsin, Cal Poly, Butler) are solid programs, but to this point of the season UND has the worst defense in the league.
7. Portland State 4-3
Last week: No. 7
Portland State lost its first home game of the year to Portland 92-76.
The Vikings have dropped their last two after winning the previous four. But just like Idaho State, Portland State has shown flashes that they will contend for a Big Sky postseason tournament spot after finishing last in the league standings a year ago.
Through seven games, PSU’s biggest improvement has come defensively. Only Northern Colorado is allowing fewer points a contest.
8. Montana State 3-5
Last week: No. 9
Last Saturday, Montana State beat up on a winless Walla Walla University squad 109-54 after trailing 15-7 early in the first half.
Walla Walla, the Wolves, stink, so we have no idea if the Bobcats — who have used several different starting lineups to this point — are improving from the ball club that lost by 29 points to Cal State Fullerton at home to start the year. But we’ll know more after they play at Portland this Sunday.
9. Sacramento State 2-4
Last week: No. 8
The Hornets lost at UTEP 69-51 in their only game last week.
But I don’t want to write about Sac State’s basketball team. I want to focus on the fact that the projected high in Sacramento today is 58 degrees. Compare that to Pocatello where we can expect to reach one degree above freezing for like the first time in weeks (or it just feels like weeks). The committee (of one) grew up in Montana and should be acclimated to winter weather, but it’s not yet mid-December and we’re already dreaming of warm, sunny summer days.
10. Northern Arizona 2-7
Last week: No. 10
In a respectable home loss, NAU dropped a 76-66 decision to Hawaii.
Hawaii, with a 6-2 record this season, beat Montana by 11 before taking out the Lumberjacks by 10 last Saturday. It’s a positive result for a Northern Arizona team that’s shown life in close losses to USC, Drake and Fresno State.
11. Southern Utah 1-5
Last week: No. 11
The Thunderbirds continued their ineptitude last week, losing by 27 points to Cal State Northridge.
Southern Utah is last in the Big Sky in scoring offense, offensive field-goal percentage, rebounding margin, assists per game and assist-to-turnover ratio, hence they’ve earned this spot in the rankings.
In response, the committee (of one) considered dropping the entire conference one spot. That would have meant slotting the “No. 1 team” at No. 2 and going from there. Luckily, cooler heads prevailed and decided that was a silly gimmick.
Without further ado.
1. Northern Colorado 5-2
Last week: No. 1
The Bears were one of this week’s wins. Northern Colorado obliterated that previously mentioned Division III team — something called Colorado College — 96-57 at home.
There’s not much to take away from the game. No Bear starter played more than 18 minutes and four UNC players off the bench finished in double figures.
2. Weber State 1-4
Last week: No. 3
The Wildcats game at Texas-Arlington was postponed because of bad weather in Dallas. The committee (of one) can only assume the weather looked something like Ogden does this time of season every day, but that must be frightening for the fair-weather folks of Texas.
Last night, Utah Valley upended Weber State 62-59. The Wolverines, 4-5 overall, are undefeated at home this season. So, yeah, Weber isn’t too impressive with four losses on its record after playing five games. But we’re overwhelmed with their talent.
3. Idaho State 3-3
Last week: No. 4
Four games on the road against quality Division I opponents and Idaho State has played well to really well in three of them.
The Bengals beat San Francisco in overtime, lost by two to CSU Bakersfield and led an 8-1 Utah team by 15 points in the first half. That’s a major improvement from last season’s road woes where the Bengals lost 17 games by an average of 13.8 points.
One more quick note: For chunks of ISU’s game at Utah, Bengal guard Tomas Sanchez was the best player on the floor.
Here’s his points, assists and field-goal percentage this year compared to last.
2013-14: 16.2, 4.7, 49 percent
2012-13: 10.3, 3.9, 43.5 percent
Those numbers show major improvement, and when conference play starts in a few weeks there are few things more valuable than a heady senior point guard.
4. Eastern Washington 5-3
Last week: No. 2
In the Eagles lone game last week, they went to Saint Mary’s of the West Coast Conference and left with a 28-point beatdown (93-65).
Losing on Saint Mary’s home floor — where the Gaels have won 25 straight nonconference games — isn’t a bad thing, and sophomore guard Tyler Harvey had another great game with 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting. Harvey has scored at least 13 points in every game for the Eagles. He’s an emerging star.
Simple math tells the committee (of one) that EWU, with its five wins, should sit at least one spot above Idaho State with its three Ws. But the Eagles have beaten a Division III team, an NAIA program, Boston, LIU Brooklyn and Seattle. None of those were true road wins, so Idaho State’s victory at San Francisco stands as the tiebreaker right now.
5. Montana 2-4
Last week: No. 6
The Grizzlies beat to Idaho 69-58 in Missoula last night.
Before that game, Montana’s Kareem Jamar, the reigning Big Sky player of the year, is averaging 19.6 points, 6.4 rebounds, 5.6 assists a game, leading the Griz in all three categories.
So the good news for Montana is that the conference’s best player resides in Missoula. The bad news is that they look a little thin otherwise. If Jamar suffers any kind of injury (picture me knocking on wood furiously to counteract that thought) the Grizzlies are in trouble.
6. North Dakota 2-6
Last week: No. 5
Mascot-less North Dakota fell to Butler 79-64 last Saturday and Bowling Green 79-69 Wednesday night.
North Dakota is dead last in the Big Sky for scoring defense allowing 83 points a contest (through the Butler game). Even worse, opponents have hit 51.4 percent of their attempts against the porous UND defense.
Granted, some of the teams North Dakota has played (Wisconsin, Cal Poly, Butler) are solid programs, but to this point of the season UND has the worst defense in the league.
7. Portland State 4-3
Last week: No. 7
Portland State lost its first home game of the year to Portland 92-76.
The Vikings have dropped their last two after winning the previous four. But just like Idaho State, Portland State has shown flashes that they will contend for a Big Sky postseason tournament spot after finishing last in the league standings a year ago.
Through seven games, PSU’s biggest improvement has come defensively. Only Northern Colorado is allowing fewer points a contest.
8. Montana State 3-5
Last week: No. 9
Last Saturday, Montana State beat up on a winless Walla Walla University squad 109-54 after trailing 15-7 early in the first half.
Walla Walla, the Wolves, stink, so we have no idea if the Bobcats — who have used several different starting lineups to this point — are improving from the ball club that lost by 29 points to Cal State Fullerton at home to start the year. But we’ll know more after they play at Portland this Sunday.
9. Sacramento State 2-4
Last week: No. 8
The Hornets lost at UTEP 69-51 in their only game last week.
But I don’t want to write about Sac State’s basketball team. I want to focus on the fact that the projected high in Sacramento today is 58 degrees. Compare that to Pocatello where we can expect to reach one degree above freezing for like the first time in weeks (or it just feels like weeks). The committee (of one) grew up in Montana and should be acclimated to winter weather, but it’s not yet mid-December and we’re already dreaming of warm, sunny summer days.
10. Northern Arizona 2-7
Last week: No. 10
In a respectable home loss, NAU dropped a 76-66 decision to Hawaii.
Hawaii, with a 6-2 record this season, beat Montana by 11 before taking out the Lumberjacks by 10 last Saturday. It’s a positive result for a Northern Arizona team that’s shown life in close losses to USC, Drake and Fresno State.
11. Southern Utah 1-5
Last week: No. 11
The Thunderbirds continued their ineptitude last week, losing by 27 points to Cal State Northridge.
Southern Utah is last in the Big Sky in scoring offense, offensive field-goal percentage, rebounding margin, assists per game and assist-to-turnover ratio, hence they’ve earned this spot in the rankings.
Idaho high school girls basketball media poll — 12-11-13
Idaho high school girls basketball media poll
First-place votes in parentheses(Records through Tuesday)
5A W-L Pts. Pvs.
1. Coeur d'Alene (7) 7-0 35 1
2. Rocky Mountain 6-0 25 2
3. Lewiston 6-0 24 3
4. Centennial 5-1 11 4
T-5. Hillcrest 6-1 2 -
T-5. Highland 5-1 2 -
T-5. Lake City 4-1 2 -
T-5. Post Falls 3-3 2 -
Others receiving votes: Mountain View 1, Capital 1.
4A W-L Pts. Pvs.
1. Middleton (5) 7-2 33 1
2. Century (2) 5-1 24 2
3. Twin Falls 4-2 12 4
T-4. Skyview 5-1 11 T-5
T-4. Bishop Kelly 5-3 11 3
Others receiving votes: Pocatello 5, Burley 4, Jerome 3, Rigby 1, Wood River 1.
3A W-L Pts. Pvs.
1. Sugar-Salem (6) 7-0 34 T-1
2. Filer 5-3 22 T-1
3. Snake River (1) 3-3 18 3
4. Homedale 6-1 12 T-5
5. Parma 5-3 11 4
Others receiving votes: Kellogg 3, Teton 2, Marsh Valley 2, Bonners Ferry 1.
2A W-L Pts. Pvs.
1. Ririe (1) 5-1 25 2
T-2. North Fremont (3) 3-2 23 1
T-2. Firth (1) 6-1 23 3
4. Grangeville 6-1 15 5
T-5. New Plymouth 5-1 6 -
T-5. West Jefferson (1) 5-1 6 -
Others receiving votes: Valley 3, Salmon 2, Soda Springs 2.
1A Division I W-L Pts. Pvs.
1. Lapwai (5) 5-1 33 1
T-2. Kamiah (1) 1-4 16 2
T-2. Prairie (1) 6-1 16 3
4, Grace 4-1 12 4
5. Hagerman 7-0 11 5
Others receiving votes: Genesee 10, Clearwater Valley 3, Butte County 2, Challis 2.
1A Division II W-L Pts. Pvs.
1. Dietrich (7) 7-0 35 1
2. Richfield 5-0 22 5
3. Kendrick 5-2 14 2
4. Mackay 2-1 10 3
5. Tri-Valley N/A 8 -
Others receiving votes: Rockland 5, Summit Academy 4, Nezperce 4, Carey 3.
Voters
Mark Nelke, Coeur d'Alene Press
Greg Lee, Spokesman-Review
Matt Baney, Lewiston Tribune
John Wustrow, Idaho Press-Tribune
David Bashore, Times-News
Kyle Franko, Idaho State Journal
Marlowe Hereford, Post Register
Kyle's poll
5A
1 Coeur d'Alene
2 Lewiston
3 Rocky Mountain
4 Centennial
5 Highland
4A
1 Middleton
2 Skyview
3 Century
4 Bishop Kelly
5 Twin Falls
3A
1 Sugar-Salem
2 Filer
3 Snake River
4 Parma
5 Homedale
2A
1 Firth
2 Ririe
3 North Fremont
4 Soda Springs
5 Grangeville
1A D1
1 Lapwai
2 Kamiah
3 Grace
4 Prairie
5 Butte County
1A D2
1 Dietrich
2 Kendrick
3 Rockland
4 Mackay
5 Carey
Monday, December 9, 2013
Crash the boards: Rebounding key for ISU men Tuesday against Utah
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| Doug Lindley/Idaho State Journal |
Idaho State is talking rebounds.
Offensive or defensive, both are important, vital even, to a 3-2 Bengal squad still searching for respect.
Rebounds won’t win a game. They might not even guarantee a close one, but against the University of Utah (7-1) tonight, Idaho State had better crash the glass.
Sure, watching a few long-distance jumpers fall would be nice. And getting the occasional fast-break layup could do a lot for an underdog’s confidence — though ISU players say they already have that — if the Bengals want to pull a stunner in the Jon M. Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City against the Utes.
But they had better get a board or two.
Rebounding starts everything. It validates a solid defensive possession when the Bengals force a miss. If Ayibakuro Preh, Jeffrey Solarin, Andre Hatchett, whoever, grab the loose ball then ISU is off on a full sprint with senior point guard Tomas Sanchez leading the charge.
Offensive boards provide another chance, a second opportunity to run a defense ragged. How often is an O-board a prelude to a kick out pass for a wide open 3-pointer?
Last season’s 6-24 team had its issues and rebounding stood at the forefront. ISU finished last in the Big Sky Conference for rebounding margin (-5.9) and 333rd in the country (out of 345 Division I programs). The rebounding, or lack of it, hindered the Bengals’ offense (last in the league) and guaranteed they played defense for long stretches.
In tight games, too, a defensive stop is only complete when the errant shot is gobbled up by a defender.
Following head coach Bill Evans’ first year at ISU, the Bengals formed a recruiting class with rebounding in mind in the offseason. A guy like Solarin came in from Northwest College junior college with a very specific skill set — he gets after it under the basket.
Solarin, a junior, is averaging 8.5 rebounds, fourth best in the conference and he’s gobbling up a league-leading 5.25 offensive boards a game.
Last Friday against Carroll College, Solarin scored 16 points on 8-of-10 shooting. All his offensive boards underneath the basket have meant easy layups. The Denver, Colo., native has hit 25 of his 40 shot attempts (62.5 percent), second in the Big Sky.
“That’s one of the reasons I’m here — to rebound,” Solarin said after the Carroll game. “So my goal every game is to get as many rebounds as I can.”
And it’s not just Solarin. It’s a team mandate. Whether it’s 6-foot-9 Preh or the 6-3 Sanchez, every Bengal talks about rebounding.
Just ask Evans what’s important for Idaho State against Utah.
“We have to be fearless and we have to rebound the ball,” he said. “We have to rebound the basketball.”
They’ve recruited players better equipped to do it, and the Bengals have spent plenty of time in practice working through rebounding drills. So far, it’s worked.
Idaho State has gone from worst to first in rebounding margin, flipping that -5.9 from last season to a positive 6.0 this year. Granted, it’s early. ISU has played 17 percent of its schedule, but after the first five games of the 2012-13 season the Bengals were a -9.8 in rebounding.
Of course, that’s only a small part of what Idaho State has to do well against Utah. The Utes have outscored opponents 701-487 this season, and their lone blemish is a 69-67 loss to Boise State on the road.
Four players average double figures and they’re led by a dynamic duo, junior point guard Delon Wright and sophomore forward Jordan Loveridge.
Wright is a junior college transfer who poured in 23 points and dished out 12 assists in the Utes’ 90-77 victory against Fresno State last Saturday.
“We’re going to be the underdogs but in our locker room we feel like we have a good chance of winning, and we’re going to go in there with confidence,” Sanchez said.
Utah is the beginning of a four-game stretch for ISU that includes games against Washington, Idaho and Cal State Bakersfield, four teams with a combined record of 20-9. It’s arguably the toughest section of Idaho State’s schedule this year, and it all leads to conference action that kicks off Jan. 2.
But make no mistake, underdog or not, the Bengals head to Salt Lake City with one goal.
“Win ’em all. I’m not trying to be silly. That’s my goal and, of course, I’m realistic enough to know that we won’t always reach our goals but we’re going in there to win,” Evans said. “I can tell you that for dang sure.”
NOTES: Ajak Magot, the junior college transfer from Cochise College who broke his foot in Idaho State’s exhibtion game Nov. 4, could return from surgery for the CSU Bakersfield game Dec. 28. ... ISU is 3-19 all time against Utah, the last victory coming in Holt Arena 72-68 Dec. 6, 2008.
Idaho State at Utah
Tuesday, 7:00 p.m., Jon M. Huntsman Center, Salt Lake City, Utah
Radio: 930 CBS Sports or Rock 102.5
TV: Pac-12 Network
Web: isubengals.com (live stats)
Records: Idaho State is 3-2. Utah of the Pac-12 is 7-1.
Last outing: Idaho State beat Carroll College 77-50 on Friday. Utah outgunned Fresno State 90-77.
Up next: Idaho State heads to Seattle to face Washington Saturday.
Sunday, December 8, 2013
Idaho State vs Carroll College post-game blog
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| Doug Lindley/Idaho State Journal |
Idaho State 77, Carroll College 50
For a full game recap, click here.
And check out this photo gallery (just scroll down till you find it. Sadly, I can't provide a link directly to the gallery).
Star of the game: Idaho State’s patience. In chilly Holt Arena, Carroll’s game plan was clear from the start: Keep the run of play at a glacial pace and avoid turnovers, a strategy that worked for about 10 minutes.
A member of the NAIA, Carroll doesn’t have the athletes with skill to hang with a Division I team, and against Idaho State’s zone defense they worked hard to gobble up a majority of the 35-second shot clock before even starting to look at the basket. A game that finished in the 40s was one they could compete in.
Without question, facing that kind of offense is frustrating. ISU players had to sit back, stay in the system and let their opportunities come. Eventually, they did and the Bengals raced to a 36-19 halftime lead after the game was tied 9-9 about nine and a half minutes in.
The Bengals finished the game with 14 steals, nine of those in the opening 20 minutes and that’s what blew open the game.
These stats are only updated through Dec. 1, but Idaho State is fourth in the country with 10.8 steals per game. It’s a big reason the Bengals have a 3-2 record and are averaging 79.6 points per game.
Star of the game No. 2: Evann Hall. Hall entered off the bench to score 14 points in 17 minutes. He shot 6-of-8 from the field and 2-of-3 from the 3-point line where the Saints dared him to shoot.
I mentioned how turnovers helped spark ISU’s first-half run. Hall was part of that, too. He had nine of his 14 points in that first half. He entered the game with a scoring mindset and that’s a valuable asset for the Bengals and head coach Bill Evans to have.
Think of Hall as the prototypical sixth man for Idaho State. When he’s on the floor, he’s looking to score and he’s hyper aggressive.
On another note: I’m told Sage Burmeister could join the men’s basketball team but it’s his choice. Burmeister went home for Thanksgiving and since he’s been back, he has worked out with the football team.
As far as I know the freshman from La Jolla, Calif., hasn’t gone to the basketball team to talk about joining the squad. As a gut feeling, I think Burmeister, who was a redshirt wide receiver for the football team, will choose to concentrate on football. I’ll pass along anything more I hear.
Thursday, December 5, 2013
True freshman with a big role for the Bengals
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| Journal File Photo |
It wasn’t that long ago when Justin Smith, a freshman for Idaho State’s men’s basketball team, was headed toward redshirting his first season playing for the Bengals.
Straight out of Colorado Springs, Colo., Smith had talent and athleticism, and he came from a successful prep team that had just won back-to-back state championships for Lewis-Palmer. In the title game his senior year, Smith contributed 15 points and 10 rebounds as a high school finale.
When he arrived in Pocatello last June, the ISU coaching staff were leaning on redshirting Smith to provide a bumper year where he could mature physically while honing his basketball fundamentals.
For his part, Smith just worked to get better.
“That’s all I could have a factor in, how hard I worked,” he said. “The rest was up to the coaches.”
As the 2013-14 season drew closer, Idaho State’s roster depth took a major hit after both Ben Wilson and Andre Slavik were ruled ineligible for the year by the NCAA.
At that point, ISU head coach Bill Evans joked he would have to play with four guys on the floor if he redshirted anyone else.
Then a funny thing happened. A summer spent playing ball with his team, lifting weights and working one-on-one with the Bengal coaching staff paid off. Since the beginning of his senior year in high school, Smith estimates he’s gained 15 pounds.
Suddenly his athletic ability came in a bigger frame. Listed at 6-foot-5, 200 pounds, Smith had the size and skills to play right away for the Bengals.
And play he has. Through Idaho State’s first four games, he’s logged 73 minutes, scored 13 points and collected 13 rebounds.
His best game came against Evergreen State when he poured in 11 points in 16 minutes before fouling out.
At times, the true freshman has struggled. Smith got his first collegiate start Nov. 23 at Cal State Bakersfield, slipping into the starting spot Jeffrey Solarin vacated after he violated a team rule and did not travel to California.
In 24 minutes Smith shot 1-for-7 from the field in ISU’s 71-69 loss. Evans, though, was happy with Smith’s defense and effort. Consider it a freshman-grading curve.
“I don’t think you can always judge a person by how many shots he makes or misses,” Evans said. “... He’s still in the learning stages. I think he has a bright future and I’m excited about it.”
Evans loves Smith’s potential and so do his teammates. Andre Hatchett, one of four seniors on the team, marvels at how advanced Smith is today compared to his own ability as a freshman.
“Everybody knows he’s going to be a great player,” Hatchett said. “Obviously, just the potential’s there. ... He has a great work ethic. He’s always in the gym and working to get stronger.”
The development continues tonight in Idaho State’s game versus Carroll College in Holt Arena at 7:05 p.m.
The Saints, a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, are 4-6 this season and coming of a 80-52 loss to Boise State Thursday night.
For the Bengals, it’s a game sandwiched between a 12-day layoff and a three-game road trip that includes stops at Utah (Tuesday) and Washington (Dec. 14) and a date with Idaho (Dec. 20) in Boise.
Hatchett, however, guarantees the Bengals are not looking ahead.
“We’re all just going to go out and execute and play as hard as we can,” he said. “That’s what we’re known for, playing 100 percent the whole 40 minutes.”
A win and Idaho State moves above .500 for the first time after five games into a season since a 6-1 start in 2005-06.
“We’ll be prepared for Carroll,” Evans said, “trust me.”
NOTES: Idaho State is 6-0 all-time versus Carroll College. In their last meeting, the Bengals beat the Saints 75-74 Nov. 29, 2006. ... Jeffrey Solarin is currently leading the Big Sky Conference with 5.3 offensive rebounds a game. ... Ayibakuro Preh is a co-leader at 1.75 blocks shots per game.
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