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The days of playing frosted cupcakes is over for Idaho State men’s basketball.
ISU opened with an exhibition game Nov. 4 against NAIA opponent Dickinson State and the Bengals cruised to a 97-54 final. And last Saturday they whipped Evergreen State, another NAIA opponent, 99-62 in Reed Gym.
It’s the third time in the last decade that Idaho State did not begin its season versus a major Division I opponent. In head coach Bill Evans first year in Pocatello, the Bengals were in Logan, Utah, against Utah State (a game they dropped 56-48).
For 2013-14, however, ISU had the Geoducks. It was the Bengals’ opportunity to run up and down the floor, score in bunches and, in general, manhandle a physically inferior opponent.
And they did. Idaho State shot 51 percent from the floor, hit eight 3-pointers and drained 17 more free throws than Evergreen attempted.
ISU led by 20 at the half and rumbled to a 37-point victory. But after the game, Evans was upset.
Idaho State had been sloppy on offense, coughing up 17 turnovers, and allowing Evergreen to score 62 points is a problem for a squad that bases its identity on defense, defense and defense.
Getting after a team in the locker room following a lopsided win is about stomping out any potential problems today so the issues don’t linger in the future.
“If you don’t stand up for something, you’re not going to be very successful in your life,” Evans said. “I believe in some things, and if they don’t do them they’re going to get it.”
By “it” Evans is referring to a firm stare and a few words in regard to what did not go well. By Tuesday, though, the Bengals had moved on.
"My memory isn’t very good. It’s one of the things the Lord blessed me with, a short memory,” Evans said.
Now Idaho State takes its 1-0 record on the road to play Arizona State (2-0) Friday night at the Wells Fargo Arena, and the Sun Devils are a different kind of opponent.
ASU point guard Jahii Carson is one of 15 players on the preseason watch list for the Oscar Robertson Award, given annually to the national player of the year. And, as expected on a Pac-12 team, there’s talent, size and athleticism all over the Sun Devil roster for a team picked seventh in the preseason poll.
But Idaho State is approaching it like another game, which it sort of is. The Bengals have ASU Friday, San Francisco Monday and CSU Bakersfield Nov. 23, all part of a three-game road trip before the Bengals host Carroll College in the first week of December.
Arizona State is the first of three Pac-12 squads Idaho State faces before Big Sky action begins in January.
“Everybody’s going to, besides us, expect us to go in and get blown out,” said senior ISU guard Tomas Sanchez. “So if we can go in there and try to steal one and keep it competitive, we’ll be happy with that.”
And they want to avoid a game like they had with Oregon last December. ISU went to Eugene and the Ducks rolled to a 42-point victory. The outcome had a negative effect on the Bengals’ confidence that lasted beyond the trip west. It struck deep.
A similar loss to the Sun Devils and suddenly a team that won six games a year ago isn’t so sure this year’s squad is any different.
“If we don’t play very well then it’s right back to, ‘same old thing,’” Evans said.
But Evans does not expect a result of that nature. ISU flies to Arizona State with confidence.
“I’m going to approach the game like we’re going to win the game,” said junior forward Jeffrey Solarin. “That’s what our focus is in practice. We’re going out there to win the game. If that school is going to pay us to come play them, we’re going to take their money.”
NOTES: Idaho State is 1-2 all-time versus Arizona State. ISU beat ASU back in 1957-58 72-68. ... Idaho State and Arizona State last played in 2008. The Bengals lost 90-55.
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