The Cowboys are back in action tonight after a short one day break. I'd like to see them go to Larry Nance early and often, as his size and talent are clearly unmatched by anyone on Black Hills State. Anything less than a dominating performance on his part would be a mild disappointment in my eyes.
Player(s) to Watch: Tommy Earl (G, 6'3, 200 lbs, Sr.); Riley Ryan (G/F, 6'5, 200 lbs, So.)
You can bet neither of these players will lack motivation tonight as they both hail from Wyoming. There are a total of four players from the state of Wyoming on the Yellow Jacket's roster, and these two are major contributors to the team. Earl played his high school ball at Natrona where he helped them to two state championships and was also a standout on the gridiron. He started his college career at Metro State in Denver before transferring to Black Hills State where he immediately became a major contributor. He used his redshirt year last season (not sure why), but has performed very well in his return to the court this season and leads the Yellow Jacket's in scoring at nearly 16 ppg. His strongest asset is his ability to knock down open jump shots. He can hit them from anywhere on the court and off of the dribble or catch and shoot.
Ryan was a two sport standout at Sheridan High School where he helped the Broncs to two state championships in football. ALthough he did see action as a true freshman last season, he was primarily a role player and was not asked to contribute heavily on the offensive end. This season, he has taken a major step forward and has become one of the Yellow Jacket's most dangerous offensive threats. Like Earl, he can shoot the rock. He is a very good jump shooter with range all the way out to the 3 point line.
Wyoming clearly is the better basketball team across the board in this match-up. I'm not a big fan of seeing Division 2 teams on the schedule, as selection committees essentially disregard these wins and they are not used when calculating RPI. I suppose you could argue that they can help the confidence of a team and give the team a good chance to get some of the role players some game time, but I think the team would be better served by facing some stiffer competition. Of course, the possibility of a loss, albeit very remote, could potentially be the start of a disaster. Anyways, I digress. I think the Pokes should play an agressive man to man defense in this game. The Cowboy's superior athleticism should allow them to stay out of foul trouble and the man defense should minimize Black Hills State major strength, jump-shooting. Pokes should win big in this one.
