Boise state thoughts

[carbonpoke]

breaking down some of the matchups for tonights game:

gilmore on marks:

this should be interesting. derrious can face up with most quick guards. however marks is 6'3. I guess the key here is for derrious to keep marks in front of him and and the top of the key. if marks starts driving, im more worried about the defense collapsing, creating open looks from the wings for drmic and elorriaga. this is why they are one of the best three point shooting teams in the nation. I don't think marks will get many points himself, unless we stay in man to man and cover the wings when he drives. Hopefully we can get marks into quick foul trouble. He has 40+ garbage fouls on the season. this is really the match up to watch tonight.

adams on elorriaga:

same size here... but im betting that we have the advantage here with quickness and leaping ability. adams will have to have a statement night defensively to keep one of the hottest three point shooters in the mountain west quiet. we really have to keep the perimeter defense intense tonight, without allowing the shooter to slash to the basket.

Not sure who defends drmic:

drmic is 6'6, and can do everything well. he's a great corner shooter and baseline player. whoever we decide to put on him will depend. if we run a baseline zone... the coverage will most likely be washinton, nance. If boise can get coverage rotated to get grabau defending drmic we might be in trouble. not sure with the mismatches tonight if we see much of grabau on the floor with adams. Im going out on a limb here, but i think McManamen might get in the game to get some perimeter length.

Our Interior versus boise:

this is ugly for them, and has to be giving rice some fits planning. If nance and washington get things going early down low, commanding fouls... this game will be over half way through the 2nd half. if we get there big in foul trouble, then drmic will be forced to assist downlow.

In conclusion, this game will really tell us everything we need to know. can we dictate our style of play against an offense that is designed to exploit our weaknesses. Its going to get alot of attention from the media... how good is wyomings defense? Guess we will find out shortly... however i feel pretty good about this game; the team is growing up in front of us. There is a high risk tonight of having to weather a three point barrage.

This game would have a different feel if luke was in the lineup... at least defensively on the perimeter.

the crowd will have to keep the boys pumped throughout the game. im not doubting that will happen.

 

[J-Rod]

Well, according to that summary, Boise is completely outmatched. Should be an easy win.

 

[carbonpoke]

No... not easy at all. i know there is some hommer in me, and i write things with a wyoming slant. this will not be easy. marks is really good. gilmore might end up in foul trouble.

but i find that i really like our interior, alot. im hoping that is the difference.

 

[TheRealUW]

Great post, carbonpoke! I agree with most of your analysis.

Shutting down Derrick Marks will be key for the Cowboys getting a W tonight. Marks isn't a great shooter either spotting up or off the dribble, so we have the luxury of playing off him slightly with the intention of stopping his dribble penetration.

As you mentioned, perimeter defense against the 3 will also be a key to this game. A half second delay in defensive rotation can be the difference between a made or missed three pointer with Boise State. The Pokes will have to play with a lot of energy on the defensive end and anticipate passes or the Broncos certainly have the ability to light it up from the outside.

Wyoming and Boise State are pretty evenly matched teams. Their strengths lie at different spots...the backcourt for Boise State, the frontcourt for UW. These are the types of games that the Cowboys need to win if they want to make the NCAA tournament. It is these games that make the difference between an NCAA tournament bid and an NIT bid. I know this is only the first game in a long conference schedule, but the importance of this game really can't be overstated in my mind. Looking forward to it!

 

[seattlecowboy]

Well we already weathered one 3 point barrage against Illinois St. when they hit 7 in a row so I doubt it can get any worse than that. We just need to slow the game down to a crawl and dictate tempo and then start everything down low with Washington and Nance.

They can shoot the rock though as they hit 40% from 3. Hopefully they start getting winded by mid way through the 2nd half from having to play defense for long periods of time at altitude and they hit that Wyoming wall.

I'm nervous and excited for this game. Going to be fun!

Go Pokes!

 

[stymeman]

Nobody goes into the Dome of Doom without wondering what hit them!!! I think we'll be a ok tonight, as we won't see the real Boise St team tonight, they're overhyped and will not have a good game at all, they've not faced a team like UW this year so far

 

[seattlecowboy]

Nobody goes into the Dome of Doom without wondering what hit them!!! I think we'll be a ok tonight, as we won't see the real Boise St team tonight, they're overhyped and will not have a good game at all, they've not faced a team like UW this year so far

I wouldn't say they are overhyped. They gave Michigan St. all they wanted at East Lansing and almost won and then destroyed Creighton in Omaha so this game will not be easy at all. You're right that they haven't played anyone that slows it down as much as us except for Utah but we play at a slower pace than them. They haven't seen a frontcourt like we have though.

Michigan St. is more guard oriented this year with Appling and Creighton has Mcdermott but he plays a lot on the outside.

3 biggest keys are controlling tempo , pounding it down low and defending the 3 ball.

Wyoming needs to be focused tonight and play their game or we could get beat.

 

[BackHarlowRoad]

they've not faced a team like UW this year so far

Michigan State, LSU, Creighton....

Won 2 of those games and lost the other one by 4. To date, Creighton's only loss and one of only two LSU losses.

I'd say they've faced some pretty decent competition.