I am really interested in this game. Arizona is a superior program and they have the look of a likely Sweet 16 or Elite 8 participant to me. Kriisa is a terrific point guard. I assume Maldo will draw that assignment and will have his hands full. UA hired Tommy Lloyd out of Gonzaga, and from what I've seen they are ball screening people to death, just like the Zags. Kriisa looks really good in pick and roll actions and even better in transition.
UA wants to run and is averaging north of 90 points a game. If UA gets this game into the 90's I would bet we end up losing by 20+. The only game Arizona has been challenged so far was in a neutral court game in Vegas against Wichita State. That game was 69-69 in regulation before Arizona got it opened up in OT. If Wyoming can keep this game in the 60's or 70's I think it will be competitive. To Nowhere's point in a previous post, don't be surprised to see us roll out the SDSU gameplan from the tournament last year.
This will be an interesting measuring stick for Ike. Koloko is a true 7-footer and athletic. Ike handled the big Fullerton kid well, but that guy wasn't 7-feet tall. If Ike gets 20 against Koloko it should put the fear of death into the rest of the MWC.
Tubelis will be an interesting match up with Oden. Oden should be able to out-athletic him but Tubelis, at least from the clips I've seen, is a big European kid who plays smart and can get to the rim. I'm afraid he will eat Thompson alive so hopefully we can keep Ike and Oden out of foul trouble.
Wyoming has had some concerning lapses in defensive focus the past couple games - especially in the first half against Denver. UA wants to get out and run and can put it on teams in a hurry. UW will have to be locked in all 40 minutes to be competitive.
Recipe for the upset:
Maldo probably has to play all 40 minutes. Ike has to stay out of foul trouble and get 20-25 points against the 7-1 guy. Either Dusell or Jeffries or both need to have special shooting nights. I don't think they need to make a lot of 3's,but they need to shoot a high percentage to keep UA's defense honest and spread out. We need to somehow get an honest whistle out of Verne or Dave Hall or whoever will get this assignment and will want to shade it to UA to keep the basketball camp checks flowing. The defense needs to be locked in and create some turnovers. And finally, we are going to have to rebound better than we have so far this season. We've improved on the glass the last two games but we could really use a Derek Cooke Jr. right about now (who I find myself missing more than anyone from recent teams other than Josh Adams just because of the outright GLEE he took in dunking on people. But anyway).
If Wyoming gets smoked by Arizona it won't surprise me or dampen my enthusiasm one bit. Arizona is elite, especially at home. But if we keep this competitive into the second half, especially inside the last 10 minutes, it will send very real smoke signals to the rest of the Mountain West that the war drums are pounding in Laramie.
UA wants to run and is averaging north of 90 points a game. If UA gets this game into the 90's I would bet we end up losing by 20+. The only game Arizona has been challenged so far was in a neutral court game in Vegas against Wichita State. That game was 69-69 in regulation before Arizona got it opened up in OT. If Wyoming can keep this game in the 60's or 70's I think it will be competitive. To Nowhere's point in a previous post, don't be surprised to see us roll out the SDSU gameplan from the tournament last year.
This will be an interesting measuring stick for Ike. Koloko is a true 7-footer and athletic. Ike handled the big Fullerton kid well, but that guy wasn't 7-feet tall. If Ike gets 20 against Koloko it should put the fear of death into the rest of the MWC.
Tubelis will be an interesting match up with Oden. Oden should be able to out-athletic him but Tubelis, at least from the clips I've seen, is a big European kid who plays smart and can get to the rim. I'm afraid he will eat Thompson alive so hopefully we can keep Ike and Oden out of foul trouble.
Wyoming has had some concerning lapses in defensive focus the past couple games - especially in the first half against Denver. UA wants to get out and run and can put it on teams in a hurry. UW will have to be locked in all 40 minutes to be competitive.
Recipe for the upset:
Maldo probably has to play all 40 minutes. Ike has to stay out of foul trouble and get 20-25 points against the 7-1 guy. Either Dusell or Jeffries or both need to have special shooting nights. I don't think they need to make a lot of 3's,but they need to shoot a high percentage to keep UA's defense honest and spread out. We need to somehow get an honest whistle out of Verne or Dave Hall or whoever will get this assignment and will want to shade it to UA to keep the basketball camp checks flowing. The defense needs to be locked in and create some turnovers. And finally, we are going to have to rebound better than we have so far this season. We've improved on the glass the last two games but we could really use a Derek Cooke Jr. right about now (who I find myself missing more than anyone from recent teams other than Josh Adams just because of the outright GLEE he took in dunking on people. But anyway).
If Wyoming gets smoked by Arizona it won't surprise me or dampen my enthusiasm one bit. Arizona is elite, especially at home. But if we keep this competitive into the second half, especially inside the last 10 minutes, it will send very real smoke signals to the rest of the Mountain West that the war drums are pounding in Laramie.
