1. Speed up the game: There will be times where Wyoming must play a half-court game both offensively and defensively. But more often than not it wants to speed up the pace up so Air Force can’t get comfortable in its offensive and defensive sets.
2. Make baskets: OK, that sounds ultra-obvious. But for the Cowboys it’s hard to get into a press after missed baskets. They need to make baskets to set up their pressure defense, whether it’s full-court or half-court.
3. Learn on the fly: Air Force is unique with its deliberate offense and switching zone defenses, and like its football counterparts that run the triple option its difficult to face. Espeically for those who haven’t seen it a lot before. UW has only three or four guys who will play today that has seen it. The coaches need to prepare them and the players need to execute the game plan. But in the end the players just have to play. If they think too much about it they will get burned more often than not. There may be times Air Force executes a back-door cut for a layup, but then move on. Thinking too much will be bad news for Wyoming.
4. Turnovers and rebounds: The big reason Wyoming beat Utah Wednesday was that it had just 10 turnovers, it forced 19 and it allowed only six offensive rebounds. You do that against anyone and you will have a chance to win no matter who does what. If UW is good in those areas, they have a great chance to win.
5. Free throws: Come on, 50 missed free throws in the last four games and 21 against Utah? The Cowboys got away with it then, but they can’t roll the dice again. MAKE YOUR FREE THROWS FELLAS!
No live blog for tomorrow’s game. Some technical issues came up. The live blogs are not gone for good, however.
The UW divers and indoor track teams will be at Air Force Saturday for separate competitions. If you venture down to the Academy you can take in three different UW sports.
See Saturday’s paper for more on the UW-Air Force men’s and women’s game, the UW-Oklahoma State wrestling dual in Laramie and high school results from around the area and state.
