1. More scorers: UW needs more guys other than true freshman guard Desmar Jackson and sophomore center Adam Waddell to score. It would be nice to see these two get 16 apiece like they did last Saturday against Colorado State. But a few others needs to get between eight and 12. Junior forward Djibril Thiam and senior forward Ryan Dermody are the best candidates.
2. Stat-sheet filler: That is how coach Heath Schroyer has described Thiam at times, and he has shown the ability to score, rebound and even block shots. It would be nice if you could do all three in this game. He’s scored five points and has nine rebounds in the Cowboys’ last two games. He needs to be a factor offensively and defensively in this game.
3. Stop second chances: San Diego State is one of the best rebounding teams in the nation and UW is one of the worst in the conference. It’s a safe bet the Cowboys will get beat on the boards, but it has to at very least not allow a ton of second-chance opportunities. In the first game in Laramie last month SDSU held a 22-9 advantage in second-chance points.
4. Hometown pride: UW sophomore point guard JayDee Luster is a San Diego native and knows members of the Aztecs. He had 14 points, six assists and two steals in the first game. He needs to have a similar effort in this game. He also needs to play well defensively against SDSU junior point guard D.J. Gay,who is coming off a career-high 25 points against New Mexico last Saturday.
5. Get defensive: UW has been last in the MWC in scoring defense (74.8 ppg) much of the season and that probably won’t change. During its three game losing streak it’s opponents have averaged 76 points a game and the last two foes have shot better than 50 percent from the field. UW has averaged just 59 points a game during its three-game slide, so with the offense slipping the defense must improve.
See Wednesday’s paper for more on this game, and on a big one for the Cowgirls as they host San Diego State Wednesday night in Laramie.
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