Archive for the ‘UW at Air Force men’s basketball’ category

UW-Air Force postgame thoughts

January 30th, 2010

Air Force entered this game shooting 30 percent from 3-point range. It finished at 44 percent and made 7 of 11 in the second half.

That’s the way things seem to go for Wyoming as it lost 70-63 Saturday afternoon.

One of those 3s was as the shot clock was to expire. Another bounced off the rim and backboard by a true freshman.

Wyoming didn’t play bad, but didn’t play good enough.

And the frustration appears to be boiling over.

Sophomore point guard and team captain JayDee Luster was short and visibly frustrated talking to the media after the game.

He said the Cowboys will keep fighting and playing hard, but you’ve got to wonder how much this team can take.

“We’re close but we’re tired of being close all the time,” he said.

True freshman guard Desmar Jackson continues to impress me. He had a team-high 21 points. He may be the saving grace to the rest of this season. See my column in Sunday’s Wyoming Tribune Eagle for more on that.

Junior forward Djibril Thiam was solid inside in place of sophomore center Adam Waddell, who was out with a sprained ankle.

But this team needs Waddell back. Coach Heath Schroyer said he is “50-50″ for Wednesday’s home game against UNLV.

All in all, another frustrating loss for UW. Looks like the play-in game at the MWC Tournament is becoming more and more of a possibility as UW is now 9-12 overall and 2-5 in the conference.

That play-in game could be against Air Force (9-11, 1-6) which remains in last place despite today’s win.

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Cowboys fall to Falcons

January 30th, 2010

Wyoming went more than five minutes down the stretch without making a basket in a 70-63 loss at Air Force Saturday.

UW fell to 9-12 overall and 2-5 in the MWC. Air Force (9-11, 1-6) snapped a 22-game regular-season losing streak in conference play.

True freshman guard Desmar Jackson led UW with 21points. Sophomore guard JayDee Luster and junior forward Djibril Thiam each had 10.

Evan Washington scored a game-high 23for Air Force, including eight straight down the stretch to seal the victory.

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Pokes lead by three at halftime

January 30th, 2010

After a slow start, Wyoming leads Air Force 29-26 at halftime here at Clune Arena.

The Cowboys made only three of their first 11 shots and trailed by as many as nine points.

But a 10-0 run, which included eight points by sophomore point guard JayDee Luster, gave UW its first lead at 19-17 with 7:58 to play.

Luster and junior forward Djibril Thiam both have eight points, and freshman Desmar Jackson has seven.

Air Force made its first three 3-pointers of the game, but finished the half 4 of 14.

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Posted in UW at Air Force men's basketball

Waddell out against Air Force

January 30th, 2010

Wyoming sophomore center Adam Waddell won’t play in today’s game at Air Force because of an injured ankle suffered in Wednesday’s game with Utah.

Waddell injured the ankle in the second half of that game, left and later returned. He finished with 13 points and 22 rebounds.

Waddell is UW’s leading rebounder (6.4 rpg) and third-leading scorer (10.8 ppg).

Senior Ryan Dermody or true freshman Amath M’Baye is expected to start in place of Waddell.

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UW-Air Force five things to watch

January 29th, 2010

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.

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