Bloo
02-08-2008, 09:17 PM
The skinny
Game #9
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m223/ejlbaldwin/cowboys.jpg @
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m223/ejlbaldwin/lobos.jpg
Overall Record/Conference Record: WYO (9-12, 2-6); UNM (17-6, 4-4)
WYO road record: (3-7, 1-3 in MWC)
UNM home record: (13-1, 3-1 in MWC)
Last games: WYO- 78-53 win over Cal State-Bakersfield (2/6); UNM- 91-51 win over CSU at home (2/5)
What you may not know: Wyoming has played in 13 games which have been decided by 10 points or less, going 5-6. Six of these types of games have been played away from the Arena-Auditorium in Laramie, with the Cowboys going 3-3. Of those, two did not involve a host (one game played in Casper, WY- a loss to Montana State- and the first round of the Sun Bowl Tournament in El Paso, TX versus Buffalo- a win- making the Cowboys 2-2 on an opponents' home floor in games decided by 10 points or less.
Additionally, the Pokes are 7-1 when holding their opponents to under 70 points. They have held three of their last four opponents under 70 points.
CONTENDER or PRETENDER?
Pace:
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m223/ejlbaldwin/minus.jpghttp://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m223/ejlbaldwin/2.png
Margin for error:
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m223/ejlbaldwin/zero.jpg
Destiny factor:
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m223/ejlbaldwin/sendhelp.jpg
Rundown:
In spite of how much the Lobos might wish that Tuesday night’s drubbing of Colorado State by 40 points could somehow count as more than one game in the standings, in the end this win stands as a win they should have had in the first place- one win over the worst team in the league at home. They’ll have to earn that second win up in Fort Collins in March- another win they should get, but that game is in March, and there is plenty of business at hand between now and then. The Lobos need to take one game at a time, and in the end, they’ll need to be perfect and get some help in order to contend for the league title.
Spin the slots
Here is the ninth of hopefully 19 looks at the conference portion of the 2007-2008 Lobos' schedule. I’ve finally resolved myself to not fighting this creepy slot machine which showed up at my door before conference play. Actually, I tried frying it by tossing it in the pool, but instead of short-circuiting the damned thing, these spooky images just illuminated the water instead:
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m223/ejlbaldwin/datecircled.jpg http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m223/ejlbaldwin/tall.jpg http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m223/ejlbaldwin/rubyredslippers.jpg
After first glancing at these images, I couldn’t shake the image of a really big basketball player preferring women’s shoes and getting giddy at the thought of a sale at Shoes on a Shoestring, even though I knew immediately how ridiculous this notion was. Besides, it has nothing to do with basketball. So I finally conjured up these translations for the images instead:
1. Flashback to January. Wyoming’s at home, up over the Lobos, everything’s hunky-dory, and then the Lobos start making a run. Just as they get back close to even, Wyoming’s trash-talking (albeit very skilled, very good) guard gets a technical for taunting the Lobo bench. He sits. He stays sitting. Through two overtimes he stays, prompting several Wyoming players to believe that he might have been the difference. One of them says so, says he’ll circle the date of the return game in Albuquerque. Ewwww! Scary Wyoming player! Meanwhile, the Pokes take a couple of clobberings at the hands of TCU and San Diego State, play respectably against the top of the league (but lose to) UNLV and BYU, and somehow grit out wins against CSU and- gulp!- at Utah! We’d be tempted to say that Wyoming somehow lost focus after the UNM loss and stumbled to a 2-6 record, but we’re above that. More likely is that Wyoming is just not very good. Not someone you want to overlook (see Utah), but not very good all the same. So, good luck with that revenge thing, Mr. Ewing. Maybe putting a gag in your teammate’s mouth will get you started.
2. After stumbling their way to an 0-5 start in conference, Coach Schroyer scanned his bench for some sort of spark to his starting lineup, and- lo, and behold!- there was this 7’0” frosh sitting there, green and practically unnoticed! Enter Mikhail Linskens, and not only is he tall, but he weighs 270 lbs. Then a funny thing happens. Wyoming begins to feed the post, and- hallelujah!- They win one, two conference games and a third non-conference game over a cupcake called UCS-Bakersfield, and Linskens even scores 23 points over the Roadrunners! (Yes, I did not know this was their nickname, either.) The point here? Things have changed in how to defend this Wyoming team, who will now pound the ball into the middle, rather than just rely on their all-conference tandem of Ewing and Jones to initiate their offense. Whether Linskens can be a significant factor against MWC teams remains to be seen- but he has already become a factor when preparing for Wyoming.
3. OK, so click your heels together three times, and say, “There’s no place like home! There’s no place like home! There’s no place like home!” No question that this Lobo team feeds off their home crowd, not unlike Lobo teams in the past. A lot has been made of how current crowds don’t measure up to the crowds of yesteryear, but when you think about it, there isn’t anybody on the team, save for elementary-aged Daniel Faris and Chad Toppert, who would even know the difference. In fact, Steve Alford was enthralled by the 16 thousand and some odd noisies that partially filled The Pit for the Utah game. If this is where the bar is set, no wonder most of the other good sized crowds seem comparable. And really, who can argue if the folks that are coming charge the boys up so much that they’ve won 13 out of 14 at home (and should have probably won the 14th one.) If the invincibility [at home] factor comes before the sellouts, the sellouts won’t be far behind, theoretically speaking, at least. With a good spanking of the Cowboys, and then by gaining revenge on the Horned Frog next Saturday, maybe that sellout will come just in time for the Cougars and/or the Rebels, who round out the home schedule, and against whom the Lobos could really use a packed house.
Bloo's Take:
So the fragility theory was nonsense. All the Lobos needed to rebound from the thorough thrashings handed to them by UNLV and BYU was to come home and play the lowly Rams. Problem solved, right? Actually, the way this game played out may have solved some problems, whereas just handing out a thrashing, but with no intensity in the second half or down the stretch might have set up some false securities. It turns out that the Lobos worked on coming out of the break with some intensity. They built a lead to 46 points, and then they didn’t give a significant portion of it back by setting some sloppy precedents. So the stage is set for some momentum to kick in, and, with some good habits in place, they seem poised to be able to withstand any challenge that a slightly better [than CSU], much gamier, and revenge-minded group of Pokes might throw at them.
The planning for Wyoming took a turn when Coach Heath Schroyer threw in seldom used freshmen center into the starting lineup for the CSU game. Mind you, this was not a Greg Brown type of discovery, where an instant offensive threat who nobody had scouted suddenly presented itself. Mikhail Linskens is not going to torch anybody other than a sectional California State school lying between the crosshairs of Fresno to Los Angeles and Santa Maria to Death Valley. What it does do is take some of the focus off of the real threats for Wyoming, namely Mr. Jones and Mr. Ewing, because the Pokes will toss it into the post on a fairly consistent basis. UNM can fall back on their success against Luke Neville of Utah, and this threat shouldn’t be as daunting, until you remember what Johnny Bryant did against them in the second half, and Wyoming brings this kind of threat times two.
Wyoming has improved on defense somewhat as well since the last time the Lobos came calling. In fact, Wyoming would probably love a score in the 60s, as the only team in the last four to beat the Pokes scored 73 (BYU) and won by 10. This can be a scrappy bunch of Pokes, and the key to beating them is keeping them off the boards and providing some kind of inside threat, to the point that they respect it enough to open up some looks from outside. UNM provided some wrinkles for Wyoming to look at with their last tape [win over CSU], which probably contributed to some sleepless nights for the Wyo coaches, as they had enough trouble stopping the Lobos’ three-point barrage in the last 30 minutes of the game in Laramie.
I think this is a game where the teams may trade spurts, but eventually the Lobos will get enough energy to coast in the end. I'll say UNM 90, Wyoming 73.
Game #9
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m223/ejlbaldwin/cowboys.jpg @
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m223/ejlbaldwin/lobos.jpg
Overall Record/Conference Record: WYO (9-12, 2-6); UNM (17-6, 4-4)
WYO road record: (3-7, 1-3 in MWC)
UNM home record: (13-1, 3-1 in MWC)
Last games: WYO- 78-53 win over Cal State-Bakersfield (2/6); UNM- 91-51 win over CSU at home (2/5)
What you may not know: Wyoming has played in 13 games which have been decided by 10 points or less, going 5-6. Six of these types of games have been played away from the Arena-Auditorium in Laramie, with the Cowboys going 3-3. Of those, two did not involve a host (one game played in Casper, WY- a loss to Montana State- and the first round of the Sun Bowl Tournament in El Paso, TX versus Buffalo- a win- making the Cowboys 2-2 on an opponents' home floor in games decided by 10 points or less.
Additionally, the Pokes are 7-1 when holding their opponents to under 70 points. They have held three of their last four opponents under 70 points.
CONTENDER or PRETENDER?
Pace:
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m223/ejlbaldwin/minus.jpghttp://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m223/ejlbaldwin/2.png
Margin for error:
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m223/ejlbaldwin/zero.jpg
Destiny factor:
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m223/ejlbaldwin/sendhelp.jpg
Rundown:
In spite of how much the Lobos might wish that Tuesday night’s drubbing of Colorado State by 40 points could somehow count as more than one game in the standings, in the end this win stands as a win they should have had in the first place- one win over the worst team in the league at home. They’ll have to earn that second win up in Fort Collins in March- another win they should get, but that game is in March, and there is plenty of business at hand between now and then. The Lobos need to take one game at a time, and in the end, they’ll need to be perfect and get some help in order to contend for the league title.
Spin the slots
Here is the ninth of hopefully 19 looks at the conference portion of the 2007-2008 Lobos' schedule. I’ve finally resolved myself to not fighting this creepy slot machine which showed up at my door before conference play. Actually, I tried frying it by tossing it in the pool, but instead of short-circuiting the damned thing, these spooky images just illuminated the water instead:
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m223/ejlbaldwin/datecircled.jpg http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m223/ejlbaldwin/tall.jpg http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m223/ejlbaldwin/rubyredslippers.jpg
After first glancing at these images, I couldn’t shake the image of a really big basketball player preferring women’s shoes and getting giddy at the thought of a sale at Shoes on a Shoestring, even though I knew immediately how ridiculous this notion was. Besides, it has nothing to do with basketball. So I finally conjured up these translations for the images instead:
1. Flashback to January. Wyoming’s at home, up over the Lobos, everything’s hunky-dory, and then the Lobos start making a run. Just as they get back close to even, Wyoming’s trash-talking (albeit very skilled, very good) guard gets a technical for taunting the Lobo bench. He sits. He stays sitting. Through two overtimes he stays, prompting several Wyoming players to believe that he might have been the difference. One of them says so, says he’ll circle the date of the return game in Albuquerque. Ewwww! Scary Wyoming player! Meanwhile, the Pokes take a couple of clobberings at the hands of TCU and San Diego State, play respectably against the top of the league (but lose to) UNLV and BYU, and somehow grit out wins against CSU and- gulp!- at Utah! We’d be tempted to say that Wyoming somehow lost focus after the UNM loss and stumbled to a 2-6 record, but we’re above that. More likely is that Wyoming is just not very good. Not someone you want to overlook (see Utah), but not very good all the same. So, good luck with that revenge thing, Mr. Ewing. Maybe putting a gag in your teammate’s mouth will get you started.
2. After stumbling their way to an 0-5 start in conference, Coach Schroyer scanned his bench for some sort of spark to his starting lineup, and- lo, and behold!- there was this 7’0” frosh sitting there, green and practically unnoticed! Enter Mikhail Linskens, and not only is he tall, but he weighs 270 lbs. Then a funny thing happens. Wyoming begins to feed the post, and- hallelujah!- They win one, two conference games and a third non-conference game over a cupcake called UCS-Bakersfield, and Linskens even scores 23 points over the Roadrunners! (Yes, I did not know this was their nickname, either.) The point here? Things have changed in how to defend this Wyoming team, who will now pound the ball into the middle, rather than just rely on their all-conference tandem of Ewing and Jones to initiate their offense. Whether Linskens can be a significant factor against MWC teams remains to be seen- but he has already become a factor when preparing for Wyoming.
3. OK, so click your heels together three times, and say, “There’s no place like home! There’s no place like home! There’s no place like home!” No question that this Lobo team feeds off their home crowd, not unlike Lobo teams in the past. A lot has been made of how current crowds don’t measure up to the crowds of yesteryear, but when you think about it, there isn’t anybody on the team, save for elementary-aged Daniel Faris and Chad Toppert, who would even know the difference. In fact, Steve Alford was enthralled by the 16 thousand and some odd noisies that partially filled The Pit for the Utah game. If this is where the bar is set, no wonder most of the other good sized crowds seem comparable. And really, who can argue if the folks that are coming charge the boys up so much that they’ve won 13 out of 14 at home (and should have probably won the 14th one.) If the invincibility [at home] factor comes before the sellouts, the sellouts won’t be far behind, theoretically speaking, at least. With a good spanking of the Cowboys, and then by gaining revenge on the Horned Frog next Saturday, maybe that sellout will come just in time for the Cougars and/or the Rebels, who round out the home schedule, and against whom the Lobos could really use a packed house.
Bloo's Take:
So the fragility theory was nonsense. All the Lobos needed to rebound from the thorough thrashings handed to them by UNLV and BYU was to come home and play the lowly Rams. Problem solved, right? Actually, the way this game played out may have solved some problems, whereas just handing out a thrashing, but with no intensity in the second half or down the stretch might have set up some false securities. It turns out that the Lobos worked on coming out of the break with some intensity. They built a lead to 46 points, and then they didn’t give a significant portion of it back by setting some sloppy precedents. So the stage is set for some momentum to kick in, and, with some good habits in place, they seem poised to be able to withstand any challenge that a slightly better [than CSU], much gamier, and revenge-minded group of Pokes might throw at them.
The planning for Wyoming took a turn when Coach Heath Schroyer threw in seldom used freshmen center into the starting lineup for the CSU game. Mind you, this was not a Greg Brown type of discovery, where an instant offensive threat who nobody had scouted suddenly presented itself. Mikhail Linskens is not going to torch anybody other than a sectional California State school lying between the crosshairs of Fresno to Los Angeles and Santa Maria to Death Valley. What it does do is take some of the focus off of the real threats for Wyoming, namely Mr. Jones and Mr. Ewing, because the Pokes will toss it into the post on a fairly consistent basis. UNM can fall back on their success against Luke Neville of Utah, and this threat shouldn’t be as daunting, until you remember what Johnny Bryant did against them in the second half, and Wyoming brings this kind of threat times two.
Wyoming has improved on defense somewhat as well since the last time the Lobos came calling. In fact, Wyoming would probably love a score in the 60s, as the only team in the last four to beat the Pokes scored 73 (BYU) and won by 10. This can be a scrappy bunch of Pokes, and the key to beating them is keeping them off the boards and providing some kind of inside threat, to the point that they respect it enough to open up some looks from outside. UNM provided some wrinkles for Wyoming to look at with their last tape [win over CSU], which probably contributed to some sleepless nights for the Wyo coaches, as they had enough trouble stopping the Lobos’ three-point barrage in the last 30 minutes of the game in Laramie.
I think this is a game where the teams may trade spurts, but eventually the Lobos will get enough energy to coast in the end. I'll say UNM 90, Wyoming 73.