This is my third attempt at this. I didn't see much point in posting one after Week 1 of conference play, but now that we played two weeks, I think we can make some assessments....
What did we learn from Week #2: Primarily that NC has made Montana their own personal play toy. Probably was the worst home conference performance Montana has had in some time. There was some hope that Montana had figured out its offensive inconsistency issues and had three upper level scorers in the BSC conference, but NC gave the Griz a reminder that even with Pridgen, Williams and Moore, Montana still struggles to unlock teams who have good gameplans against Montana's heavy dribble/ball screen offense. Every year NC loses guys, and every year they seem to find guys that torment BSC teams. Isaiah Hawthorne (grad transfer from San Francisco) appears to be that guy this year.
Games continue to be competitive. Through two weeks of conference play, 12 of the 18 games have been decided by less than two possessions. That probably explains why there is only 1 undefeated team, and every team has at least 1 win. Only one team has a margin greater than 5 (UNC @10.8) in score differential.
Player(s) of the Week: Isaiah Hawthorne/Langston Reynolds Northern Colorado. In UNC's sweep of the Montana road trip, the duo combined for 30 points and 11 rebounds against Montana State and 34 points and 21 rebounds against Montana.
Game of the Week #3: Like it has to be tonights matchup in Greely between Northern Colorado and Portland State. Northern Colorado can establish some level of distance between them and their pursuers by getting a win. Portland State has struggled in recent years in these types of games. They have been a fringe top 3 team in each of the past few seasons and it is largely because they have struggled to get a breakthrough. Tonights matchup represents a real opportunity for PSU. In a larger sense this feels like a big week for PSU in general. They play two of the better teams in the conference (NC/NAU). Splitting seems like a must for PSU, but to send a message they need to go 2-0.
Thanks for reading.
| Rank | Team | Conference (Overall) RPI | Last Week | This Week | Significant Stat(s) |
1 | Northern Colorado | 4-0 (12-5) 108 | 2-0 (@ MSU W, @ UM W) | v. PSU, v. SS | .515/.586 FG% If there is a singular reason why UNC is atop the conference it is because they frankly don't miss. Unreal stat fro this late in the season. |
2 | Montana | 3-1 (10-7) 203 | 1-1 (v. NAU W, v. UNC L) | @ WSU, @ISU, v. UI (Mon) | 77.3 PPGA. This has been a bit different defensive team than we've seen from the Griz, but it has been relatively toothless on the defensive end in conference, pair that with a team that simply can't rebound (-10), in puts them in positions to play more defense and make more stops. One of the weaker defensive teams we've seen out of TDC. |
3 | Portland State | 2-1 (10-6) 237 | 2-0 (v. EWU, v. UI W) | @ UNC, @ NAU | 40.0/+8.0. One of the conferences most athletic teams, they are relentless on the boards. They are one of the best FG defensive teams and just don't give the opposition any second chances. |
4 | Idaho | 2-2 (7-10) 257 | 1-1 (@. SS W, @. PSU L) | v. EWU (Sat), @ UM (Mon) | 115/.304 3pt A/%. Idaho is 2-2 in conference, but have played as good as anyone in the top 4. They have attempted 22 more threes, but rank 7th in the conference in perentage. In their two losses they are 15-61 from 3 (24%). |
5 | Eastern Washington | 2-2 (6-11) 244 | 1-1 (@ PSU L, @ SS W) | @ UI (Sat), @ MSU (Mon) | -4.25/65 T/A Ratio and Turnovers. EWU has turned over the ball 15 times more than any team in the conference through 4 conference games. If they cut down on turnovers, they have a real chance at finishing top tier in the conference because they've been good at limiting shots from the opposition. |
6 | Weber State | 1-2 (7-10) 240 | 1-0 (@ ISU W) | v. UM, v. MSU | 79.3/.497. This is very similar to Montana. Weber State hasn't been good defensively (conference worst ppg and 2nd worst opp FG%. They haven't turned over teams and haven't stopped them either. For Weber State to improve they'll have to do it at the defensive end. |
7 | Idaho State | 1-2 (6-8) 204 | 0-1 (v. WSU L) | v. MSU, v. UM | 79.0/.533 If you want to look at one of the core reasons as to why a team be really good offensively (2nd in scoring) and turning over the opposition (1st in steals) and be 1-2 in conference and 6-8 over is that like Montana and Weber they just haven't had a lot of teeth defensively. |
8 | Montana State | 1-3 (6-11) 189 | 1-1 (v. UNC L, v. NAU W) | @ ISU, @WSU, v. EWU (Mon) | -5,-5, -1, +5. MSU could very easily be 3-1 in conference. The ranking is a bit unfair, but they are that ugly offensive/defensive team that DeCuire embraced for so long. They just aren't elite at any one thing right now on the offensive end. |
9 | Northern Arizona | 1-3 (10-7) 268 | 0-2 (@. UM L, @ MSU L) | v. SS, v. PSU | 4-29/19-62: It is hard to imagine that NAU is 1-3, and you might look at Trent McLaughins performance. In their three losses, he's shooting 30% from the floor. If he's marginally better in any of those three games, NAU is likely 3-1. |
10 | Sacramento State | 1-2 (5-11) 345 | 0-2 | @ NAU, @UNC | .351/.438. Over the past couple of years Sac State had become known as a stingy defensive team (that is still true). The problem this year, is through 4 conference games they are shooting .35% from the floor, almost a full 10% than any other team. It is why they are averaging a league worst 59 ppg and have managed to be 1-2 despite having the conferences second best defense. |
What did we learn from Week #2: Primarily that NC has made Montana their own personal play toy. Probably was the worst home conference performance Montana has had in some time. There was some hope that Montana had figured out its offensive inconsistency issues and had three upper level scorers in the BSC conference, but NC gave the Griz a reminder that even with Pridgen, Williams and Moore, Montana still struggles to unlock teams who have good gameplans against Montana's heavy dribble/ball screen offense. Every year NC loses guys, and every year they seem to find guys that torment BSC teams. Isaiah Hawthorne (grad transfer from San Francisco) appears to be that guy this year.
Games continue to be competitive. Through two weeks of conference play, 12 of the 18 games have been decided by less than two possessions. That probably explains why there is only 1 undefeated team, and every team has at least 1 win. Only one team has a margin greater than 5 (UNC @10.8) in score differential.
Player(s) of the Week: Isaiah Hawthorne/Langston Reynolds Northern Colorado. In UNC's sweep of the Montana road trip, the duo combined for 30 points and 11 rebounds against Montana State and 34 points and 21 rebounds against Montana.
Game of the Week #3: Like it has to be tonights matchup in Greely between Northern Colorado and Portland State. Northern Colorado can establish some level of distance between them and their pursuers by getting a win. Portland State has struggled in recent years in these types of games. They have been a fringe top 3 team in each of the past few seasons and it is largely because they have struggled to get a breakthrough. Tonights matchup represents a real opportunity for PSU. In a larger sense this feels like a big week for PSU in general. They play two of the better teams in the conference (NC/NAU). Splitting seems like a must for PSU, but to send a message they need to go 2-0.
Thanks for reading.
