by Ace Dad » January 4th, 2011, 12:27 pm
USAToday's Conference Reports on UE and UNI:
EVANSVILLE
GETTING INSIDE
The Aces should erase their Missouri Valley Conference opener. Don't bother to watch the tapes. Don't bother to grind over mistakes. Preseason favorite Wichita State hammered the Aces 91-57. Thinking about it too much won't be productive. The Aces caught the Shockers on the wrong night and didn't put up a fight.
Coach Marty Simmons can't let one horrible night negate gains made before Christmas. The Aces won three consecutive games against weak competition. For Evansville, that's nothing to complain about. The Aces can improve on last season's last-place MVC finish. They are more experienced, bigger and a touch more athletic.
The Aces recovered from the loss at WSU by showing major resiliency. They trailed Indiana State by 17 points in the first half. Evansville won 64-59, forcing 22 turnovers and holding the Sycamores to eight baskets in the second half.
Forward Kenny Harris, a juco transfer, gives the Aces a rebounder and defender who can compete in the lane with many MVC teams. He dented Indiana State for 18 points and 13 rebounds. Backup center Clint Hopf is contributing more in recent games as he heals from a knee injury suffered in February. Guard Colt Ryan is a good scorer when defenses can't focus solely on him. Ned Cox can provide a spark off the bench.
Simmons knows all that won't be enough until the Aces play defense with the tenacity they showed late last season. Wichita State shot 62.3 percent against the Aces.
"We've got to get back to the fundamentals, and we will," Simmons told the Evansville Courier Press. "We have to be a good half-court defensive team to have a chance to compete in this league."
NOTES, QUOTES
--Sophomore G Colt Ryan was living at the line in recent games. He went 6-for-8 on free throws against Indiana State, bringing his total to 37-for-44 in a three-game span.
--Evansville, picked to finish last in the MVC, faced a brutal opening stretch in Valley play. After a loss at preseason favorite Wichita State, the Aces defeated Indiana State at home before traveling to defending champion Northern Iowa and Missouri State.
--Sophomore G Ned Cox is not bothered by Wichita State's defense. He scored a career-high 23 points against the Shockers as a freshman. This season, he matched his season high with 11 points at Koch Arena.
BY THE NUMBERS: 10 -- Consecutive losses in Wichita for Evansville. The Aces last won at WSU during the 2000-01 season.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "We're obviously not playing defense the way we were at the end of last season." -- Coach Marty Simmons.
STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL
THIS WEEK'S GAMES:
--at Northern Iowa, Jan. 4
KEY MATCHUPS: Aces F Kenny Harris is new to the MVC, so he needs to study the scouting report hard for this game. He scored 18 points against Indiana State, but playing the Panthers is much different. The Aces need Harris to score to help Colt Ryan. The Panthers will defend him intelligently, make him shoot jumpers with a hand in his face and take charges. Harris can't get frustrated.
--at Missouri State, Jan. 7
KEY MATCHUPS: Missouri State C Will Creekmore is off to a good start. He is scoring and avoiding foul trouble. Evansville's big men need to push him off the block, away from his favorite spots, to limit his scoring.
FUTURES MARKETS: Freshman G Jordan Jahr looked overwhelmed in his first MVC game. That's understandable. By the end of the season, Jahr could be an important piece for Evansville. He is a good outside shooter and excellent at the foul line. Like Colt Ryan, he is big enough to shoot over smaller guards. As he learns how to use screens and find his shots, Jahr will become more effective. He already had three double-digit games through Jan. 1.
PLAYER NOTES
--Senior C Clint Hopf was showing signs of recovering from a knee injury suffered late last season. He ended the pre-Christmas schedule scoring a career-high 19 points against Norfolk State and 12 against Middle Tennessee. He played 12 minutes against Wichita State and made four of five shots, finishing with eight points.
--Junior F Kenny Harris received a rude introduction to MVC play. Wichita State held him to a season-low three points. Harris, who was averaging 11.3, was able to score against weaker teams in non-conference play. Against MVC teams, he needs to make mid-range jumpers because he is not big enough to score in the post most nights.
--Evansville's offense is limited by point guards who aren't a threat to score. Senior Kavon Lacey hadn't made a 3-pointer this season through Jan. 1. He had one game scoring in double figures. Sophomore Troy Taylor hadn't attempted a 3-pointer. He scored a season-high four points in the opening game of the season.
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NORTHERN IOWA
GETTING INSIDE
Northern Iowa's Adam Koch might have been last season's Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year. But ask any coach in the Valley, and they'll say the real difference-maker for the Panthers in their run to the league title and Sweet Sixteen was 7-foot-1 Jordan Eglseder.
Both players have graduated, and they are missed.
Syracuse and Iowa exposed some of UNI's post weaknesses early this season before the Panthers made some adjustments and came into the Valley opener riding a five-game winning streak. But Missouri State showed UNI has some serious post problems when the Bears stunned the Panthers 58-57 on Dec. 29 to snap UNI's school-record 21-game home-court winning streak, which was also the seventh longest in the country.
Missouri State grabbed a 38-27 rebounding advantage. The Bears' 14 offensive rebounds led to a staggering 13-2 edge in second-chance points. Missouri State reserve center Caleb Patterson, not exactly one of the Valley's better big men, made three key baskets in the final 13 minutes.
Three days later, Southern Illinois outrebounded UNI 26-22 despite center Gene Teague sitting out with a foot injury.
UNI has moved Lucas O'Rear, the Valley's Sixth Man of the Year the last two seasons, into the starting lineup. The 6-6, 255-pound O'Rear doesn't lack toughness or grit, but his lack of height is something that can't be ignored. Sophomore Austin Pehl is 6-10 and 245 pounds, but does not yet have the confidence of coach Ben Jacobson, and he played only three minutes against Missouri State. Pehl had two rebounds in 12 minutes against Southern Illinois.
The Missouri Valley is loaded with big, strong post players this season. If UNI wants to make a run at its third straight league title, it might need Pehl to grow up in a hurry. Sophomore forward Jake Koch also can't have games like the one he had against Missouri State, when he finished with no points and six rebounds in 33 minutes.
NOTES, QUOTES
--Kwadzo Ahelegbe, Adam James and Jake Koch were named to the all-tournament team as UNI captured the Las Vegas Classic title on Dec. 23 with a 66-60 victory over New Mexico. Ahelegbe was named the tourney's most valuable player thanks to a 24-point effort the night before against Indiana.
--UNI coach Ben Jacobson is 10-10 against BCS conference schools in his four-plus years as the Panthers' coach. That includes victories this season against Iowa State and Indiana.
BY THE NUMBERS: 27 -- Consecutive free throws made by sophomore forward Jake Koch through Jan. 1. Bill McCoy set the school record of 32 in a row in the 1971-72 season.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "There are some things that we've got to do better in the other 39:50 of the game." -- Coach Ben Jacobson, on Jan. 1, after UNI lost two consecutive games on shots in the last seconds.
STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL
THIS WEEK'S GAMES:
--vs. Evansville, Jan. 4
KEY MATCHUP: Evansville point guard Kavon Lacey outplayed Kwadzo Ahelegbe late last season when the Purple Aces stunned UNI 55-54. Don't think Ahelegbe, who was outscored 11-2 and played only 18 minutes with foul trouble, has forgotten. Lacey is a crafty veteran who has the strength against Ahelegbe that other point guards don't.
--at Indiana State, Jan. 7
KEY MATCHUP: UNI had too much physical strength inside against the Sycamores in years past, but 6-foot-8, 250-pound juco transfer Myles Walker finally gives Indiana State some muscle in the middle. If Walker can stay out of foul trouble, the Panthers will be hard pressed to get many points in the paint.
--vs. Bradley, Jan. 9
KEY MATCHUP: Andrew Warren has been forced to carry most of Bradley's scoring burden with Sam Maniscalco and Taylor Brown lost for the season. UNI figures to run a couple of different bodies at the 6-foot-6 Warren. Having Kerwin Dunham healthy gives the Panthers a taller and more athletic defender to counter Warren's size.
FUTURES MARKET: Ben Jacobson and the UNI coaching staff have been successful redshirting players. Sophomores Jake Koch and Anthony James are evidence of that. But Jacobson decided the Panthers needed true freshman Chip Rank to play this season in an effort to bolster the inside game. The 6-6, 222-pound Rank had played almost 15 minutes per game and contributed 3.3 points and 2.8 rebounds through Dec. 29. He figures to step into an even bigger role next season when Lucas O'Rear graduates.
PLAYER NOTES:
--Senior G Kerwin Dunham returned Dec. 29 after missing the previous nine games with plantar fasciitis in his right foot. Dunham, who started the first four games, played eight minutes against Missouri State without scoring, and he had one rebound.
--Freshman G Matt Morrison scored his first points for UNI when he sank a 3-pointer against South Carolina State on Dec. 17.
There is no difference between basketball and life. Give both your best and ignore the "fans" on the sideline.
