Plus news links for Air Force vs Army, look at VMI/The Citadel and around the MWC. AF Women tipoff tonights!
First, my thoughts on AF vs Army (see link in news below to
WATCH FREE WEB STREAMING click here of the game.
Air Force begins the 2012-2013 season at the All-Military Classic Tournament
hosted in it's second year by The Citadel. As with last years inaugural event,
Air Force will participate playing Army on day one then either VMI or host The
Citadel on day two.
After their exhibition win over Colorado Christian University in their only
exhibition game of the year, Air Force (13-16 last season) face an eerily
similar team to themselves in the Black Knights of Army who finished last season
with a 12-18 record. The similarities do not end there. The Falcons bring back
5 starters (to include 4 senior starters) and all top ten scorers from MWC play
last season. Likewise, Army brings back 4 starters (to include 3 seniors) and
9 of 10 of their top scorers from last year. The one change from last years
meeting (won by AF 87-71
full recap and box score of that game click here) is that new
head coach Dave Pilipovich is now leading the Falcons. Coach "P" was on the
staff during the game last year and is familiar with Army and their style of
play.
Army is once again by 6'7" forward Ella Ellis who led the team in scoring last
season playing forward and averaging 17.5 ppg / 5 rpg. He should be joined by
guards Herbeck 10.3 ppg, Williams/Springer/Pancoe all 4-5ppg. Herbeck as a
starter averaged 40% 3pt and Pancoe 42%. The Black Knights do not return any
height with experience but do have young guys at 6'10" on the team. Looking at
the bench which is young, Army does bring back 6 players from last season with a
combined 28 starts.
Looking at what worked well in last years game I would expect AF to aggressively
defend using our matchup zone. Looking at the two halves of defense we played
in the exhibition, it appeared that the matchup seemed stronger than man in
execution and ability to deny the lane. It will be interesting to watch the
game plan evolve.
On offense it appears we do have a size advantage in height and experience.
While our offense is not built around low post play, we do need to exploit that
on the inside and the glass. Anomaly or not due to the high number of threes
shot by CCU in the exhibition, once again AF was out rebounded 3 to 2 bringing
back memories of last season.
To win this game we must keep Ellis in check, run our offense as we did last
week and win the glass battle. Read the Blue Ribbon review of Army below to get
a better feel for their team and players.
Air Force will matchup in the second game with either
The Citadel or
VMI (click on team for overview). If we play VMI, click here to read recap of last years game
AF 75-VMI 65 9 November 2012 New: AF vs Army in All-Military Classic, Webstream of game, AF Women, Around the MWC
WEBSTREAM: Air Force vs Army Rick'sFalconReview: Air Force vs Army Preview, My thoughts! Pilipovich pushing for tougher Air Force defenseVideo: Coach Pilipovich Question and Answer w/ Game Highlights 11/5/12 Date Change for Air Force vs. Wyoming Basketball Game Falcons Open Season vs. Army at All-Military ClassicPreview: Army Black KnightsEllis likes role of Army Basketball leaderArmy Basketball Coach wants playes to play tougher Army Basketball Roles defined Cougars hang tough in exhibition loss to Air ForceBalanced Scoring Keys Badgers in Runaway Exhibition Win (see Bohannon) Bohannon Ready for Badgers Debut
MWC
CSU's Iverson anxious to return to actionFresno State basketball starts with tough test at Texas Nevada basketball: Jordan Finn will use redshirt season for 2012-13Basketball: Wolf Pack opens season with exhibition winSyracuse-San Diego State Basketball on USS Midway Is Delayed Aztec Answers From Mountain West Connection ROOT SPORTS Adds Seventh UW Hoops GameROOT SPORTS to televise 7 UW gamesAF Women
Air Force Opens 2012-13 Season at Northern ColoradoAir Force Rolls to Exhibition Win Over Chadron State
