There comes a time for a team to find their identity and decide who they are and, in this early Mountain West Conference game, this might be the game for Air Force to make their decision. The Falcons come back home after one of their worst losses in MWC history only four days after playing an exceptional game on the road at #24 UNLV. They welcome the Broncos of Boise State into Clune Arena, a team that has surprised not only the MWC but the nation as well with their exceptional play to date to include their win over now #12 Creighton (16-1). Air Force won their first meeting by 15 last year at Boise to open up conference play. Their last meeting last spring at Clune Arena was the debut of Coach Pilipovich as head coach for the Falcons and the Bronco's won by 11 points in a game that freshman guard Joe Hanstad got a rare start and scored 19 points on 4-7 three point shooting. Both team bring back essentially the same teams with Coach Pilipovich in his first 'full' year as head coach for the Falcons.

Air Force and Boise State match up well with one another on paper with many similarities. Neither team plays big overall with their rosters dominated with players in the 6'3" to 6'8" range of build, so speed and finesse are keys to both teams. But do not let that comment fool you. They do have their 'bigs' with a strong Kenny Buckner who is an experienced 6'7"/251# senior that averages 17mpg/6.7ppg/4.7rpg and junior forward Ryan Watkins (6'9"/230#/9ppg/7rpg). BSU is strong and aggressive and has a nose for the ball and follow their shots on offense and are looking to rebound on defense. A lot has to do with the shot selection both teams are making but in the overtime loss to NM the Broncos out rebounded NM 36/8 to 26/6 rebounds/offensive rebounds. This is aways an emphasis area for the Falcons and needs to be highlighted once again coming into this game.

Looking at the match up here's the key statistics for both teams (biggest numbers that stand out is the edge in 3 point shooting and FT percentages and the rebounding edge Boise State has):

AF    PPG 72    FG 47.0%   FT 68.9%   3pt 38.8%    Reb 31    Off 8   Def 23    AST 15    STL 8    TO 12
BSU   PPG 78   FG 48.2%   FT 74.3%   3pt 42.5%   Reb 35   Off 10   Def 25   AST 15   STL 8   TO 12

Matchup Edge

BOIST	Edge in:	AIRFC
	Points/Game
	Field Goal %
	Free Throw %
	Defense
	Rebounding
	Turnovers
	Bench

Boise State has played a number of players but, in looking at key games for the Broncos in both OOC and MWC play, their Coach Leon Rice has used a very short bench. In the New Mexico game (with all key players back from suspension except for forward Kenny Buckner should be back for the Air Force game) played six players in double figures to include two with 43/45 minutes each, three players with 32 minutes or greater and four others players with only 3/5/7/19 minutes of playing time.

Success for Boise State evolves around a trio of guards or guard/forward players. They are led by sophomore Derrick Marks (6'3"/206#/17ppg/3.6rpg/3.9apg) who has had a breakout year this season (9ppg in 2011-12) and is shooting 45% from the arc. Along side him in the backcourt is junior Jeff Elorriaga (6'2"/183#/12ppg/3.9rpg) who is a shooter, leading the MWC at 49% in three point shooting on 55 made on 112 attempted (compare that with Air Force's Todd Fletcher 48% but on 25 of 52). The trio is rounded out with sophomore Anthony Drmic (6'6"/196#/15ppg/4.8rpg/42% 3pt shooting). Yes, this team can and will shoot the three point shot, but they do not limit themselves to the outside, each of these three will attack the basketball and Marks in particular, has an exceptional mid-range shot inside 15' with the quick pull up and release off the bounce. Along with Watkins who started vs New Mexico, the Broncos may feature another guard in another sophomore Hadziomerovic (6'4"/204#/6ppg/3rpg) and freshman Mikey Thompson (6'3"/170#/9ppg and another 3pt shooter).

In watching the New Mexico game you saw a very aggressive Boise State team that played a tough man-to-man versus the Lobos for much of the game. But as early as the 11 minutes mark in that game they moved for a short period to zone and then even a box-and-one defense. They do show the ability to use a zone press for the full court pressure but mostly played a half court defense. On offense they will try to spread the court and often use the one man low at the low post or running the baseline. Their options low open up having both Watkins and Buckner available to play the big position. Bottom line is they will look to drive and shoot but if the kick out is there they will take the three point shot. They are also very good at transitional ball movement looking to get the ball forward quickly using the pass and looking for the lead runner going to the lane and the basket. One point of note: Derrick Marks is an exceptional player. However (an editorial opinion here) he sometimes appears to be too quick to take a shot himself going straight one-on-one versus making that extra pass to maybe a more open teammate. At the end of regulation in the NM game it appeared there were opportunities for him to pass for a better shot but did not. Bottom line will be that AF must defend for the entirety of the shot clock no matter who has the ball.

Key's for Air Force to win versus Boise State:

1) Biggest obstacle for this game may not be BSU, it may be Air Force itself. The players must put the CSU game behind them and bring that energy to the court that they brought to UNLV. Several players on the team have been ill and that has contributed to the problem but it is not an excuse. At this point of the season with a minimum of only 14 games left to be played, there should not be a question about leadership and motivation on the court. I have used this example before and will use it again: To quote Air Force Academy graduate and now head coach of the San Antoinio Spurs Coach Popovich "The team needs to bring some nasty" to the floor. They must play aggressive, believing in and motivating each other. And the five seniors need to take that role and lead.

2) Matchup zone will be used by the Falcons throughout much of the game. They will be concerned about the low post in this game but will be less likely to key on doubling down with the absence of a UNLV's Bennet or a CSU's Iverson. This should give the the ability to work hard to defend the arc while stopping the cutter down the lane. We must not let Mark's 15' shot be a 'consistent' during the game. He will get his points but we must minimize his effect on their total points.

3) With the movement we can create with our version of the Princeton offense we must exploit the inside and backdoor cuts. We started out aggressive and executed the offense for the first 5 minutes of the game versus CSU, but then their physical play (and the referees let them play physical) denied the lane and we did not make that a priority, settling for more of a perimeter game. This cannot happen versus the Broncos. We must go inside out from the opening until the closing buzzer.

4) Taylor Broekhuis, Marek Olesinski and Chase Kammerer must play big in this game. Go to the board for the rebound and, more importantly, we need points from the 5 position. For the Air Force to have success it must (again) begin inside.

5) Consistency in scoring is imperative for the Falcons. Kudo's to BSU versus NM: They had five players in double figures to include 12 from guard Thompson off the bench. The consistent scoring contribution across the roster has been absent from many games for Air Force. This is something that is critical for their success (as shown in the UNLV game with 3 in double figures).

Big game for both teams and a must win at home for Air Force. Three-day weekend so not many cadets are anticipated at the game and many Boise State fans are expected to attend. Need to get fired up to support the Falcons.

Notes:

- Friends of Air Force Basketball will host a pregame for members at the same location on the NE side of the Cadet Ice Arena versus their normal location in the Hall of Excellence.

- Big games around the MWC include UNLV at CSU, #15 SDSU at Wyoming and Nevada at Fresno State.

Go Air Force....BEAT BOISE STATE

Matchup Statistics: Air Force (9-6/1-2) vs Boise State (13-3/1-1)
Air Force (9-6/1-2) Roster, Schedule, Stats and more
Boise State (13-3/1-1) Roster, Schedule, Stats and more

In a very good game at Clune Arena at the Air Force Academy, the Falcons bounce back after a loss in their last game to win over Boise State 91-80. Air Force, playing healthy for the first time in three games took the lead into the locker room at halftime and never let it go. Boise State, coming off a tough OT loss to New Mexico, was playing without second leading scorer Jeff Elorriaga (out for a possible concussion suffered in their loss to NM) and sixth leading scorer, Kenny Buckner, who was sitting out a game due to suspension.

Air Force came into this game after suffering a 39 point loss at CSU and found themselves at 1-2 in the standings. Boise State, after winning their opening game, had a heart breaking loss at home to #23 New Mexico in overtime. Air Force knew that Boise State's strengths were it's outside shooting and the ability of Derrick Mark (BSU's leading scorer at 17ppg) to make shots happen. The loss of Elorriaga definitely hurt the Broncos but they still had the firepower to win this game.

In post game comments, Air Force's Coach Pilipovich said they knew the strengths of Boise State and knew they had to fight to take it into the lane on offense, to make the Boise State defense defend the lane and for the Falcons to get to the rim and/or get fouled and get BSU into foul trouble. On offense it seemed like the plan worked. The Falcons seemed to made a dedicated effort to go inside and to the basket early in the game and quickly went to a 5 point lead. But turnovers forced by the BSU defense and outside shooting with a 3 by Drmic and Boise went on a run to take a 7 point lead. But, unlike in recent years, the Falcons continued to persevere and with two steals my freshman Tre' Coggins, a 3pt shot by Mike Lyons and made FT's, the Falcons went into the locker room with a 10 point lead. On offense the Falcons continued to push in the second half going up by as much as 18 points in the second half. But shooting by BSU, 2nd chance points by Watkins (an excellent personal high score of 24points), a resurgence by Marks to include 6-7 FT's and the Bronco's were back in the game. Continued play by a Falcon defense to hinder the depleted Bronco's along with a career high 37points by Mike Lyons finished the game with a 'W' in the win column for the Falcons.

On defense the Falcons played their match up zone defense for most (if not all) the game. Anytime Dmeric or Marks got the ball the intensity to find them and defend seemed to get stronger. The defense did their part holding Marks in check in the first half with a combination of good defense and him getting into early foul trouble. Defense did have difficulty staying close to Dmeric who finished with 19 points and 5-11 from the arc. A point of note: Dmeric has one of the nicest shots you have ever seen. He catches the ball high, keeps it high and goes straight up for his shot. An excellent shooter. But the bottom line was that, except for second chance points, the Air Force did what it planned to do, take away scoring inside the lane as best as possible and force them to win from the outside. The plan worked.

Stat comparison for the teams :

AF FG 54% 3pt 50 % (8-16) FT 91% (21-23) Reb 31/10 Ast 21 TO 13 PF 19
BSU FG 47% 3pt 40% (8-20) FT 64% (18-28) Reb 32/15 Ast 13 TO 16 PF 21

AF Paint 36 Off TO 11 2nd Chc 6 Bench 17
BSU Paint 30 Off TO 11 2nd Chc 16 Bench 9


There are several stats that stand out to me to include: PF actually even for both team, while BSU went to the line for 5 more shots than AF, the Falcons shot an exceptional 91% from the line vs 64% for BSU, 2nd chance points attributed primarily to Watkins effort gave BSU the edge but our bench depth in both minutes (AF 17mins / BSU 9mins) and points helped AF.

For all that Boise State did good to stay in the game (and take the lead for quite a while) the Falcons have a lot of soul searching to do in some areas. During the period when BSU took the lead they forced 7 turnovers in the early first half, 4 considered forced with 3 just throw aways or step on the line by AF. After those 7 TO's there was only 1 more I believe in the half and that coincided with AF retaking the lead. Air Force missed two dunks and at least three open layups with little to no pressure by Boise State. One of these misses resulted in BSU getting the rebound, scoring two on the transition, getting a foul and making the 'and one'. A five point swing that allowed BSU to close the gap to single digits.

Player of the game for AF was an easy choice. Mike Lyons had a career high 37 points on an exceptional night FG 13-18 3pt 3-5 FT 8-8, 6 reb, 3 ast and 2 steals in 38 minutes. 'And' he played aggressive defense all night long. Fitzgerald continued his solid play with 17 pts on 5-7 shooting, 1-2 3pt and 6-7 from the FT line plus a career high 8 assists. Numerous other players to talk about but Kam Williams had 5 rebounds which helped stop BSU runs and Marek Olesinkis' two 3pt makes were timely.

Overall a very good win for Air Force trying to hold serve and the home court advantage. They finish week two at 2-2 and are in a 4 way tie with UNLV, SDSU and Wyoming for 3d place in the MWC. NM sits at the top at 3-0 with CSU, after beating UNLV tonight, 2nd at 2-1.

Notes: Sportsmanship is a two edge sword in games.
Plus Plus: Kudos to the Boise State coach, staff and players who stayed on the court after the game while the 3d verse to the Air Force song was played that honors those that have gone before us in service to our country.
Minus Minus: After the game, BSU's Marks was standing next to Todd Fletcher, both guys put their hands out to shake then Marks pulled his hand back and walked by Todd with no handshake. Very unsportsmanlike like and disappointing. He did followup by shaking all coach's and player's hands (to include Fletcher's) in the subsequent post game line. I know it was a tough game for this good player but he momentarily let it get the most of him at the end.

Wins/Upsets/Loses tonight:
AF wins at home over BSU 91-90
#15 SDSU loses at Wyoming 58-45 in an upset
#25 UNLV loses at second place CSU 66-61
Nevada plays the late game that just started at Fresno State.

Next up for the Falcons is their MWC bye week in which they will face OOC foe University of New Orleans on Wednesday at Clune Arena. UNO is 4-12, lost today at Rice 71-95 and the only common team both will face was Boise State who UNO lost to in Boise 67-51 in December.