Monday, January 13, 2014

Idaho: Three keys unlocked

Sorry about the day off Sunday. Had to watch the Broncos try to advance.

I did write this story about how dominant NMSU has been through the first three WAC games, winning games by 18 per game and they haven't been that close.

3-point defense: Idaho was 4-14 (28.6 percent) from 3-point range. All four of their triples came from two players, Connor Hill, who was 2-5 and Mike Scott who was 2-2, although he was just 3-10 from the field. NMSU meanwhile, continued the hot hand from 3-point range, shooting 7-13 (53.8 percent) in the first half and 10-23 (43.5 percent) for the game. Personally, 23 3-point attempts seems a bit much for this team, but I honestly can't remember a bad shot being taken.

Stephen Madison: Madison was the Vandals most versatile offensive player and he finished 3-11 for 9 points  and four rebounds and was 0-2 from 3-point range. Daniel Mullings defended him at times, but Matej Buovac came in off the bench and did a nice job on him as well. Buovac should be able to defend most of the powerforwards in the WAC.

Limit turnovers: NMSU had 12 turnovers on Saturday, not a bad number, just three more than Thursday. What I didn't expect was how generous Idaho would be with the ball. NMSU scored 30 points off 17 Idaho turnovers.


7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I didn't see this game, but is there any credence to the notion that the team is a bit more dynamic with Sim out? Addition by subtraction? I know he's a great shot blocker and passer when the offense can flow through him some, but I wonder if his slowfootedness is one reason teams are able to hang around. They seem to be more dominant of late...

Anonymous said...

They are more dominant of late because they are playing bad teams. If the Aggies want to advance in March, Sim will have to play and play well.

Anonymous said...

Anon 11:10 AM

My friends and I have been having discussions tha agree with you exactly.

Anonymous said...

I don't think they are more dynamic. I think it has way more to do with the fact that he has been out against the likes of Grand Canyon, Idaho and Chico State or whoever...

Alan

Anonymous said...

Anon 11:10, I understand what you're saying but I sure like Sim's defense and his passing abilty. I think the dominance of late is more because of the Aggie's abilty to hit the 3s. Yes, the Aggies set up slower when he is in. The other thing with Sim getting back is it gives more depth and allows a better rotation of players possibly limiting wear and tear on the players. I hope he comes back soon but the biggest mistake NMSU could make is bring him back before he is completely ready. We'll see what happens this week as we face 2 unknown teams on the road.

Anonymous said...

I think the play of the Aggies started improving in the OT of the Drake game and this has resulted in a 7 game win streak. This was also when we started making our 3s. The Drake, UNM and South Alabama wins were against decent college teams and winning on the road at Drake and UNM was very nice. Seattle is a troublesome team and we handled them at home. NNM, Grand canyon and Idaho played terribly with Idaho being the surprise. If we are to get to the NCAAs and then have the opportunity to get past the first round or better, we need Sim at his best.

Crazy Canuck said...

We need Sim when we begin to play some non division 2 teams,but someone maybe coach Weir needs to implement a zone that takes advantage of our size we have the tallest team in america!!!!!