Saturday, January 25, 2014

UTPA: Three keys and a prediction

I don't think Sim Bhullar will play tonight against Texas-Pan American, giving him another week to recover and hopefully return in time for next week's two home games.
 Assuming he doesn't play, I still have the Aggies snapping a two-game losing streak 75-63

3-point line: Coach Menzies said that he expects to see a fair amount of zone tonight. I thought the Aggies took too many 3s last weekend, but for this team to be effective offensively, they need to make at least 4 3s per game. Also for some reason, the Aggies normally stout 3 point defense has slipped to 42 percent, last in WAC play. UTPA shoots 25 percent from the 3-poiint line and they are undersized. If the Aggies win from long range, they should win comfortably.

Defensive approach/changes: Marvin Menzies said he will make some changes following last week's losses. Either way without Bhullar in the lineup, I could expect the Aggies to play more zone tonight. I imagine if any position would change, it would be in the back court with either DK Eldridge or KC Ross Miller taking a lesser role. Travon Landry isn't the threat either of those two guys offensively so I would guess either Kevin Aronis or Ian Baker will see more time, making a zone more likely on the defensive end.

Limit turnovers: NMSU has done better here with just 12 against UMKC. 10-13 is good for NMSU, but the Aggies are averaging 14 per game

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