11/24 Basketball Preview

(5-0)  #1 (6-0)

Las Vegas Invite Orleans Arena 7:30PM PT TV:

BYU all ready beat on top 10 team and their reward is another game against the number one team in the land against UNC.  UNC is beatable just look back at their close game against Davidson recently, and BYU has a similar up tempo style game that could cause problems for UNC.  Last night against Louisville the Cougars were lead by the two man team of big man Trent Plaisted and Jonathon Tavernari who combined for 50 points and 19 rebounds.   UNC also likes to run so BYU better be careful what they wish for in this game.  A matchup to watch for is BYU’s big man Trent Plaisted against UNC’s Tyler Hansbrough.  Plaisted does have a slight height advantage, but one trend that I noticed last year when watching Plaisted play against someone who had size he struggled.  This will be a good test to see how Plaisted can matchup against someone with size and who is NBA ready.  UNC should win because they want to score in the 90’s each game and run similar to BYU, but UNC has better athletes.  For BYU to stay close they need to play the inside outside game that was going on last night to be able to keep the defense honest and limit mistakes.  This game will be close for a half, but I think BYU used most of their energy last night and will falter down the stretch to the Tar Heels

(3-2) (5-0)

Hispanic College Fund Classic Spokane, Washington 2:30PM PT TV: NONE

This is the second game of this mini tournament in Spokane. Air Force was able to knock off Mississippi Valley State by 18 points and have a surprisingly great start at 5-0 and have a chance to make it 6-0 against a solid Montana that comes from the Big Sky conference.  Air Force continues to play their grind it out slow it down game and have been successful even with their new coach in Colorado Springs.  The Falcons win came down to their defense which they held Mississippi Valley to 24% shooting and that is what they will have to do defeat Montana who likes to score and they have 70 points in every game so far this season, so something must give tonight.   Look for the defense to take over and look for Air Force to slow it down and pull out the win.   Montana is coming off a pretty good performance where the lost to #9 Washington State by 11, but they were unable to shoot a good percentage because of Wazzu’s defense.  Now against Air Force Montana will need to make their possessions count because Air Force will slow it down, and throw in the fact that the Falcons play pretty good defense.  Look for Air Force to pull this game just as long as the Falcons slow it down because the Grizzlies like to score.