Boise State Broncos (8-1)

@

LSU Tigers (5-3)

DATE: Saturday; Dec. 10, 2011
TIME: 6 p.m. (MT)
LOCATION: Baton Rouge, La. / Pete Maravich Assembly Center (13,215)
TV: Cox Sports Television
RADIO: Bronco Sports Network / BroncoSports.com

Pre-Game

The Boise State Bronco men's basketball team has their second road game of the season on Saturday. The Broncos coming off yet another home win Wednesday night vs. Portland, 92-70, travel to Louisiana to take on the LSU Tigers (5-3). Although 5-3, the defeating the Tigers will not be easy. Two of their three losses have come to teams who only have one loss, Northwestern(7-1) and Coastal Carolina(8-1). Since those two losses, the Tigers have gone on to win four of their last 5. This is first ever meeting between the two schools in mens basketball.

Trent Johnson 1974-1978

LSU's coach, Trent Johnson, is actually #11 on Boise State's all time scoring list with 1,155pts from 1974-1978. He averaged 10.8ppg in 107 games. 1976 was the first year Boise State ever made it to the NCAA Tournament. BSU lost to UNLV 103-78 in the first round. Johnson is also 4th in Rebounds, 10th in Rebound Average, and 4th in Starts as a Bronco. This isn't the first time the Broncos have faced Johnson as an opposing coach. He was at Nevada from 1999-2004. Boise State is 1-7 vs. Johnson in his coaching career.

This is LSU's 3rd home game of the season. The Tigers are 1-1. In the loss, LSU was winning by 11 with 8 minutes to go when South Alabama went on a 13-2 run over 4:30 to tie the game at 63. The game eventually wen into overtime and South Alabama came away with the 79-75 victory.

Players

LSU has four players averaging double digit points so far this year, Andre Stringer 5'9" Sophomore 12.1ppg. Anthony Hickey 5'10" Freshman, 11ppg, Justin Hamilton 6'11" Junior 10.9ppg, and Ralston Turner 6'6" Sophomore 10.5ppg. Much like the Broncos, LSU relies on several young players. Besides these four players for LSU, keep an eye out for Storm Warren (reasoning, his name is Storm!.. isn't that a chick in X-Men?, but seriously) He's a 6'7" Senior averaging 8pts and 5 rebounds in 18minutes. Johnny O'Bryant III.. A 6'9" Freshman averaging 9pts a game and leads the team with 6.4 rebounds in 19minutes. If there is anything good to take out of these 6 players from a Boise State perspective, it's that they are over 86% of LSU's offense which averages 71ppg, although only 2 other Tigers have played in all 8 games so far this season. Get used to hearing these guy's names. They're going to be on the floor all night. My prediction? Watch for Stringer and Hickey driving to the basket! Tim Douglas from Portland was very successful vs. the Broncos Wednesday night driving to the basket, scoring a team high 17 points.

Boise State's only double digit scorer is Freshman Anthony Drmic, 15.6ppg. Drew Wiley and Kenny Buckner are behind Drmic with 9.4ppg each. Three other Broncos are averaging 8 or more points per game. Ryan Watkins came up big last game and earned himself a career high 19 points vs. Portland. Wiley cooled off a big from 3. If simply shooting less 3s counts as cooling off. Several Broncos will need to step up this game if they are going to come away with a victory @ LSU. They can't get in too big of a hurry and rush bad shots. If the Broncos come out and have another off night like the last road game, look for it to end in a similar fashion.

My Keys to the Game

Boise State

Prevent penetration and easy layups. Like I said in the LSU player preview, the Broncos had a hard time with it last game vs. Portland. Hickey and Stringer are almost guaranteed to be stronger and more athletic.

Hit open shots. This is what killed the Broncos in their last road game. It's hard to win, ever, shooting 31% from the field.

Don't get desperate and rely on the 3. Penetrate and try and get some inside scoring to open up the 3.

STAY CALM. Don't get in a hurry when you don't need to. Don't turn the ball over. LSU is in the top 20 in Opponent turnovers per game (18.5) and Opponent turnovers per play (22.4%)

LSU

Slow down the Broncos. Something no one has really been able to do this year, with the Broncos averaging almost 85ppg.

Force turnovers and continue to get offensive rebounds. LSU is ranked 22nd in offensive rebounds per game with 13.

Stat Comparison

Links!

LSU Game Notes -LSUsports.net

Broncos Travel to Face LSU -Broncosports.com

Teamrankings.com

Men's Basketball Opens Homestand Against Boise St. -LSUsports.net

Dailybronco.com

LSU coach and former Boise State player Trent Johnson known for intensity -Idahostatesman.com

Random Stat that I have no intention of guaranteeing its accuracy, but I did at least try..

Since 2007, the Broncos are 0-2 when playing a regular season non-conference road game in a building named after a former player. Losses at Montana ('09), and Montana State ('07).

Feel free to add anything you all find in the comments. It's totally open for whatever.

POSTGAME

Men's Basketball Clamps Down on Boise St.-lsusports.net

Boise State Head Coach Leon Rice

Opening statement...
"We showed immaturity tonight. We need to have some resolve to battle on the road. Life on the road in college basketball is brutal. If you don't have the toughness to deal with it, and if you come apart you have no chance. Our offense has been good because we have been playing for each other. LSU is long, athletic and a good defensive team. We tried to create one-on-one, and that is not why we have been doing a good job. I knew when I put this team together with 11 new guys and freshman we are going to have ups and downs. Tonight is one of those learning nights."

On playing four games in eight days...
"Life on the road is tough and you can make plenty of excuses but we don't do that. Veteran tough teams learn to deal with these stretches of road games. I credit LSU; they were dialed in defensively and didn't make many mistakes."

On the missed layups...
"We missed a lot of layups because of the first couple of blocked shots. We credit, LSU but at the same time we were not tough enough. They picked up the intensity and we didn't run our offense."

What's with all this football talk? There's a sport that's actually playing tonight.

The Boise State Men's basketball team takes on the Portland Pilots tonight at Taco Bell Arena. I'm awful at coming up with preview material, but i'll at least try, and maybe someone will read it.

I'm just going to try and keep it short and simple. Stat comparisons and top players.

Currently the spread in the betting world has the Broncos by 15. It started out at 12 yesterday.

DATE: Wednesday; Dec. 7, 2011
TIME: 7 p.m. (MT)
LOCATION: Boise, Idaho / Taco Bell Arena (12,480)
TV: None

RADIO: Bronco Sports Network / BroncoSports.com

Portland Pilots (3-5)

Boise State Broncos (7-1)

Links

Boise State's Aussies have a feel for Portland

Broncos to Host Pilots Wednesday

Below are some offensive stat comparisons. Light Green, obviously means good, Red, not so much.

Teamrankings.com

As you can see, the Broncos have a statistical advantage in every category. With Total Rebounds, being the closest. These stats don't really mean that Portland will be an easy win, by any means. Although 3-5, they have 2 losses to top 25 teams (Kentucky and Saint Louis) and losses to Washington and Washington State. Their other loss came @UC Santa Barbara. On the other hand, Portland hasn't really blown anyone out. they haven't won a game by more than 12. Portland is 0-4 on the road so far this season. Losing by an average of 24.5pts. Boise on the other hand is 6-0 at home, winning by an average of 25.7pts (vs. D1 teams)..

Anthony Drmic is leading the way for the Broncos with 15.4 ppg, leading the team in made 3pt baskets with 26. Portland's Nemanja Mitrovic and Ryan Nicholas both average. 10.6 ppg. Some other players to watch for the Broncos are Kenny Buckner and Drew Wiley. Can Buckner keep his presence down low? He has been a key component in opening up the floor for the Broncos so it will be interesting to see if he can continue scoring down low to open up shots for Drew Wiley. Wiley has been on roll the last 3 games shooting 68% from 3 (13-19), including a 5-5 performance against Drake en route to a season high 17pts. For the Pilots, watch out for Tim Douglas. He is only 5'10, but he managed 12pts vs. #1 Kentucky.

RECAP

Another 20point win for Boise State at home. The Broncos started off hot, but quickly cooled off. Ended up shooting 3-11 from 3 in the first half. Both teams were pretty much back and forth all first half, with the Broncos managing a 4 point 35-31 lead over the Pilots. It was awesome to see Ryan Watkins come up huge down low for the Broncos with a game high 19 points. It had been Buckner the last few games down low coming up big, but this time Watkins stepped up in a big way. Drmic also had 17 points for the Broncos. What did I tell you about Tim Douglas? He lead the Pilots with 17 points and was killing us driving to the basket.

Box Score

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One thing to take away from this? We score 92 points while only making 6 3pt baskets. The Broncos, coming into this game, were averaging a little over 10 3's per game and shooting 44%. So, to shoot 6-19 (31.6%) and still score 92 points, is a good sign, in my opinion.

Gameflow

Recap Articles

Boise State Gets Huge Win Over Portland, 92-70. -Dailybronco.com

Great stuff in here. All kinds of stats and easily comparable charts/graphs, plus player ratings.

Boise State men defeat Portland -Idaho Statesman

It's the Statesman..... You know, couple paragraphs... doesn't even mention the score.. the usual.

Pilots Drop Road Game to Upstart Boise State -Portlandpilots.com

“Boise State is one of the top teams in the nation in three-point shooting and creating turnovers,” Portland head coach Eric Reveno said. “We did a good job of not letting them hurt us in those areas, but their Plan B was more effective than our Plan B.”

Just to get our minds off all the Dutch drama and sanctions..

Nike Unveiled some more Pro Combat uniforms today.

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Michigan State

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Navy

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Army

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Stanford

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LSU

Ohio State

Discuss if you want. Or don't. yay! also, all this and I didn't reach the minimum? seriously? 

Well, although I don't know Michigan State history, I can only assume the gold/bronzey helmet has to do with spartan armor. LSU's gloves are weird. I like Navy's uniforms because in high school we were the Admirals, and we used an anchor.. sometimes.. other than that we looked just like the Dallas Cowboys, but I always enjoyed an anchor logo even though we never really had one. Plus, we have the same fight song? as Navy....anyways.. Ohio State's gloves are nothing like the rest of them. Army got the shaft when it comes to cleats. I get the sand color to represent the boots, but, without a camo uniform it just looks ugly. Plus, the tennis shoes you can get or whatever, are just flat out ugly no matter how you look at it. Finally, I like the dark red and black for Stanford.

So, maybe I am dumb, but it seems as though BSU has changed who it gets it's internet from on campus, in dorms, and apartments, etc... so, How the HECK do I get espn3? Because, as of now, I can't, and the TW Telecom Holdings people or whoever it is that provides BSU its internet, is not listed on espn3.com's choices. So. WTF? I thought "all universities" were supposed to be able to get espn3? I mean, that is what their site says. sorry if this has been posted already :/

Can anyone help out?

What the?

Now, I'm not going to take credit for finding this on my own. Sportsnation did the work for me, but I felt like discussing it with others.

Join the Revolution

Kronum

I mean seriously. It looks pretty intense. Speed of lacrosse, soccer, hockey, and basketball.. some physicality of football/rugby. Scoring of basketball. Skills of all the sports.Personally, I'd love for it to become a "real" sport, an ncaa sport, or at least, a pro sport. Obviously, most Americans don't like certain things (soccer), so I feel this would catch on faster in Europe, because they have handball, which is similar.

some rules/conditions

3 20 minute periods

10v10

70yd diameter field

4 goals

2 steps allowed before you have to dribble (I think just when you have the ball in hand)

Can transition from hands to feet

Ball has to go into center ring to change possession

via www.wired.com

via www.wired.com

The upper arch is called "crown" with 5 "crown rings" (2x scoring)

The lower, bigger part, is the "chamber"

Scoring from inside the red circle (goal zone) into the chamber, is 1 point.

Scoring from inside the red circle (goal zone) into the "crown rings" is 2 points.

Scoring from the "wedge zone" (in between the flex zone and goal zone) is 2 pts and 4pts(crown rings)

Scoring from the "flex zone" is 3pts and 6pts

Scoring form the "cross zone" is 4pts and 8pts.

3 main positions

"Crosser"

Ball Handling, Field Vision, Game Smarts

generally stay in "cross zone"

"Ranger"

Throwing, Kicking, Defending

generally cover the most ground.

most well rounded

usually 4 rangers per team

"Wedge Back"

Shot Blocking, Reflexes, Agility

primarily play in "goal zone"

defend Kronum goal

usually 4 wedge backs

provide "front line scoring"

This is just after a few minutes of research and some vids.

Thoughts?

According to the WAC...

On the interference call, the rule requires that the punt returner be given an unimpeded chance to catch the ball. The protection extends until the ball hits the ground, WAC officials said. The Nevada returner never had control of the ball before Doug Martin hit him. The penalty wiped out the Broncos’ fumble recover

Anyone else think the ball hitting your chest, arms, and legs, is a perfectly good opportunity to catch the ball? yeah, me too. I guess that means one could bobble the ball all the way down field, never being able to get hit, because he doesn't have possession. Anyone want to give the hint to our guys? Just bobble it! It's so simple. Guaranteed TD every time. I mean, it's only following the rules, right? If the ball never hits the ground, and he never has possession, then it's ok.. I mean, had the guy called fair catch, then I'd be ok with this ruling, but I don't remember him calling fair catch. Which to me means, once you touch the ball, you should be able to get hit.. because you were dumb enough not to call fair catch when they have a chance to blast you.. Sorry WAC, IMO, you got this call wrong too. So my count is wrong on the same call twice? wow. even with a weekend to think about it. Oh defending your refs when they cost you $8million.. You will never learn WAC. No wonder you can only get terrible 1AA teams to join. Figures.

Also, Brotz apparently did an interview with ESPN?

Brotzman did an interview with ESPN’s Tom Rinaldi over the weekend but has declined all other requests. BSU doesn’t know when the interview will air.

http://www.idahostatesman.com/2010/11/30/1437029/san-francisco-bowl-stillmost-likely.html

I got really bored the last couple days and started messing around and this is what I have come up with so far. Obviously it's not perfect, or probably to scale. but I think it's a decent effort. This is what I have so far, and yes, sorry the track is still there. This is just the beginning, I'm going to start to add what I think should be included in the expansion of the stadium. Also, I'm not really paying attention to the "inside" of the stadium right now, such as the walkways and entrances and such. So don't worry about what you can see through the windows.. This is just a basic general design concept. Since you all probably know the stadium in and out better than I do, some criticism is alright. Like I said, I'm no architect, I am just bored. Anyways, let me know what you all think. I should hopefully, be able to show you an updated picture before Friday.

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via img339.imageshack.us

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Like I said, any suggestions will be welcome, otherwise I guess enjoy my boredom. And I hope you all like it.

So, I visited Boise over the last few days. Should be back in the fall for school assuming everything goes well with housing and finances. I listened to some of the advice you all gave me on where to go? Ended up making it to Bardenay, which I thought was pretty good, don't recall it being mentioned though?, Table Rock was delicious, had the Shepherd's Pie and St. Andrews Amber, Copperhead Red, Orange Blossum, and the Stumbling Monk Belgian Trippel beers. I liked St Andrews best... The Pie was delicious. Also had Pollo Rey? I think is what it was called? Mexican place? I can't remember. Pollo something or other. Anyways.. Made a trip up Bogus Basin which was fun. Especially looking down on the city. Went by the Egyptian theater. Didn't get a chance to go inside though, which was disappointing.

The campus was surprisingly small. I new it wasn't huge, but I don't think i was expecting it to be as small as it really is. Same with the stadium honestly. Although, I guess I put it at an unfair standard having grown up around Neyland Stadium. Glad to finally see it in person though. and the blue. Also, wasn't expecting everything to be so flat. At least campus and downtown areas. That I was not expecting. And I don't remember breaking a sweat which is good, considering it was in the 90's and I believe hit 101? yesterday. I'll take that any day. The lack of humidity? makes the heat tolerable. Spent several hours walking on campus and downtown during the heat. While being on campus, I don't think I have seen so many bicycles in my life. May have to upgrade mine that hasn't been used since I was about 10.

Overall though, I loved the city, and I think my dad did too, but the highlight of the trip had to of been when we were flying from Salt Lake City to Boise. On the plane with Kellen FRIGGIN Moore! No one seemed to recognize him, or care, except me. But I hate being that person who has to have pictures or autographs, so I didn't bother him. Oh Kirby was there too. I saw Kellen in the SCL airport and right when I saw him I was thinking, that's, that's. it can't be. It IS! My initial thoughts were confirmed when they got on the plane and I saw Kirby with him. 4 rows in front of me! haha. I felt like a little kid.. 

I'll put a few pictures in a comment below, since my dumb macbook won't let me do paste the link into the "import image url" thing...

I am sure there have been plenty of these fanposts/shots, but I didn't want to look for them. Sorry. Anyways, so I am going to be in Boise sometime in June for a few days to get to know the area/campus, and look for an apartment before I go to school there in the fall. Where are the best places to eat or visit.. things someone has to do when visiting? Any microbrew restaurants? Are they worth checking out? Can't wait to finally get out there. Just wish it wasn't 1900 miles away... Also, where are the best places to live around there, apartment wise, that are close to campus? I got a list from the school, but without knowing the area it is hard to choose. Would like to be within reasonable walking distance to the school. Driving out there 1900 miles the last thing I want to have to do is drive to school everyday. Any tips and thoughts are much appreciated. Thanks.

I don't want to throw a spoiler alert! on here, because if you aren't caught up why are you reading about Lost instead of catching up!

I wanted to do a "Dharma station" type intro video with my Edgar Halliwax bobble head, but I didn't think I could do it justice. 

The meaning of this post is so that Lost fans can talk about the show, and to get through basketball season. We are in our 6th and final season. What are some of your thoughts on the show so far? Any theories? How Lost are you?

Discuss!