It's been 41 years since the Broncos have won an NIT game and the victory last Tuesday night wasn't just a victory, but an offensive explosion resulting in a 101-62 rout. Bronco fans, season ticket holders, alums, and students witnessed what I'll call spontaneous combustion. The offensive fire spread to the whole roster ending in a last second, turnaround, deep right corner three by Malachi Douyen to end the game and fireworks.
With starter Adama Bal out for the game, our team romped with stellar contributions from Tyeree Bryan, Johnny O'Neil, Christoph Tilly, Carlos Stewart, and Elijah Mahi; taking the place of Bal in the lineup. Cam Tongue and Jake Ensminger did yeoman's work and damage off the bench. Mahi, the JC transfer, brought a different and effective toolset to this game and this season. He can score from anywhere at a high percentage, dished out 5 assists, and grabbed 4 rebounds. Most effective and needed is/was his ability to penetrate into the paint and make tough shots or great passes resulting in easy baskets. He doesn't just settle for threes when he has a matchup, he can exploit.
What a night! It was the third time this season that we responded with a strong win after embarrassing losses; like the most recent one to Pepperdine in the WCC tourney. With this win, we set the all time record in the WCC for three point shots made in a season. While making 363 three point shots on 948 attempts (38%) is impressive, but it's also a big part of the conundrum of this season.
This is arguably our most talented and deep roster in Coach Sendek's tenure. A team that torches Gonzaga in Spokane and then flames out against LMU and Pepperdine along the way to four Quad three losses, which are death knells to NCAA invites. Coulda, woulda, shoulda... Begs the unanswerable question - Why?
There is no shortage of opinions from all factions of Bronco basketball. Coaches may say "it's basketball." All teams have off nights even against lesser opponents. Our offensive strategy is to play up tempo and use the three point shot to score early and to open up the paint for easier two point shots.
Sounds reasonable, but if three point shots aren't falling, we have trouble finishing shots in the paint or getting contact for free throws. We are # 310 out of 364 teams in free throw rate or how often we get to the line. The biggest chatter is the effective use of our possessions. We seem to be unable to get our best players the ball in their best spots to score often enough. We'll end up late in the clock with one of our bigs shooting a low percentage three from deep or a tough one on one isolation play. When we move the ball, and have the right guys taking the right shots like the Riverside game, we can be formidable. On the flip side, when we don't move the ball and are missing our open looks, we have trouble making adjustments to find better scoring opportunities.
Tonight is another great opportunity for this staff and roster to show we're on the rise against a solid UAB team. They are long and strong. Hopefully our defense will start early with stops to light the kindling for another night of more spontaneous combustion. That's a bonfire we'd love to see!!
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